Why Black Businesses In SoCal’s Orange County Are Thriving As Trailblazers

Black-owned businesses are limited in Southern California’s Orange County, but growing relocation, community support, and local advocacy have helped the ones that are open thrive in recent years.Though Black residents make up only about 1.7% of Orange County’s population—roughly 54,000 people—Black representation in Irvine is small but powerful. From soul food restaurants in bustling shopping districts to the county’s sole Black-owned wine cellar, these entrepreneurs are carving out space and earning strong support from the community.Take Lynda’s African Delicacies, for example. The African restaurant in the Airport Business Center often draws long lines of locals eager to grab their orders from the city’s premier African food haven. Founded by Linda Umaru after the success of her hair braiding and beauty business, she has rapidly expanded both ventures thanks to the strong support from the Irvine community and popularity on TikTok.A Nigeria native, Umaru moved to Irvine in 2005 after marrying her husband. When they welcomed their first child, she chose to stay home rather than pay for daycare and started a hair-braiding business to support the family. As she cooked meals for her clients during appointments, she realized there was a demand for her food as well. What began in a small 1,200-square-foot salon quickly expanded — first to 3,500 square feet, and now to a 5,000-square-foot braiding salon and beauty supply store on Sky Park Circle, just steps from her restaurant.Lynda’s African Delicacies began in 2019 as a food truck, but after locals consistently flooded the window with orders, Umaru expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in November 2024. Now running a cozy eatery near her braiding salon, she’s already preparing to enlarge the space to welcome more dine-in customers.“The food is bigger than the hair salon,” Umaru tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “The traffic, you cannot just imagine, people were asking us how can you bring African food in Orange County, in Irvine. But my first thing that came to my mind is the kind of people coming to my house and when I was giving them this food, there’s not any barrier for any race that they were eating this food. And that’s how I realized, ‘Okay, this can be a business for us.’ And it’s just the crowd that they are coming here, it’s not even close to Africa. It’s just the Orange County people from different kind of race, everybody just love the food.”With both businesses thriving, Umaru is celebrating and sharing the beauty of the African diaspora in Orange County, supporting protective-style wearers and serving delicious food to a diverse community.“When you relate with the community and you offer them something of this nature, they go for it,” Umaru said. “They were able to relate with the food and the community loves it because of the kind of ingredients we are using in the food is mostly coming from Nigeria. So we cook it just like the way we cook it back in Nigeria and people love it.”The growing visibility and success of Black-owned businesses in Orange County wouldn’t be possible without the tireless, behind-the-scenes work of the Black Chamber of Orange County. For more than 40 years, the Chamber has championed businesses, education, and veterans across diverse communities, helping ensure the strong representation seen in the region’s business landscape today.“Orange County has 34 municipalities, Irvine being one of them. Before COVID, the Black Chamber Office was in Irvine,” the Chamber told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “We were located in the Orange County Workforce Solutions facility, where the county was dedicated to helping people  and businesses overcome obstacles, reach their goals, fulfill their potential and  contribute to a thriving region.”The aim is to build on the county’s progress in diversifying its business landscape and remain a reliable resource for future Black-owned ventures in Orange County.“Access to information is our motto and we are here to help all in our ethnic com munities, to improve, enhance and grow their business,” the Chamber said.Consider Georgia’s Restaurant, the only soul food restaurant at the bustling Irvine Spectrum Center. Shoppers from every background line up for its crispy fried chicken, flavorful jambalaya, hearty gumbo, and honey-buttered cornbread—comfort classics that keep guests licking their fingers. Founded by Gretchen Shoemaker, the menu honors her childhood spent cooking alongside her grandmother, crafting dishes with “the whole heart and soul,” as she describes on her website. Now with four Southern California locations, Georgia’s presence in Irvine and nearby Anaheim reflects the growing space for Black-owned businesses in Orange County—and the community support helping them thrive.Elsewhere, McClain Cellars is making history as the only Black-owned wine cellar in Orange County. Founded by Jason and Sofia McClain, the couple turned their shared passion for wine into a full-fledged emporium that celebrates community, craftsmanship, and their own love story. After two decades in the tech world, Jason felt inspired to create something more personal. In July 2016, he and Sofia set out to craft exceptional wines from California’s best soils—bottles meant to evoke real emotion. Their journey took them up and down the West Coast, scouting vineyards and selecting the perfect wines to build their signature collection and found Irvine to be the best location to house one of its four SoCal locations.“McClain Cellars chose Irvine as its headquarters because of the city’s unique business environment and community,” Jason tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “As a hub for technology and innovation, Irvine’s corporate landscape provided a perfect fit for our wine blending and team-building events. We saw an opportunity to introduce a new kind of luxury experience to the city, one that combines the craft of winemaking with the corporate culture of Southern California.”From their award-winning wines to premiere wine tasting room and unique wine blending experience that gives patrons the chance to be a winemaker for a day, McClain Cellars has built a sustainable business in a city not known for its Black representation while showing the success that comes when given space for ownership.As the only Black-owned wine cellar in Orange County, McClain Cellars could have faced resistance, but Jason says the local community has been nothing but “welcoming and supportive.”“People have embraced the concept of having a winery tasting room and event space right here in Irvine,” he said. “The feedback on our award-winning wines, our customer service, and the overall atmosphere has been overwhelmingly positive, which has been crucial to our success.”Now they’re proudly building bridges and bringing Black excellence to the OC. Beyond being the county’s only Black-owned wine cellar, McClain Cellars also expands its cultural impact through its “Black Heroes Collection,” a wine series honoring African American icons such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, the Tuskegee Airmen, and Marian Anderson, among others.“This has been a powerful way to share important stories and history with the Irvine community,” Jason said.The McClains’ success highlights the growing opportunities for diverse business owners in Orange County, where an increasingly inclusive approach is helping local entrepreneurs introduce new concepts that bring the community together.“Our thriving business demonstrates that Irvine’s community is open to new ideas and is actively seeking to support diverse businesses,” Jason said. “It shows that when you provide an excellent product and a truly welcoming experience, people will respond with open arms, regardless of the business owners’ background. This support has been crucial and truly highlights Irvine’s commitment to creating a vibrant and inclusive city.”RELATED CONTENT: Black Business Hub In Wisconsin Nurtures Black Entrepreneurship



Source link