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“A Soulful Taste: Exploring Tampa Bay’s Black-Owned Food Scene” is live!

by Alexandria Ebron

I’ve been writing about food for a short time but I get to experience how much Tampa Bay’s food scene is constantly and consistently growing firsthand. When I came here for undergrad in 2007, the only restaurants that were in abundance were chains. Now that I’m a freelance food writer, I’ve seen dining options grow from the regular chains to chef-driven restaurants and well thought out concepts. From that, I’m doing a disservice by not creating “A Soulful Taste: Exploring Tampa Bay’s Black-Owned Food Scene”.

“A Soulful Taste: Exploring Tampa Bay’s Black-Owned Food Scene” is important because the scene is so rich and familial. Tampa Bay is made up of various cultures and I wanted to highlight a few Black-owned restaurants to bring more awareness. Although it’s a challenge to find out where they are in this part of the state, they are here in abundance. I wrote about my time tasting a few Black-owned restaurants in Miami and that solidified what I’d known I wanted to do for months: finally step out and make the video highlighting Tampa Bay’s Black-owned restaurants.
The idea came from traveling with Robert. Whenever we go to different cities, one of the main things he wants to do is eat at as many Black-owned restaurants as possible. After doing that so many times, I started wondering if anyone has ever done that in Tampa and so I began this project. The entire process from pre-production to the final edit went by quickly. I started it in early-November and finished interviews early January. It was just me, my camera and tripod driving around.
A huge thanks to all the owners who participated in “A Soulful Taste: Exploring Tampa Bay’s Black-Owned Food Scene” , Robert, and everyone else who helped get the word out about this project. It wasn’t easy at all.  I’m hoping this video can be a resource for anyone traveling to Tampa Bay so they know we have some good Black-owned spots down here that are worth the drive across the Howard Frankland.
The finished project: