Black-Owned Chicago Soul Food Restaurant Experiences Spike In Sales Thanks To Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter Tour’
Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” proved to be good business for Chicago, IL, locals.
The entertainer who won Best Country Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards for “Cowboy Carter” is currently touring its tunes with a stop in the Windy City. According to USA Today, the three planned concerts took place on May 15–18 at Soldier Field.
The tour brought great momentum for the city and was beneficial to several Black-owned businesses, including Bronzeville Soul. The restaurant first benefited from the Carter family in 2023. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Hip-Hop mogul Jay-Z had been in the area to celebrate his wife Beyoncé’s second night of her “Renaissance World Tour,” which was also held at Soldier Field.
The soul food restaurant had been “up and down” for nearly a year before Jay-Z’s visit, but it was able to gain new momentum afterward.
“The element of that surprise was huge. It was overwhelming,” Bronzeville Soul Co-Owner Mario Coleman said, according to The TRiiBE. “It propelled the restaurant to a different height. Gave us a lot of momentum. It gave us a lot of [growth]. It made us grow a lot. Faster than we had known that we could. The magnitude of him just popping up was huge. I don’t even think you can get that again. In comparison, it would have to be something so phenomenal that it doesn’t make sense.”
Fast forward to 2025, and the Bronzeville Soul restaurant is gaining traction yet again. To commemorate the “Cowboy Carter Tour,” it added special menu items including a catfish fillet that could be paired with two sides and a cornbread muffin. Customers dressed in cowboy attire also received complimentary house tea. The restaurant additionally ran a special on the beef short ribs and pound cake combo Jay-Z ordered during his visit. It has since been named after him, per the outlet.
In total, the restaurant catfish sales increased by 75%, and its short ribs sales soared by 40% during the “Cowboy Carter Tour” stop in Chicago, notes Bronzeville Soul Co-Owner Angie Price.
“We do appreciate what’s been done for us. Through Jay-Z even coming to the restaurant, we 100% appreciate it, and anytime we get to show our gratitude, I think you’ll find us doing that,” Coleman expressed, according to The TRiiBE. “We never really had a chance to tell either one of them thank you, but hopefully they understand.”
