21 Black-Owned Businesses in NYC
These Black-owned businesses in New York City range from vegan restaurants and natural wine shops to dance classes and handcrafted home goods.
by Team AGNPHere’s some encouraging news: Over the last decade, the percentage of businesses in Manhattan that are Black-owned grew by 45 percent. Still, we have a ways to go—while the city has a population that is close to 22 percent Black, Black-owned businesses only represent 3.5 percent of all commercial operations in New York City.
In the same way that we will go out of our way for the perfect baguette, the best cortado, or a locale with that particular je ne sais quoi, we love to seek out, support, and highlight game-changing businesses—especially considering that these businesses have historically been overlooked by mainstream media.
Here, we present a curated collection of Black-owned cafes, boutiques, and enterprises from across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and beyond, whose commitment to quality, delicious perspectives, and delightfully idiosyncratic spirits make them AGNP favorites.
Food and drink
Sweet Chick
At this “New American Comfort” restaurant, the standout menu item is a familiar Southern specialty: chicken and waffles. Since opening in Williamsburg in 2013, Sweet Chick has expanded to five locations (including the Lower East Side, Prospect Heights, Queens, and Los Angeles), thanks in large part to an investment from legendary Queens rapper Nas.
Peaches HotHouse
Chef-owners Craig Samuel and Ben Grossman bring Cajun and Creole-style dishes to Brooklyn diners at Peaches HotHouse in Bed-Stuy and Fort Greene. The menu includes staples like fried green tomatoes, stone ground grits, and crispy jumbo shrimp served with cornbread.
Aunts et Uncles
Aunts et Uncles is a plant-based cafe and concept shop in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean neighborhood. Owned by married couple Nicole and Michael Nicholas, the Flatbush cafe offers sensationally seasoned vegan bites, signature cocktails, wine, coffee, and tea. Here, you’ll also find books and magazines alongside items from the couple’s Does it Even Matter (DIEM) clothing line.
Bedford Nostrand Wine and Liquid Assets
Husband-and-wife duo Dan and Natasha Flores founded two separate wine shops about ten blocks down the road from one another in Bed-Stuy. Dan’s Bedford Nostrand Wine offers biodynamic and Black-owned wine options in addition to local spirits. Meanwhile, at Liquid Assets, Natasha curates a rotating selection of organic and natural wines.
Mikey Likes It
At its locations in the East Village and Harlem, this artisanal ice cream shop serves inventive flavors made from organic ingredients. (Keep an eye out for occasional vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free varieties.) Founder Michael “Mikey” Cole, a Lower East Side native, has created ice cream flavors for famous figures like Hillary Clinton and Jay-Z.
Milk & Pull
Owned by native New Yorkers Joe and Angela Austin, Milk & Pull has three cafe locations in Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, and Ridgewood, Queens. In addition to great coffee (made using beans from Stumptown Coffee Roasters), Milk & Pull serves fresh-baked pastries, as well as specialty sandwiches on bagels.
Brown Butter NYC
At Bed-Stuy’s Brown Butter Craft Bar & Kitchen, owner Myriam Nicolas whips up delectable biscuit sandwiches and sweet treats like banana walnut bread and Haitian hot chocolate.
Bad and Boozy
Bad Boozy is a small-batch cocktail delivery service offering craft cocktails, boozy frozen popsicles, and gourmet jello shots served in grab-and-go packaging.
Bookstores
Café con Libros
Café con Libros—which translates from Spanish to “coffee with books”—is a bookstore and coffee shop in Prospect Heights. Owner Kalima Desuze carefully selects the intersectional feminist books and literary works herself.
The Lit. Bar
Noëlle Santos opened this independent bookstore and wine bar in the Bronx after the borough’s last remaining bookstore closed in 2019. The Lit. Bar remains the only bookstore serving the Bronx’s 1.5 million residents—and it does so while flaunting vibrant murals and bright chandeliers.
Clothing and accessories
The Brooklyn Circus
Varsity jackets, graphic tees, and wool caps make up the tailored, casual clothing items at this menswear boutique in Boerum Hill. In an interview with Black-Owned Brooklyn, owner Ouigi Theodore described some of the inspiration behind the collection: “Cooley High, sports, Jay-Z Brooklyn, and Spike Lee Brooklyn.”
BLK MKT Vintage
This vintage concept shop in Bed-Stuy spotlights Black art and memorabilia. Owners Jannah Handy and Kiyanna Stewart source many of the items from flea markets and estate sales. You can find everything from a 1976 NAACP fundraising coin bank to vintage magazine covers (think: VIBE, Rolling Stone, and Sports Illustrated).
Sincerely, Tommy
The Bed-Stuy retailer focuses on jewelry, home goods, and womenswear by emerging designers, from zebra bucket hats to colorful leather mules. At the in-house coffee bar, you can order coffee and pastries like almond croissants and gluten-free brownies.
Brooklyn Blooms
Brooklyn Blooms delivers seasonal flower arrangements throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn for a multitude of needs, ranging from birthdays and anniversaries to bold statements like the Crown Her” hairpiece.
Tackussanu Senegal
Harlem-based Tackussanu Senegal is an online shop that specializes in handmade baskets and craft goods made by female Senegalese artisans.
Marché Rue Dix
Marché Rue Dix carries vintage clothing and accessories, artisan home goods, natural beauty products, and imported teas, coffees, and spices. Married couple Nilea Alexander and Lamine Diagne opened the Crown Heights concept store next to their French-Senegalese restaurant, Cafe Rue Dix.
Peace and Riot
Here, interior designer Achuziam Maha-Sanchez and her husband, Lionel Sanchez, channel influences from their African and Caribbean heritages. Head to their Bed-Stuy boutique for home decor, clothing, accessories, and more.
Classes and workshops
Ailey Extension
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s studio offers dance and fitness classes in a wide range of styles including ballet, hip hop, Afro-Cuban modern, and Broadway. The studio is currently offering virtual classes to adults, kids, and teens of all levels.
HealHaus
HealHaus is a wellness space and cafe in Clinton Hill that offers classes for yoga, meditation, acupuncture, therapy, and other self-care practices (currently offered on Zoom). Founders Darian Hall and Elisa Shankle strive to destigmatize healing in an inclusive and welcoming setting.
Brooklyn Clay Industries
More than two decades ago, artist Reuben King founded this pottery and ceramics studio in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Today, it still offers classes for all experience levels—don’t miss the BYOB Intro to Pottery Wheel course!
This list is by no means exhaustive. To learn about more places where you can support Black-owned businesses in New York City, check out Black-Owned Brooklyn and EatOkra.