Eight Black-Owned Eateries to Try During (and After) Black History Month

Black History Month may be winding down, but Denver’s Black-owned restaurants, bars and cafes deserve a spot in your dining rotation long after February ends. From jerk-smoked brisket and Creole comfort food to African coffee ceremonies and hidden speakeasies, these spots bring history, culture and serious flavor to the Mile High City.

Check out these eight eateries all year long.

Whittier Cafe
1710 East 25th Avenue

Whittier Cafe bills itself as Denver’s only African espresso bar, and has earned the nickname “the activists’ coffee shop” for its support of social justice causes. Owner Millete Birhanemaskel, born in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and raised in Colorado, hosts a traditional East African coffee ceremony every Sunday at 2 p.m., roasting beans and brewing them in a clay jebena pot. She sources all of the coffee from African nations, highlighting the continent where coffee originated, and also pours African beer and wine.

Notably, Whittier Cafe employs Melat Kiros, the Gen Z, Ethiopian-born candidate for U.S. Congress, whose platform focuses on affordable housing, universal health care and child care, and raising the minimum wage. It has shown its support for her both in the shop (with a petition to get her name on the ballot) and via social media. 

Small Batch Smokehouse
3210 Wyandot Street

At Small Batch Smokehouse in LoHi, chef Scott Durrah (who also owns Simply Pure dispensary with his wife) has created a laidback Caribbean vibe with the smell of smoked meats wafting through the air, tropical drinks being poured at the wooden bar, and reggae playing over the speakers. 

The restaurant is known for its flavorful fusion of Jamaican jerk, Southern soul food and Italian flair. Smoky jerk meats like chicken, ribs, pork and brisket are fired over pimento wood imported from Jamaica and served alongside Southern comfort staples like catfish nuggets, fried okra, collard greens, curry pineapple coleslaw and Cajun red beans and rice. There’s also a variety of pizza, a nod to Durrah’s half-Italian heritage, including Nana’s Boston North End Pepperoni Pizza and the Regent James Pizza – named after wife Wanda James, the University of Colorado regent now running Congress.

Welton Street Cafe
2883 Welton Street

This soul food spot in Five Points is a Denver institution. Originally opened in 1986 by the Dickerson family, the restaurant is celebrating fifty years in business in 2026. The no-frills joint debuted its new digs at the end of 2024 after being closed for three long years. Today, it’s back to serving up comfort classics like fried chicken, fried catfish, fried okra, hushpuppies, wings and sweet tea, earning itself a spot on Westword’s Top 50 Restaurants list earlier this year. 

MyKings Ice Cream
2851 Colorado Boulevard

This black-owned scoop shop in Park Hill is sure to give you a sugar rush. Named after founder Le’Day Grant’s son, the sweet shop features a dozen rotating ice cream flavors, but the decadent specials are where the creamery’s creativity truly shines. Try offerings like City Cereal Shakes (which blend ice cream with the customer’s choice of cereal), Denver Dessert Nachos (where “chips” are waffle pieces or Nilla Wafers, all topped with ice cream, pudding, marshmallows, sprinkles and more), Mile High Floats and ice cream sandwiches that use everything from cookies to pop tarts and doughnuts.

Trybal African Speakeasy
1670 Champa Street

To get into Trybal African Speakeasy, you must first unlock a QR code on the watering hole’s website by answering a trivia question about Africa. With code in hand, you then head downtown to the unmarked entrance at 1670 Champa Street, which is tucked behind a mask. Beyond this door awaits an intimate space decorated with wood accents, wicker light fixtures, lush greenery and artwork sourced directly from Africa.

Cameroon-born partners Jeff Sankeu and Collantine Nkaum created Trybal as a more permanent extension of Sankeu’s popular Scatta Afrobeats dance parties. Here, the focus is less on the dance floor and more on cultural immersion. Cocktails infuse African flavors with offerings like a Hibiscus Old Fashioned and Soursop Silk made with spiced rum, as well as bites like fried plantains, chicken suya and jollof.

Catfish King
5454 East Colfax Avenue

At the family-owned Catfish King, founder Angelo Washington brings soulful recipes from his home state of Oklahoma to Montbello. He runs the small storefront with his daughter, Deja, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Customers can order a wide variety of Southern mainstays, including pork chops and eggs with smothered potatoes, biscuits and gravy, wings, rib tips, hot links, jumbo shrimp, a slab of pork ribs, mac and cheese, hushpuppies, black-eyed peas and more. Of course, the star of the show is the fried catfish, made with a crispy cornmeal crust and served whole, on a sandwich, as nuggets, or as a combo with sides.

Genna Rae’s Wings & More
1819 East 28th Avenue

Owned by Virgin Islands native Genn Dickerson, Genna Rae’s Wings & More brings island-inspired flavors to Whittier’s fried chicken and wings scene with signature sauces like chili mango, mango habanero and Island Zinger. The takeout-only spot also offers a variety of burgers, sandwiches, fish and chips, and plates (like catfish, whiting fish, brisket and ribs) served with such classic sides as mac and cheese, greens and plantains – all at affordable prices.

Randall’s
3349 York Street

Randall’s has been operating in Denver for more than a decade at various locations. Its latest iteration can be found off York Street in the Cole neighborhood, where owner Randall Borne serves up wings that come breaded or dressed in hot honey; dinner plates like catfish, pork chops and hot links; crawfish etouffee; burgers, sandwiches and more. Borne moved to Denver as a child from Louisiana and has become a beloved local figure both for his soul food and his knack for fostering community.