PHOENIX — For the first time ever, the Valley is hosting Black Restaurant Week.
The experience, which also stretches internationally, is a time to highlight Black-owned restaurants in our community.
With a sizzle from the back of the house, Chef Shevana brings an iconic taste of home from Jamaica and helps fill Ocho Rios Jerk Spot in Phoenix.
"We are home in Arizona, like Jamaica in Arizona," Shevana said. "So we do everything from scratch."
This year, the island flavor is making its way through Black Restaurant Week, according to the owner of Ocho Rios Jerk Spot.
"There are a lot of Black-owned restaurants people don't know about," Shevana said. "I think Black Restaurant Week helps to shine the light."
Black Restaurant Week supports locals and aims to show communities different cultural foods around them, like the tastes Shevana cooks up in the Valley.
"We take a lot to ship in our curry, but we get it from back home so we can have that Jamaican flavor or that Caribbean tradition still go on," Shevana said.
To help ease the burden of COVID-19 financial struggles and also recognizing nationwide racial injustice the Black community has experienced, Black Restaurant Week is free to join this year.
"There's a lot of mom-and-pop restaurants that are not in the limelight," Shevana said. "Some of them can't afford to be on TV and advertise for their business, so Black Restaurant Week is important for that, I believe."
Ocho Rios Jerk Spot opened right when COVID-19 was getting started in May 2020. The team here is still shaking things up nearly a year later and is ready to share their specials.
"We have our signature dish, the jerk chicken dinner which comes with one of our signature drinks of your choice," Shevana said.
The Southwest Black Restaurant Week, which the Valley is a part of, runs from March 12 through March 21.
Find a participating restaurant near you on this link.
For most stories about the Black community here in Phoenix: