BALTIMORE — This week in the midst of CIAA its Black Owned Restaurant Tour week or BORT.
It’s a week that highlights some local Black owned restaurants in Baltimore.
Papi Cuisine is one of the restaurants being highlighted during BORT, and the executive chef and owner Alex Perez said the food brings people in the door but it’s the entire experience he wants them to remember.
“It’s casual, but it’s an elevated casual dining experience. So you might be able to enjoy some things that you typically could enjoy at a fine dining establishment but you don’t have to wear the suit and a tie,” Perez said.
BORT started on Monday and ends the following Sunday, with eight total businesses on the list. Each restaurant has one day to show case their specialties to visitors of Baltimore.
“So it’s a fusion, I call it an Afro-Latin fusion, so I take flavors that I learn to cook in Dominican Republic and I fuse it with you know African, French, Italian, Southern American dishes,” Perez said.
The brand started small before branching out.
“It started out as a full delivery service to residential and business clients back in 2014,” Perez said.
Berry Clark who’s the co-owner of the restaurant said it took some time before they found the right location to establish roots.
“We were in Fells Point but we kind of outgrew the space so we came here and we were doing takeout only for a little bit because we wanted to perfect our process,” Clark said.
They opened as a dine-in restaurant last May, and with the uniquely flavored menu they’ve now served more than 175,000, and everyday working to serve more.
“I will say to check out the honey jerk lamb chops," Perez said. "That’s one of the customer favorites maybe at the top of that list and the crab cake egg rolls as well. We’re excited and it is CIAA week as well along with the traffic we typically receive it’s going to be a very busy week for us but we’re definitely going to make it worth the customers while for coming in and patronizing the establishment. I want them to leave with a memorable experience and I want them to tell a friend or a family member, it’s as simple as that."
