Support Black-owned businesses in Raleigh

Photo courtesy of Colors of Yoga Raleigh

The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated small businesses over the past year, but Black-owned businesses have been hit the hardest. According to an August 2020 report from the New York Federal Reserve, the number of small business owners nationally who are Black dropped by 41 percent in the early days of the pandemic alone (February-April 2020), compared to 17 percent for white business owners and 22 percent overall. (Latinx and Asian business ownership fell by 32 and 26 percent respectively.) The report attributes the stark difference to a number of factors, including concentrations of Black-owned businesses in dense population centers with more COVID cases, coverage gaps in the Paycheck Protection Program, and historically weaker funding for Black-owned businesses pre-pandemic.

With that in mind, we want to highlight a few (mostly) health, wellness, and fitness-related Black-owned businesses in our area. This is far from an exhaustive list! Find more NC businesses here, here, and here.

Adara Spa

608 West Peace Street

Adara offers facials, mani/pedis, massage, hair, and waxing services for women and men. Given the up-close nature of most spa services Adara carefully follows strict safety protocols including temperature checks for all staff and guests and additional training for staff on infection control.

Visit the website

Black Farmers' Market

The Black Farmers Market runs seasonally from April-November, alternating every two weeks between Durham and Raleigh. In 2020 the market's Raleigh location was outside the Southeast Raleigh YMCA. The Black Farmers Market was created to address unequal access to fresh foods (food apartheid), correct the misconception that healthy living is unattainable for some communities, and support local Black farmers and entrepreneurs. 

Visit the website

Boss of Vegan

1129 Corporation Pkwy Suite 181
Raleigh, NC 27610

Vegan fast food serving up completely meat- and dairy-free burgers, sloppy joes, BLTs, and more. And fries, of course. They offer curbside pickup and delivery. (They also have locations in Durham and Charlotte.)

Visit the website

Colors of Yoga

16 S Glenwood Ave., Suite 30B
Raleigh, NC 27603

Colors of Yoga, Raleigh's only Black-owned yoga studio, is an inclusive yoga community that offers a judgement-free zone for all races/ethnicities, body types, gender-identities, ability levels, religions, etc. The studio is currently closed, but they offer a full slate of live virtual classes, with access to recorded classes to suit your schedule.

Visit the website

CORE Fitness Studio

1105 Capital Blvd.
Raleigh, NC 27603

In non-covid times, CORE offers personal training, group fitness classes, and nutritional guidance; currently the studio is closed and all classes are outside or virtual. 

Visit the website

Integrate Health & Wellness

133 Keybridge Drive Suite B
Morrisville, NC 27560

Husband-and-wife chiropractors and their wellness team offer chiropractic and injury rehab services, massage, nutrition counseling, and more.

Visit the website

Juiced

3301 Rock Quarry Rd.
Raleigh, NC 27610

Juice bar in Southeast Raleigh offering smoothies, juices, teas, herbal supplements, and other holistic health alternatives.

Visit their Facebook page

Men at Work Car Care Center

330 Tryon Rd.
Raleigh, NC 27603

Not health and fitness-related, but Men at Work deserves a mention. Owner Mike Phillips hires people who need a second chance—most of the staff at Men at Work Car Care are recently out of prison and often unable to find work elsewhere. Employment with Men at Work gives those looking to start fresh the stability and employment history necessary to access housing and further job opportunities.

Visit the website