What: Taste of Black Chattanooga
When: 2-4:30 p.m.
Where: Lupton Hall
Vendors scheduled to appear at Taste of Black Chattanooga include:
- Cake By The Pound
- Carlito’s Cabana
- Charleigh Mae’s Grubhouse
- Chattanooga Bread Puddings
- Jigga Juice it Up
- Mac’s Subs & Fries
- Mama Red Cooks
- Neutral Ground Chattanooga
- Oh My Goodness Chef Chasty Seafood & More
- Shey Natural Smoothies
- Soul’Licious
- Supreme Kitchen Food & Treats
- The Island Vibe
- TRowe Creative Kitchen
- Windy City Eatz
Shortly after she arrived at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in February 2019, Crystal Edenfield had an opportunity to attend a Black History Month event where students presented a podcast series they had created called “Stories from the Big 9.”
Edenfield, director of Student Success Programs at UTC, was new to campus and new to Chattanooga. Listening to the presentation, she said, “opened my eyes to not only this area but to all the rich history that we have right near campus that no one really knows about.”
For much of the 20th century until the early 1980s, East Ninth Street—a short walk from UTC now known as Martin Luther King Boulevard—was known as the Big 9, a street lined with Black-owned retail shops and entertainment venues. Local musicians such as Bessie Smith played its clubs, while legendary singers Ray Charles, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Muddy Waters and B.B. King were known to visit the street after performing at other Chattanooga locations.
Working within walking distance from this historical stretch turned into a lightbulb moment for Edenfield. When an opportunity to connect the community to campus recently arose, she and her assistant director, Jason Harville, had a unique concept.
“Jason and I are passionate about students and getting them involved in our communities,” Edenfield said, “and we try to bring diversity, equity and inclusion into everything that we do working with all of our student populations.
“When the call came for a Black History Month program, we thought, ‘We both love food. We both love local restaurants. Let’s do Taste of Black Chattanooga.’”
Hosted by Student Success Programs, the Division of Diversity and Engagement and Africana Studies, Taste of Black Chattanooga will bring members of the Black culinary community to UTC to share their wares on Feb. 24 from 2-4:30 p.m. in Lupton Hall.
Edenfield said Diversity and Engagement played a key role with community connections, reaching out to restaurants, bakers and caterers, while the Africana Studies Program will be providing historical context to the Black History Month event.
“We’re hoping this will turn into a tradition that continues and becomes a signature experience,” she said. “We have restaurants with storefronts, vendors who do markets and fairs and some with food trucks.
“We love that we’re not only highlighting these vendors that have committed to coming to campus, but we’re also highlighting restaurants that are right around the corner from campus that students can walk to.”
Lupton Hall’s first floor will be set up in expo-style booths. Students can walk from vendor to vendor, tasting samples and voting for their favorite foods.
“We’re having a banner made so it can be displayed at the restaurant or food truck or whoever the winner is as ‘Mocs Choice, Taste of Black Chattanooga,’” Edenfield said.
