NEWSLETTER
From cultural cuisines to jazz music, bookstores, dance, and sweet treats, shop local during your next New York State getaway and support New York’s Black-owned businesses this month and every month!
Masks are encouraged, but optional in most settings per New York State guidelines. Individual businesses or attractions may require mask wearing. Call ahead and check websites and social media to make sure attractions and amenities are open and available.
These are just a few of the great Black-owned businesses in New York. Message us on Instagram @iloveny to feature Black-owned businesses you love in New York State!
Originally published: 7/28/2021 Updated: 7/12/2023
Capital-Saratoga
Credit @zenblacksheep on Instagram
Root3d: Find your inner peace and recharge your mind, body, and spirit through wellness workshops and Reiki sessions, group healing, yoga and so much more during your next visit to Albany!
Allie B’s Cozy Kitchen: Feast on generational recipes that pay homage to the chef’s Southern roots, from fried chicken to smoky ribs and classic sweet potato fries.
Catskills
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Violet’s Bakery: Head to Saugerties and grab a cornetti or try a scrumptious vegan cinnamon apple coffee cake square.
The Juice Branch: Try over 100 different cold-pressed juices and smoothies, acai bowls, and join the health wave in Catskill, with a second location also located in Hudson.
Delightful Bites by Nina: Using local and simple ingredients, Nina offers your favorite pastries, custom cakes, cupcakes, and cookies in Cairo.
Central New York
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Kings Kakery Pastry Shop: Ever tried alcohol-infused pound cakes? What about creamy vanilla and chocolate tres leches cake bowls? Add this bakery to your list!
Capresso Coffee Bar & Cuisine: Create your own unique flavor of smoothie, coffee, tea, or chai, or grab a bite with various Caribbean specials including porridges, jerk chicken, salmon, and oxtail.
Caribbean Patty World: Feast on dishes from Caribbean islands from curry goat to oxtail and jerk chicken patties, and heat things up on wing night!
Freestyle Confections: Get your mouth watering with a raspberry lemonade crumble bar with raspberry drizzle, try a sweet cinnamon toast crunch cookie, and so much more.
Finger Lakes
Credit @mushroomspirits on Instagram
Mushroom Spirits Distillery: Straight from New York’s original artisan mushroom farm, try one-of-a-kind mushroom-based spirits!
Hawi Ethiopian Cuisine: Located on South Cayuga Street in Ithaca, experience Ethiopian dishes from mild and spicy stews to spongy teff flatbread.
Fort Baptist Farm: Established in 2017, shop fresh organically produced food and community supported agriculture shares (CSA) at this farm and Ithaca Farmers Market.
Asempe Kitchen: This pop-up restaurant and catering service offers vegan and vegetarian options and traditional West African cuisine.
Greater Niagara
Golden Cup Coffee: Get your caffeine fix with a fresh and flavorful cup of coffee made from the best coffee beans around the world. The 5-star ratings prove it!
Colored Musicians Club (pictured): The only African American club of its kind in the United States, currently promoting historical research and preservation of jazz in Buffalo.
Sunshine Vegan Eats: Expand your palate and taste a huge selection of freshly made vegan dishes featuring sustainable local produce.
Hudson Valley
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Bee Soulful Restaurant: Formerly Bee Tavern, this is now a soul food restaurant under the same owners. And don't worry, their popular honey-infused cocktails are still on the menu! They're currently closed for renovations, but are planning to reopen soon.
Brothers BBQ (pictured): Get messy with either the St. Louis or classic baby back Brothers ribs and finish them off with a side of collard greens or candied yams.
Newburgh Mercantile: From gifts to custom framing to local spices and chocolates, make sure you pop into this gift shop on Broadway in Newburgh for an unforgettable souvenir from your trip.
Explore more locations on Where to Support Black-owned Businesses in the Hudson Valley!
Long Island
Arbor View House Bed and Breakfast: Plan a romantic getaway with luxury rooms, spa services, and a gourmet breakfast. While in town, discover the North Fork Long Island Wine Country.
Down the Rabbit Hole Wine Boutique: Pop into this small shop in Sayville bursting with flavor and buy artisan wines, small lot vintages, and organic and biodynamic blends from around the world.
New York City
Credit @the_bettylee on Instagram
Akwaaba Mansion (pictured): Enjoy a luxury getaway at this inn housed in an 1860s Italianate villa and nestled in a quiet tree-lined community in historic Stuyvesant Heights in Brooklyn.
Forever Jerk: Follow your sense of smell and the massive lines to find smoked chicken and pork Jamaican-style at food carts in Queens and Brooklyn.
Black Surfing Association-Rockaway: Get your kids to the Rockaways to learn how to surf, alongside other young New York locals, or check out skateboarding lessons if land is more their style.
Kokomo: Enjoy an authentic Caribbean experience in Brooklyn. Sip discounted drinks during Koko Hour or indulge in Friday Bottomless Brunch.
Brown Butter Craft Bar & Kitchen: “House-made brown-butter biscuits” is all you need to hear to pop into this cafe, with menu items like the breakfast egg sandwich and biscuits with hot honey.
The Lit. Bar: Check out the only independent bookstore in the entire borough of the Bronx serving 1.5 million people.
Beatstro: This restaurant and lounge in the South Bronx pays homage to the birth of Hip-Hop.
Universal Hip Hop Museum: Embark on an interactive journey that focuses on the five elements of Hip Hop during the [R]Evolution of Hip Hop Exhibit located at the Bronx Terminal Market.
Melba’s: Make your way to Harlem for premier comfort food like Southern Fried Chicken & Eggnog Waffles with Strawberry Butter and Maple Syrup, the winner on “THROWDOWN!” with Bobby Flay!
Blaze Jamaican Restaurant: Caribbean, seafood, and soul food, all in one spot -- Staten Island.
Next Stop Vegan: With locations in Brooklyn and Washington Heights, find fun vegan options from stuffed plantain baskets to the BBQ pull “pork” sandwich made with jackfruit, BBQ sauce, and coleslaw.
Hush Hip-Hop Tours: Explore the history of Hip Hop from the state that started it, from the Boogie Down Bronx, the original birthplace of Hip Hop, to Harlem, and Brooklyn.
Sylvia’s: Serving authentic soul food for 60 years and counting to celebrities, presidents, and locals alike, Sylvia's is a Harlem favorite for home-style cooking, with Gospel Brunch on Sundays!
Harlem Hops: Grab some beer, booze, and bites from Manhattan’s first 100% African American owned NYC local craft beer bar.
Don’t stop your adventure there! Discover more about The Black Experience in NYC and shop from various Black-owned neighborhoods like Flatbush, Jamaica, Bed-Stuy, and Harlem.