Detroit’s New Black-Owned Grocery: Making a Community Impact

On October 8, Neighborhood Grocery, an equity-crowdfunded grocery store founded by Detroit native Raphael Wright, officially opened its doors. This Black-owned grocery store, located in Detroit's Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood, has a primary mission of promoting community health. It's a transformation of a former liquor store into a health food shop located at the corner of Essex and Manistique.

Wright initially conceived the idea of creating a community grocery store that local residents could invest in back in 2017. Six years later, with the support of an $85,000 Motor City Match grant, his vision has become a reality.

Neighborhood Grocery has gotten attention in Detroit. One person recommended the store on Facebook, giving it a 5 out of 5 stars rating and stating, "This market is so needed. I was really impressed with all the affordable wellness products there. You could tell this market is a labor of love and his care for the community." Another person praised the store's convenient location and its selection of fresh and nutritious food, noting, "Definitely recommend. Invest in our community & watch us all benefit."

In addition to establishing the grocery store in Detroit, Wright is also the founder of Big Pharma Garden, a half-acre market garden located on the city's east side. He advocates for entrepreneurship and financial literacy, particularly for residents in underserved urban areas.

Wright's grocery store is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is located at 500 Manistique in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood (District 4). The store's 3,500 square feet and has a bit of everything. This includes fresh produce, meat, dairy, deli goodies, health, and beauty products, and, of course, all your grocery needs.

The grocery store also provides opportunities for people to purchase equity in the store and support food-insecure families by sponsoring grocery boxes. Learn more about Neighborhood Grocery here.

It's getting warmer out and soon you’ll be able to enjoy some outside fun in Michigan. From farmer’s markets, parks, rooftop lounges, to outdoor concerts, and festivals there's a lot of outdoor events with great food to enjoy. And of course, you'll be able to chow down on some delicious food at a food truck.

Food trucks are a way to switch it up from a traditional brick-mortar establishment. They also bring a variety of unique foods to different parts of your town. Several black-owned food trucks in Michigan offer scrumptious dishes.

Here’s a list of black-owned Michigan food trucks you should check out.

One mobile food stop you can find in Metro Detroit is The Lobster Food Truck. Detroit native Kathryn Wilson and her nephew Chef Nick Wilson opened The Lobster Food Truck in 2018. They offer gourmet seafood and serve the Metro Detroit area. "Our specialties are our Hot Lobster Roll, Seafood Mac & Cheese, Seafood Grilled Cheese, and Loaded Seafood Waffle Fries," said Julie Smith Fields of The Lobster Truck. Metro Detroiters can find The Lobster Food Truck at several scheduled events throughout the summer and spring including festivals, private parties, and pop-ups. Find out where their truck will be daily by visiting their website or social media.

Jackson’s Five Star Catering is a full-service catering company located in Ferndale. According to their website, Anthony and Cindy Jackson have been providing catering services since 1995. Though a catering service, they have a Motown Bistro and a Five Star food truck. These two food fucks have been at events including Paint Creek Center for the Arts, the Detroit Jazz Festival, the Detroit Auto Show in Hart Plaza, the Detroit Fireworks Show, and many other stops. You can find menu items like southern fried fish, lemon-pepper shrimp, the "Motown Burger," BBQ ribs and pulled pork, chicken tenders, sausages, and chili cheese fries. Some of their sweeter menu items include elephant ears, funnel cakes, deep fried Oreos, cotton candy, corn dogs, and tropical shaved ice.

"Our FoodTruck embodies the best flavors and cooking traditions of authentic Nigerian cuisine," said their website. The Halal Certified food truck serves the East Pointe, Livernois, Midtown Detroit areas. Fork in Nigeria’s menu features steak, goat, chicken, and vegetarian options. Some of the chef’s picks include fried plantain, akara balls, fufu, and egusi soup.

Another Black-owned food truck to check out in Metro Detroit is CC's SoulfFood food truck, owned and operated by Ciera Wells. The food truck features catfish, mac and cheese, fries, fried chicken, burgers, and salmon croquette balls. They have made stops at the Spirit Plaza Detroit, Birmingham Car Cruise, Madonna College events, and more. CC's Soulfood books events for grad parties, birthday parties, and corporate events.

Sweetjays Bakeshop offers custom fondant cakes, cupcakes, and traditional desserts for all occasions. One of their services include a dessert truck. The bakeshop is in Warren, but you can find the dessert truck making stops across Metro Detroit. Sweetjays dessert truck features cupcakes, donuts, ice cream, and cookies. They also offer premium desserts like peach cobbler and banana pudding.

Karen Hudson and Karla Willis are co-owners of Detroit Mini Donut. "It is of utmost importance to both of ladies, that Detroit Mini Donut be a positive driving force in helping bring back the city of Detroit," said the Detroit Mini Donut website. Their donut shop is in Detroit where one can find fresh mini donuts with a variety of toppings. Recently, they began to feature Italian ice. The "Big Red" donut truck has made stops at the Detroit Zoo, Detroit Institute of Arts, Plymouth Ice Festival, and many more.

If you can’t make it out to Cornbread Restaurant in Southfield for dine in or carry out, you can always catch them at their food truck 'Beans & Cornbread.' The truck has served soul food at the AAA Auto Expo, Southfield's 'Eat to the Beat' concert, and their very own 'Cars & Cornbread' event. Their food truck offers soul items like collard greens, red beans and rice, cornbread, fried catfish, pork fried pork, chops, and fried chicken, sweet potato pie, and peach cobbler.

Cynt-sational EATS is a food truck that offers gourmet vegan air popped popcorn with
B vitamins, trace minerals, amino acids as well as vegan dishes desserts. In 2019, owner and operator Cynthia was able to purchase a food truck where she would focus on vegan food and clean eating options.

June Food and Friend is Black-owned and operated by women. The sweet treat truck features hand-spun slushies and shakes, Italian ice, and Michigan-made ice cream with a variety of toppings and flavors. The Junk Food and Friends truck has made stops at Detroit Fall Fest, Scary Hours Music Festival in East Pointe, and Detroit’s Mobile Madness Game Trailer Expo.