DROP YOUR EMAIL TO GET A WEEKLY UPDATE OF NEW BOBs
No spam. No fluff. Just fresh BOBs worth showing up for — straight to your Inbox.
Black-owned businesses
worth finding.
We find them. We verify them. We tell the story.
Boon Boona Coffee | Coffee Coffee Coffee — From the Heart of East Africa to Seattle
1223 East Cherry Street Ste. C121B, 1223 E Cherry St Ste. C121B, Seattle, WA 98122, USA
Efrem Fesaha founded Boon Boona Coffee in Seattle's Central District to do something most coffee shops never attempt — trace your cup all the way back to the continent where coffee was born. Boon Boona sources directly from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Burundi, Cameroon, and beyond, roasting beans that carry the full story of East African coffee culture. Their Jebena Blend is named for the clay pot used in traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean coffee ceremonies, and they host those ceremonies live at their Renton location — pan roasting green beans, brewing in clay, and sharing the origin story the way it was always meant to be told. This isn't just a great cup of coffee. It's a reclamation.
View Hours
- Monday: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Tuesday: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Wednesday: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Thursday: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Friday: 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM
- Saturday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday: 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Willa's Books & Vinyl | The Longest-Standing Black Bookstore in Missouri — A Legacy Tribute
5547 -5549 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110, USA
Willa Robinson started selling books on the corner of 18th and Vine in 1994 — as a street vendor — and built what is now Kansas City's largest collection of African-American books and vintage vinyl. Located on Troost Ave, a street with its own deep history of redlining and community resilience, Willa's carries rare first editions, out-of-print titles, vintage jazz and blues LPs, soul 45s, and hard-to-find African-American art. This isn't a curated aesthetic — it's a life's work. Willa's is the kind of place where you walk in for one book and walk out with a piece of history you didn't know you needed.
View Hours
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
- Wednesday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
- Thursday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
- Friday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
- Saturday: 12:00 – 5:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Puzzles of Color | Frameable Art. Diverse Stories. Piece by Piece.
1778 N Plano Rd Suite 106, Richardson, TX 75081, USA
Siblings Ericka and William Jones founded Puzzles of Color in Richardson, TX in 2020 with a mission that's deceptively simple and deeply powerful: turn the work of artists of color into jigsaw puzzles that belong on tables in Black homes. Every piece in their catalog — from Mimi Moffie's 'Unforeseen Times' to Tatyana Alanis's 'Legends Of Cowtown' — is a collaboration with a real artist whose vision gets amplified, not appropriated. Their 'Black Lore' collection and limited-edition 'Celebrature' drops treat cultural memory like the heirloom it is. This is Black art, Black joy, and Black family tradition — boxed up and passed around the kitchen table.
Pencil on Paper Gallery | Art That Belongs to Everybody
4755 Algiers St Suite 100, Dallas, TX 75207, USA
Valerie Gillespie founded Pencil on Paper Gallery in 2019 right in the heart of Dallas's Design District — a bold move that planted a Black-owned contemporary art space in one of the city's most prominent creative corridors. The gallery spotlights emerging and established artists, offering exhibitions, art classes, and consultations that make fine art feel accessible without dumbing it down. Their upcoming solo show — *GRIT* by artist Dawn Okoro, opening January 10th, 2026 — is exactly the kind of curatorial vision that sets this space apart. In a city where gallery walls don't always reflect the full range of Black creativity, Pencil on Paper is changing that, one exhibition at a time.
View Hours
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday: Closed
- Thursday: Closed
- Friday: 5:00 – 8:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Sunday: Closed
Southside Blooms | Flowers That Empower
6250 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60621, USA
Southside Blooms is a farm-to-vase nonprofit florist rooted in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood, founded by Quilen and Hannah Blackwell under the Chicago Eco House — a 501(c)(3) turning vacant lots into solar-powered flower farms. They're not just selling bouquets; they're creating real employment for inner-city youth, offering young people a path built on purpose instead of survival. Every arrangement shipped nationwide carries the weight of a community reclaiming its land, its beauty, and its future. When you order from Southside Blooms, you're not buying flowers — you're funding a job, a safe space, and a kid's way out.
View Hours
- Monday: Open 24 hours
- Tuesday: Open 24 hours
- Wednesday: Open 24 hours
- Thursday: Open 24 hours
- Friday: Open 24 hours
- Saturday: Open 24 hours
- Sunday: Open 24 hours
Succezz: Chicago's Black-Owned Sneaker Boutique That's Been Holding Down Michigan Avenue Since 2008
2214 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60616, USA
Succezz by B&VDOT is Chicago's Black-owned sneaker and streetwear boutique on South Michigan Avenue — founded in 2008 by LaVelle Sykes, a South Side native with 30 years in the sneaker game, and former NBA forward Bobby Simmons. Named with two z's because they don't sleep, Succezz carries Nike, Jordan, Adidas, and Mitchell & Ness alongside exclusive drops and streetwear for men, women, and kids at 2214 S. Michigan Ave. — the only Black-owned sneaker boutique on Chicago's Michigan Avenue corridor. Sykes built his reputation over decades starting in a stockroom, eventually running Tony's Sports, opening multiple stores, and surviving a looting during the 2020 Uprising with grace that stopped the city cold. Today Succezz stands as one of the most prominent Black-owned retail spaces in the nation, rated 4.6 stars on Google across 232+ reviews, and still holding down the South Side the way it always has.
View Hours
- Monday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
- Thursday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Friday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Saturday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
- Sunday: 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
