Soothe the Soul with these 3 Black-Owned Businesses

Soothe the soul with these three Black-owned businesses.

Owned by Ellen Day, BrickHouse Ceramic Art Center is a sanctuary for NYC adults who want to relax and make art. It offers year-round pottery classes at all levels, shelf space for a monthly fee, and handmade pottery for sale. Bench time for registered students is also available.

“Creativity is about opening yourself up to confusion, wonder, surprise, and curiosity. Many new-to-clay students walk in the door and announce that they aren’t creative. But then they pick up some clay, and push a little, press a little, learn some patience, relax, get into the flow, and suddenly there’s a pot and delight. The trick as you get more and more experience is to keep chasing that same feeling,” says Day.

Work by Brickhouse artist Sheila Ross

Kafia Saxe opened Communitea with her husband, Lloyd Canning, after having met him on the train on the way to run the NYC Marathon. Kafia’s sister works as a server there, making Communitea a true family-owned and operated business. Although Communitea has been featured on Gossip Girl, Ugly Betty, and Elementary, and was notably voted the most loved coffee shop in NYC, their main claim to fame, according to them, is that the “restaurant has been the setting of their first meal outside of the house with a new baby; a place where couples have had weekly meals; where so many people have written books, and plays, and created art.”

They recommend their French toast with lemon curd, blueberry sauce, and whipped cream made in-house.

Communitea’s French toast via their Facebook

Born in Ethiopia from parents of Eritrean descent, Makina Cafe founder Eden G. Egziabher was raised amidst a vibrant mix of Ethiopian, Eritrean and Italian cultures. It’s no coincidence that “Makina” translates to “truck” in all three of these countries’ languages, whose cultures combine to create the mosaic of flavors found on the mobile cafe’s menu.

Eden prides herself on being the first Eritrean-American female entrepreneur in NYC with a food truck serving “Habesha” food. Used as a term of pride, the word “Habesha” is used to eliminate the distinction between different tribes of Eritrea and Ethiopia and celebrates the unity of people of the same region.

Missing dinner plans? Try their chicken tibs.

Chicken tibs at Makina Cafe via Yelp