PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — August is Black Business Month and from farm to table, Honeysuckle Provisions in West Philadelphia is about making a difference in their neighborhood.
Chefs and owners, Cybille St.Aude-Tate and Omar Tate’s love for each other was the beginning of a shared journey to introduce their passion for food and their culture to others.
“It’s corny but it was love at first sight,” said St.Aude-Tate. “By June we were engaged. By August we were married and by September we were working on opening Honeysuckle Provisions.”
Honeysuckle Provisions is an Afrocentric Grocery Cafe that offers a farm-to-table spread of breakfast, lunch and catering. They are also starting to serve dinner. Their food tells a story of Black excellence in cuisine.
“We are really keen on making sure that folks not only understand Black foodways and the African diaspora, but they also understand how connected we all are through this food system,” said St.Aude-Tate.
Honeysuckle Provisions staff is more like a family. Every dish they serve is an explosion of flavor. They are fueled by a conviction that chefs have a social responsibility beyond the kitchen.
“Having a store like ours so enriched in community, in culture, in history open and available to share that food with folks is super important and I think at the very least it allows people that look like us to take care of themselves simply by caring about what they put in their body,” said St.Aude-Tate.
“We do more than just food and so like as a cultural marker, cultural representation of what this store is, it is reflective of not just what we eat but who we are and it helps expound the idea what community can look like and who are the humans behind the space,” said Tate.
It is that conviction they believe transforms the community.
“It just allows customers, neighbors of all different ethnicities and backgrounds to come in and just enjoy us and everything we offer,” said St.Aude-Tate.
