Restaurant at Black Business Hub getting recognition during Madison Black Restaurant Week | Top Stories

MADISON (WKOW) — Madison Black Restaurant Week is underway and one business participating is hoping to gain visibility and expand their customer base. 

DeVine Wilson is the proud owner of DeVine’s Grilling, located at the Black Business Hub in Madison. 

“My oxtail is out trumping my rib tips, my turkey tips, and my jerk chicken,” Wilson said. 

He started his business in 2019 as a food truck and recently moved into a small nook inside the Hub in June, next to two other restaurants.

There’s a big chance those eating at DeVine’s Grilling will not leave without trying some sort of barbecue. 

“We got barbecue pulled pork, brisket, alligator,” Wilson said “[Alligator] is a special from here and there.” 

This is the first year he is participating in Madison’s Black Restaurant Week and he is already seeing a difference in clientele.

He hopes the week-long celebration will help boost visibility to old and new customers. 

“When I transferred over into The Hub, and also watching the Black Chambers and Black Restaurant Week, I seen that they had just been elevating on a higher level, up and up and up. So it was a no brainer just to join with them,” Wilson said. 

DeVine’s Grilling is one of a few restaurants inside the Black Business Hub. 

Right now, there’s no signage outside the building about his business, but he’s hoping to change that soon.

He’s hoping to buy signs and banners to bring people into the building because he wants them to know that The Hub offers more than just resources for starting entrepreneurs. 

“When people come in, they assume that this is one unit. So we have to explain to them like, ‘No, this is three different entities (restaurants).'”

Madison Black Restaurant Week runs until Sunday (Aug. 17). More than 30 restaurants are participating.

Wilson hopes that in the future he can run his restaurant and food truck at the same time.