While Chicago is known as one of the greatest food cities in the world, many other places across the state of Illinois serve good flavor, thanks to Black-owned restaurants. What’s fascinating about restaurants beyond Chicago is that the rest of the state will surprise you with its cuisine variety, which you probably thought could only be found in bigger cities. Here are the best Black-owned restaurants in Illinois.
Mandy’s Soul Food
Remember that feeling of walking into your favorite loved one’s home and feeling that warm, fuzzy feeling of comfort as soon as you walk into the door? That’s the feeling you will have at Mandy’s Soul Food, where everyone is greeted with a smile. Staff are setting the tone for what’s to come – home-style cooking made from scratch and love.
The owner emphasizes family, and every guest is treated as such they chow down on Illinois’ best catfish, oxtails, smothered pork chops, mac and cheese, sweet potato pie, and so much more. The culinary greatness you will taste is recipes that were crafted and perfected over several generations.
- Owner: Family-owned
- Location: Bolingbrook
- Type of Cuisine: Soul Food, Southern
- Menu Spotlight: Fried catfish, cabbage, candied yams, banana pudding, lemon cake
- Before you go: The restaurant accepts online orders.
Mukase
Mukase has been the premier African restaurant in Bolingbrook since 2017. Owner Agyeiwaa Frimpong is dedicated to delivering the most delicious flavors to customers. She and her staff take pride in using only the finest ingredients to create mouthwatering Ghanaian dishes, including Waakye, jollof rice, Mukase chicken wings, jerk chicken, Egusi stew, oxtail soup, and more.
- Owner: Agyeiwaa
- Location: Bolingbrook
- Type of Cuisine: African, Ghanaian
- Menu Spotlight: Waakeye, Mukase chicken wings, Egusi stew
- Before you go: There are two locations. One is in Chicago, and the other is in Bolingbrook. The restaurant is closed on Mondays.
Brien’s Bistro
Named after the chef behind the delicious menu, starting a food truck has been Chef Brien’s dream for quite some time. He struggled with opening the restaurant because he was diagnosed with cancer. His wife lost her father, Brien’s father-in-law, to the same disease. One thing he made clear before he died was that he was impressed with Brien’s recipes.
Brien’s wife invested in his dream. Now that Chef Brien is cancer-free, he’s doing what he loves and making his family proud.
- Owner: Chef Brien Hawkins and his wife, Stephanie Hawkins
- Location: Urbana-Champaign
- Type of Cuisine: Soul Food, Southern
- Menu Spotlight: BBQ pulled pork sandwich, loaded mac and cheese, yum yum chicken sandwich
- Before you go: Be sure to check social media for location updates. Chef Brien also accepts online orders.
Cool Bliss Popped Bliss (CBPC) Popcorn Shop
This boutique snack shop is for popcorn lovers. Alven and Isis opened the popcorn shop because there wasn’t anywhere in the area to find their favorite treat like in Chicago (shoutout to Garrett’s Gourmet Popcorn). The duo took matters into their own hands to create a unique popcorn and treat shop with the best local specialty sweets and gourmet popcorn shop in Central Illinois.
- Owner: Alven Allison and Isis Griffin
- Location: Urbana-Champaign
- Type of Cuisine: Specialty Desserts
- Menu Spotlight: Caramel apples, kettle corn, Devil’s Dust Popcorn, mix (caramel/cheese)
- Before you go: Prices range from $9 to $72, depending on the size.
Sepelas
Sepelas is one of the few rare finds in the state because the owners, Kennedy and Kety, serve their home cuisine from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The duo has dreamed of opening an African restaurant together since starting their lives in America in 2013. These two are proof that you can do anything you set your sights on as long as you have patience, persistence, and hard work. They began working on their dream seven years after arriving in the United States, and ten years later, they went from working in a warehouse to opening the doors of their dreams.
- Owner: Kennedy and Kety
- Location: Urbana-Champaign
- Type of Cuisine: African, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Menu Spotlight: Congolesian Grilled Goat, Pondu (cassava green leaf soup), steak kabobs, African Doughnuts
- Before you go: Reservations can be made online.
Good To Go Jamaican Cuisine
Tony and Lenice Levy launched Good to Go Jamaican Cuisine in 2002 as a small quick-service restaurant in Chicago. After 16 years of building loyal customers, they purchased and opened a new location in Evanston, right on the border of Chicago.
The duo serves mouth-watering Jamaican cuisine, with house specialties including jerk chicken, oxtail, brown stew chicken, curry goat, and jerk pork.
- Owner: Tony and Lenice Levy
- Location: Evanston
- Type of Cuisine: Caribbean, Jamaican
- Menu Spotlight: House specialties include jerk chicken, oxtails, brown stew chicken, curry goat, and jerk pork.
- Before you go: Live reggae happens on Fridays, Live DJ sets on Saturday nights, and live bands throughout the week to showcase Chicago’s local talent.
The Fry Spot
When you thought America’s favorite side dish would be nothing more, The Fry Spot redirects your thoughts on what you knew about French fries. The Fry Spot provides a variety of freshly cut loaded fries paired with a delicious variety of alfredo and seafood boil-in-a-box options. Smothered in a carefully curated collection of high-quality ingredients, these freshly cut, loaded fries will make you forget all about the burger.
- Owners: Jeremy and Cierra Sargent
- Location: Peoria
- Type of Cuisine: American
- Menu Spotlight: Buffalo Chicken Fry, Nashville Hot Chicken Fry, Surf and Turf Fry
- Before you go: The restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays.
There’s little you can’t find in Illinois given the talent and commitment of the state’s Black-owned businesses. The Prairie State has the Midwestern gem of Chicago, and beyond that, it creates a culinary experience where people can venture off to the Caribbean, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, America’s South, and more.
