Some of Phoenix's most iconic businesses are Black-owned, and have been ingrained in the city's fabric for decades. Take the Black Theatre Troupe, which has been creating a space for Black-focused performances since the 70s; or the restaurant dynasty of the White family: it spans generations, between Mrs. White's Golden Rule Cafe (which opened in 1964!), LoLo's Chicken & Waffles, and Monroe's Hot Chicken.
In every pocket of Greater Phoenix, you can find a Black-owned business to support. Here's where to find them on your next visit.
As the host and organizer of the Buy Black Marketplace, Archwood Exchange is dubbed a hub for Black business in Phoenix. Thanks to its cooperative-inspired setup, this is where businesses can sell their products in a pop-up, brick-and-mortar environment without the high costs of overhead. The online shop also offers an eclectic mix of fashion and accessories, such as graphic T-shirts and straw hats.
Operating steadfastly for the past 51 years, Black Theatre Troupe (BTT) has been chugging along, building up its own head of artistic steam as it determinedly tracks its founder’s vision to enhance the arts for the Phoenix's underrepresented communities. Today, BTT is one of the most enduring and celebrated Black theater organizations in the country, and a vital component of this city’s burgeoning performing arts profile.
BTT’s history reads like a storybook tale. In this case, the heroine is Helen Katherine Mason, a Phoenix Parks & Recreation supervisor, who recognized a distinct lack of artistic opportunities and spaces for representation of Black culture within Phoenix and, more broadly, Arizona. In 1970, she decided to do something about it and devoted the remainder of her life to altering that status quo, offering the Black community and others their own means of self-expression through the performing arts.
Grassrootz Bookstore, founded in 2019 by Ali Nervis, is a bookstore, juice bar, and co-working space, located in downtown Phoenix's Eastlake Park neighborhood. The bookstore regularly hosts author and community events.
Fried chicken, pork chops and oxtails might not change the world, but they’ve been part of the winning recipe for Mrs. White’s Golden Rule Cafe in downtown Phoenix for nearly six decades.
When Elizabeth White, a single mother of four, moved from Texas to Phoenix and opened her landmark restaurant in 1964, parts of the city were segregated. Unfazed, she was determined to provide for her family and welcomed everyone to her soul food establishment, which was first located at 1029 E. Jefferson St., before moving down the street to its current home at 808 E. Jefferson St. in 1976.
Locally-owned Lo-Lo’s holds a special place in the heart of Phoenix residents. The namesake dish is ubiquitous on the "hood classics" menu, which sports combos of southern-style drumsticks, wings, grits and gravy over savory waffles.
Look for the neon glow emanating from The Nash in downtown, and you just may have found the city’s…
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Visit Phoenix
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