ST. LOUIS — The Taste of Black St. Louis returned to Soldiers Memorial Plaza at Poelker and Kaufmann Park for its fifth year. For the first time in it's history, there was a major sponsor: Wells Fargo.
Staff said Wells Fargo not only opened the door for funding the event but it also became a great networking opportunity.
"To have a cohort all in one space is crucial because they don't feel alone. They don't feel like oh I'm going through this by myself. We do our best to supply resources for them. Business insurance. Make sure they have their licensures so they can be exposed to grants," said Aisha James-Caldwell, founder of Black St. Louis.
James-Caldwell is seeing to it this community thrives.
"I'm really invested in the City of St. Louis because this is home for me and I'm really intentional with making sure that the Taste of Black St. Louis grows and that we are able to support all of these minority and especially Black-owned businesses," she added.
The event invites Black restaurants and among those invited 60 vendors showed.
"I'm from Lafayette Louisiana and we set roots over here and we just give a little taste of Louisiana. We've been in business for 19 years but we been to the Black Taste for two years and it's a vibe," said Susan Putman, the owner of Dat Bayou Concessions.
Putman and her husband only cook for festivals, about 15 a year across the area.
The event is also a scholarship fundraiser that creates awareness of Black-owned culinary businesses.
People come from all over the region to get a taste of the food, and music, and shop with Black-owned businesses.