
I won’t pretend to be an expert on all things anti-racist, but I know when it comes to creating change, the way you use your dollars counts. Buying black helps put a dent in the systemic racism that has oppressed BIPOC for years. Here in Charlotte, my husband and I have made it a focus to step out of our usual habits and seek out black-owned businesses with this in mind. For a comprehensive list of Charlotte black-owned businesses, check out this article from the Charlotte Agenda. I’ll focus on businesses we’ve tried lately to give you a little background on why we love them!
Two Scoops Creamery
To be fair, we loved and supported Two Scoops for 2 full years before learning anything about their ownership. They have the best ice cream in town and we used to live a very short walk from the Plaza Midwood location. It’s on my list to take any out-of-town visitors to.

My go-to order is 2 scoops on a waffle cone: batter up (cake batter) and cookie monster (blue vanilla ice cream with oreos, chocolate chip cookies and vanilla wafers). I also recently tried Stew Brew (coffee ice cream with caramel and oreos) and Tom Foolery (chocolate cake batter ice cream with brownies and chocolate cake piece). Both were SO GOOD!
Worthy + Badass
I looove this shop for minimalist designs with a great message: you are worthy + badass. It’s hard not to buy everything Justine makes, but I really love my worthy + badass necklace. I get an instant confident boost when I put it on!

Popbar CLT
Popbar is a national chain of shops that offer gelato on a stick, and our Charlotte location is black-owned. The first location is in NoDa but there’s a shop going into Camp Northend as well. The NoDa location is in a purple brick building, perfect to snap cute pics for the ‘gram. I got hazelnut gelato half-dipped in white chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and was not disappointed!
Coordinates Coffee
I learned about this coffee truck in the Charlotte Agenda. The truck travels around CLT, so be sure to check their Instagram for this week’s schedule and location. I pre-ordered on the cloosiv app and found it so easy to use. I chose a Lavender Vanilla Latte with Almond Milk and it was delicious (bonus: if you order in the social justice pouch, it’s a double!)

I have a lot more on my list to try (like Stats, which is right down the road from my house!) but we’ve admittedly been a bit limited thanks to our rising COVID cases here in Charlotte. What else needs to go on my must-try list?