Historically, African Americans have used occupations in food service, such as prepared-food vendor, waiter and cook, to help in building an economic base for themselves, their families, and their communities. These activities have long provided a financial foundation and served as a source of economic empowerment--however limited--in times when the range of occupations was strictly limited for African American men and women.

African American-owned eating establishments also served as neighborhood anchors, forums for public debate, and gathering places for many developing black communities in urban areas.