CHARLESTON, SC (WCBD) – For the past 6 years, the “Black Restaurant Week Project” has showcased Black-owned restaurants across the country.

Local restaurants such as ChuckTown Seafood Café and The Rib Guy, are 2 of the many restaurants highlighted. The founders say showcasing Lowcountry restaurants was their mission, after observing businesses hit by the pandemic.

“To be able to lift them up and show them these hidden gems that are in our neighborhoods and ensure that they continue to be the cornerstones of the community,” says Derek Robinson, co-founder of Black Restaurant Week Project.

Owners across the Low Country say they have worked around the clock to keep their businesses alive.

“I never closed a day because of the pandemic, we just made adjustments and kept pushing and praying. That’s what got us here, ”says Kevin Greene, owner of Seafood Café in ChuckTown.

Having an opportunity with Black Restaurant Week allowed some of them to stay open longer.

“There have been a lot of new customers who have come and want to try the food. Some people even came back the next day to get something, ”says Guy Simmons, owner of The Rib Guy.

Kevin Greene says he’s had to make a lot of adjustments along the way to accommodate his clients.

“I invested a lot of money in a drive-in to open it to survive, and that also helped me a lot,” he says.

Greene says obtaining state PPP loans and help from organizations like Black Restaurant Week have helped him keep his business growing.

“We’re feeling a surge from this week, and we’re getting busier and busier now, because of it,” he says.

Restaurants say that even though the week is coming to an end, they celebrate their culture every week of the year with “Black Food Friday’s”.