Black and Mobile, a Philadelphia-based food delivery app that specifically delivers meals from Black-owned restaurants, is expanding its reach.
Twin brothers David and Aaron Cabello said they were inspired to launch the app following the 2016 election of Donald Trump as President. At the time, they started working for popular delivery service apps like Uber Eats, Caviar, and PostMates, bringing in about $1,100 in a typical week.
They realized there weren’t any apps dedicated to Black-owned restaurants, and wanted to do something about it.
“At that point, I said if I can make this much money delivering food on a bicycle, how much can I make if I actually own the company,” David said in an interview.
Within the first five months of business, he’d earned a few thousand dollars. But after being struck by a car while making a delivery, David was forced to rethink. He hired a Black-owned tech company to develop the app, and started a Kickstarter fundraiser which helped gain social media attention and more orders.
Within the first year, the business made $25,000 in gross sales.
Now, the twins, aged 25, are taking their business to the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan. In an interview with Detroit Free Press, the brothers said they set out for Detroit because of its large Black population and their distant relation to the late Honorable Elijah Muhammed of the Nation of Islam which was founded in the city.
Some Black-owned restaurants in the city were forced to close due to the pandemic, but the brothers built a network of over 12 Black-owned restaurants across Detroit. The app is currently available in Baltimore, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.
A post to Twitter announced additional expansion to Houston in 2021.
The overwhelming shift towards supporting Black-owned businesses following the death of George Floyd along with the pandemic’s demand in contactless deliveries led to a surge in demand for restaurants’ ability to deliver meals.
In 2020, Black and Mobile earned half a million dollars in sales. Of the increased demand, David said, “I don’t want a Black man to have to get killed for people to support Black businesses.”
They have plans to stimulate the economy within Black communities, offering employment to those who drive for their app.
“It doesn’t matter what color you are. If you want to support Black businesses and get some food, that’s all that matters...If you want to support Black businesses and Black people, this is a simple way to do it.”
Photo: Getty Images