A Final Nail in the Coffin: The Destruction of Houston’s Minority-Owned Restaurants Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the health of small, minority-owned businesses in the United States. However, in the incredibly diverse city of Houston, Texas, the combination of decades-long and ongoing gentrification processes and, more significantly, the recent effects of the pandemic have left Black, Asian, and Latinx restaurant owners in a state of economic disarray - Houston’s minority-owned small business sector has been bleeding for years and is now on the verge of collapse. The accelerated introduction of large corporate firms in Houston over the past several decades, such as Starbucks, KFC, and Chick-fil-A, has consistently threatened traditionally “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants by boasting unmatchable low prices and efficient service - leaving smaller, minority-owned firms in a massive competitive slump. Coupled with the latter, the COVID-19 pandemic has now proved to be the fatal blow in the heart of Houston’s minority entrepreneurs, with over 90% of Houston’s small businesses reporting record low revenues in 2021.
To understand the recent dwindling of Houston’s minority-owned restaurant population following the COVID-19 pandemic, minority restaurant owners in the Houston area were interviewed to gain insight into the various lockdown-related grievances, issues, and plans of action small entrepreneurs support in the hopes of revitalizing their firms. Utilizing this information, proposals that seek to expedite the recovery of and protect minority-owned small businesses can be devised. Subsequently, Houston’s historically and culturally significant stores and shops can be effectively safeguarded to ensure that Space City remains the bustling, lively metropolis it has been for years.