Black Restaurant Week returning under new leadership

For the past two years, dozens of local Black-owned restaurants and eateries have been highlighted through Long Beach Black Restaurant Week. 

Following months of controversy surrounding its co-founder earlier this year, the future of the week-long celebration, which brings national media attention to small businesses each year, became unclear. 

In October, the announcement arrived that Long Beach Black Restaurant Week would return—now led by one of the past year’s participants, Qiana Mafnas. 

Mafnas runs Axiom Kitchen with her family, a Long Beach-based barbecue restaurant that serves smoked meats and classic Southern sides. In May, the family recruited Terri Henry, who ran Black Restaurant Week through her nonprofit LB Food and Beverage, to help promote their inaugural BBQ festival. 

When Henry came under controversy for using the N-word, local publications published multiple stories on the incident and many people urged Henry to step down from running the week. Mafnas was Henry’s first choice to take over. 

“I made a mistake and I apologized and it was followed by death threats and anonymous mail and texts,” Henry said. “It’s been really weird and it’s been very divisive, some are like, ‘We’ll never speak to you again’ and some are like, ‘Yeah you made a mistake let’s move on.’”

Henry sold the rights to the week for $1, and said she sold the Cambodian Restaurant Week she created to Chef T. Henry said even before the controversy, people had begun questioning why a white woman was organizing events based on cuisines of other cultures, and people were accusing her of making hundreds of thousands of dollars off of other communities. 

Henry clarified that she started Black Restaurant Week after a Black restaurant owner asked her to, and the two ran it together. Eventually, her partner became too busy to organize the week, and Henry had already put a lot of work into it.

“Because of the negative past, I just want this to be a fresh start,” Mafnas said. “It’s in the hands of someone who’s not only willing, but capable.”

Mafnas said she was hesitant at first, not because of people’s perceptions of Henry, (though she said she had already heard what was going on) but because of the large time commitment. Eventually, Mafnas’ husband convinced her that her love for community and passion for the celebration in previous years made her the perfect person for the job. 

“It was really important to [Henry] to give it to a person in the Black community because she understood how she messed up,” Mafnas said. “I’ve gotten so much support, I was so grateful. It’s been 99.9% positive.”

Mafnas emphasized how important it was to keep the celebrations going, especially since many Black-owned businesses were forced to shut down during the pandemic shutdown. 

The annual Black Restaurant Week will return from Jan. 21 through Jan. 28, 2024. The event will highlight Black restaurants, chefs, pop-ups and bartenders. 

Those interested in participating in the week must register by Nov. 30 and pay a $95 entry fee. Black Restaurant Week is also accepting partnership opportunities with packages from $1,000 to $10,000. 

[A previous version of this article contained a typo in the headline and an incorrect entry fee price. The Signal Tribune regrets this error.]