Luda’s Cookout brings more Southern hospitality to Black Restaurant Week

Atlanta’s Black Restaurant Week is in full swing, and rapper, actor and philanthropist Ludacris brought some Southern hospitality to the campaign’s eighth year by hosting a barbecue featuring six Black-owned restaurants in Piedmont Park on Wednesday.

“I’m very grateful that we are part of this Black Restaurant Week because black food tells a story. We all know that. It tells our story. I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world and the best part is that I get to taste the creativity of what we do as black people and tell our story because things have been passed down from generation to generation,” Ludacris told guests at Luda’s Cookout.

“It’s about Atlanta. It’s about culture. It’s about everyone having fun here.”

In partnership with beer brand Stella Artois, the pop-up dining event celebrated the two-week campaign with music, games and food vendors showcasing dishes from Pepper’s Hotdogs, Life Bistro, What Cha Cooking Baby, BLK N Blu BBQ, APT 4B and Ludacris’ restaurant Ludacris’ Chicken and Beer. The event also featured desserts from Sugarhi Sweet Eats N Treats and Not as Famous Cookie Company.

Black Restaurant Week was founded in 2016 by Warren Luckett and managing partners Falayn Ferrell and Derek Robinson. The campaign’s goal is to raise awareness of Black-owned restaurant establishments, which often struggle with limited funding and marketing resources, through partnerships and culinary events. It also aims to showcase the diversity of Black cuisine by celebrating the flavors of African American, African and Caribbean cuisines.

Guests were served platters of food including kale salad, elote hot dogs, crab cakes, beef ribs, quinoa stir-fry, shrimp and grits, oxtail stew, Creole mac and cheese, and fried chicken with hot bourbon sauce, to name a few. As Luda’s cookout came to a close and bellies were filled with cans of Stella Artois and dishes from Atlanta’s black-owned restaurants, they were treated to desserts like red velvet banana pudding and butter pecan cookies.

Los Angeles native Tarina Hodges is the owner of Pepper’s Hotdogs, a pop-up restaurant that serves gourmet hot dogs. Hodges shared that they have been a part of Black Restaurant Week for three years. Of the 125 restaurants featured in the campaign this year, Pepper’s Hotdogs was one of the six selected for Luda’s Cookout.

“I haven’t done that (yet). It takes a lot of work to achieve something like that. It’s wonderful to have people who support you, constantly think about you and give you a platform,” Hodges said.

Tasha Mack, CEO and owner of Sugarhi, said she has been involved with Black Restaurant Week since the beginning. Through working with them, she has seen her business flourish, as it can now boast of being an 11-time award-winning bakery. Mack also has the honor of being a four-time winner of the Nosh Culinary Showcase presented by Black Restaurant Week.

“If anyone knows what it can do for you and your business, it’s me, and I’m here until the end,” Mack said.

For a complete listing of restaurants participating in Black Restaurant Week in Atlanta, visit Blackrestaurantweeks.com. For more information about Stella Artois’ Summer Dinner Series, visit Stellaartois.com/letsdodinner.

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