BALTIMORE — The CIAA tournament kicks off Tuesday and local restaurant owners are hoping to cash in on the excitement.
The CIAA tournament is also the first event to take place inside the revamped CFG Bank Arena downtown.
It’s a big week for Baltimore. With a lot of basketball fans in town working up an appetite watching the games, city leaders are inviting people to take advantage of all that the city has to offer and check out some great places to eat on the 2023 Black-Owned Restaurant Tour.
Nicknamed BORT for short, the Black-Owned Restaurant Tour is presented by the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the host committee for CIAA tournament.
There are nine restaurants taking part in the tour. It started on Sunday and runs through Saturday.
Some of the restaurants participating include Teavolve Cafe in Fells Point, Bar One in Harbor East, Unity Bar and Restaurant and Hood Fellas Bistro, both in downtown Baltimore.
Events 4 Good People owner and Black-Owned Restaurant Tour organizer Azikiwe Deveaux said it’s a way to help give the profile of some local restaurants an extra boost.
“What the University of California discovered during the pandemic was that black restaurants, black-owned restaurants were twice as likely to close. More than twice as likely to close than non black restaurants. Some did not make it. So, this is our way of providing some marketing support, and some cross education for those restaurants to help them survive.
Baltimore City Council president Nick Mosby says the CIAA tournament gives the entire city an economic boost.
“Coming out of Covid we saw what it was able to do close to $20 million in economic impact. This year is going to be more and more, but also this is a precursor to the other tournaments and the other events and the other conferences that our city can host at a major scale,” Mosby said.
Organizers of the event also are inviting food bloggers to come out and spread the word.
Tonight's stop on the Black-Owned Restaurant Tour is at Bar One Baltimore in Harbor East from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Click here for restaurant tour schedule.
