Shop Black Fest is a festival for Black-owned small businesses to connect with their next customer, gain more visibility, and prepare for growth with a suite of vendor events, empowering workshops, trainings, & networking opportunities. When you attend one, plan to experience a celebration, networking, learning & blackety black fun!
Founders Greg and Tee Westbrook are a husband-wife duo that took the leap of faith and left their corporate jobs in 2019. They curate events and brands for Black entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs to celebrate themselves. With a combined 20+ years of experience in sales, marketing and event planning, they’ve built a huge platform to help Black entrepreneurs generate more consistent revenue and gain more brand visibility.
Plan now to attend one of their 2024 pop up dates, as follows: March 30 – Memphis; April 20 – St. Louis; May 11 and 12 – Nashville, Hadley Park; June 15 – Huntsville; July 13 – St. Louis; August 17 – Memphis; September 21 – Huntsville; November 30 and Dec 1 – Nashville (Indoor) Scarritt Bennett Center.
Greg and Tee Westbrook will host the annual Shop Black Fest Impact awards online this year. The SBF Impact Awards is an exclusive awards ceremony that highlights the achievements of Black-owned Businesses and community leaders of the Nashville community. In past years the Awards have been given in-person at a black-tie event. This year’s awards program will be done virtually, to allow anyone who wants to, to participate and experience the announcements live in real time, online.
Voting runs through Monday, January 8. Voters can vote 1 time per day. Tune in online on Thursday, January 11, at 7:00 p.m. CDT as the annual Shop Black Fest Awards for Nashville Black businesses are announced. Vote, and watch, at: shopblackfest.com/impactawards
Here are the categories, and the businesses nominated.
New Business of the Year: SheDesignz Custom Creations, Amani Threads, Creative Soulz Printing, Endless Organizing, Inner G Juice & Yoga, Lilly’s Hot Chicken, Niya’s Bakehouse, SaMari Ria Creation, Serenity Smiles Dental Care, Simplie Majikal, and The Formula.
Legacy Business of the Year: Soul of America Tours, John Smith Marketing, Franklin’s Fruit Tea, and Live Above.
Community Impact Award: Modernoire, Yay Yay’s, Showtime Studios, Nashville Business Incubation Center, Black Chamber of Commerce, S.U.R.E. Realty (Suburban and Urban Real Estate), Corner to Corner, Soul of America Tours, Creative Soulz Printing, Tennessee Tribune, Nashville Black Assembly, and Donzaleigh Inc.
Vendor of the Year: Royal Oils, Expressions of You, Beaded By His Grace, Pink Suga Creations, Cherrie’s Shoe Bar, Nut’n but Guac, Kendra’s Boutique, Best Customer Centric, Tea Rose Nashville, Stay by Renee, Creative Soulz Printing, Soul of America Tours, Lillie B’s Divine Sweets, Donzaleigh Inc., Yay Yay’s, S.U.R.E. Realty (Suburban and Urban Real Estate), and Showtime Studios.
Tech Business of the Year: Uniti Health, Nodat, Inc., Pivot Tech School, Mitech Partners, and Oh Buttonz.
Non-Profit Organization of the Year: Nashville Business Incubation Center, Equity Alliance, Youth Changes, NAREB Nashville, Creative Artists of Middle TN, Gideon’s Army, Creative Girls Rock, and Corner to Corner.
Creative Business of the Year: Enhance, LLC, Music City Dreams Media, Autumn Skye Productions, Social Gourmet, and Fye Social.
Best Restaurant: The Lighthouse On The Lake, The Southern V, Yay Yay’s, Riddim n Spice, Lilly’s Hot Chicken, Linq Social Kitchen, Soul, Willie B’s Kitchen and Lounge, and Ghot Wings.
Women Owned Business of the Year: Entree Savvy, Beyond Beauty Esthetics, Serenity Smiles Dental Care, Marshmallow Dessert Café, Black Business Boom, Chara’s Art Closet, CQ Consultants LLC, InnerG Juice and Yoga, Sista Rootz, and Slim Pickings.
B2B Business of the Year: Career Thrivers, Urvoyce, Jared Dalton Agency, Devmar Products, Black Business Boom, Mitech Partners, and Mojo Marketing.
