Keyia Yalcin, owner of the “fast-gourmet” concept Fishnet in Baltimore, sees a tremendous, largely untapped money-making opportunity for restaurants on June 19.
That date is otherwise known as Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, finally heard they’d been freed by President Abraham Lincoln some two years earlier.
Yalcin thinks Juneteenth could become an important business day for restaurants and bars, much like Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day.
“None of us really knows what those holidays are about but we go out and celebrate them anyway,” Yalcin said. “I just want people to eat, drink and be merry at a Black restaurant on Juneteenth.”
Some states are declaring Juneteenth an official holiday, and the Senate passed a bill this week that would make it a federal commemoration of the end of slavery. That bill is expected to sail through the house and be signed by President Biden.
Yalcin, who has operated Fishnet for about a decade, got serious about marketing during the pandemic.
“When we doubled down on the marketing budget, the business grew exponentially,” she said.
So, she enlisted 10 other Black-owned Baltimore restaurants to band together for a virtual Juneteenth celebration.
Her restaurant hosted a raucous, early celebration last month, featuring DJs and other Baltimore performers.
“It was a Tuesday night and we had over 100 people out,” she said.
Customers who visit the 11 participating restaurants this Friday and Saturday will get a QR code to watch the party while enjoying their meal at home.
“You get the eye into this exclusive little party we had,” Yalcin said. “My hope is that people copy it. I want people to copy this idea. I think there could be a lot of economic empowerment behind getting Juneteenth to the level of Cinco de Mayo or St. Patrick’s Day nationally if we adopted that idea.”
Last year, following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by police in Minneapolis, a number of restaurants observed Juneteenth for the first time.
Starbucks gave all hourly workers that day 1.5 times their typical pay. Arby’s parent Inspire Brands added Juneteenth to its flexible list of potential employee days off.
In Chicago, Black-owned restaurants are offering Juneteenth food specials for the second year in a row. The event, organized by the website Black People Eats, features dishes from 95 area restaurants priced at $6.19 or $16.19.
Yalcin said she saw an uptick in interest in Black-owned restaurants following the country’s widespread racial unrest and activism last summer.
“That’s the problem with these things,” she said. “At first, people are hot and heavy. They’re completely woke. And then it’s fizzled. Early on, Black-owned restaurants were doing really well.”
But she has high hopes for the marketing potential offered by Juneteenth, a day she hopes can turn some first-time diners into regular customers.
“There’s unlimited opportunity for Black-owned restaurants,” she said.