Five Cool Black Businesses to Patronize on Your Way to Wakanda

It is clear that Marvel Studio’s Black Panther movie has become a global juggernaut of sorts in the box office. The film, directed by 31-year-old Ryan Coogler has hauled in about $242 million domestically according to Vanity Fair. It has also become a movement, so much so that the world’s busiest airport is hopping the hype train.

On Monday evening, the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport sent out a tweet to its 64,000-plus followers, offering an opportunity to fly direct to the fictional nation of Wakanda.

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While Wakanda may not be a real place or destination, there are numerous black-owned businesses that you can actually patronize en route to, and at, the Atlanta International Airport.

Book a travel experience to Africa with Travel Noire:

Since you really can’t visit Wakanda (sorry to burst your bubble), you can still visit other beautiful parts of Africa. Where best to find a destination and experience specifically designed for you than on Travel Noire? Founded by Zim Ugochukwu in 2014, the website offers traveling tips and guidance for black millennials. Basically, it is a go-to website for black travelers in search of ideas regarding where to go and where to stay.

Hitch a ride with Moovn:

We wouldn’t let you walk to the airport, of course. So, download the Moovn app—an Uber and Lyft alternative—created by Godwin Gabriel. The app launched in 2015 in Seattle but also operates in eight other U.S. cities, including Atlanta. It is also available in parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Grab a bite at Ludacris’ Chicken + Beer spot:

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The “flight” to Wakanda from the Atlanta airport is at Gate T3 but arrive in time, get checked in, and take a stroll through the airport to Gate D5 where you will find the Chicken + Beer soul food eatery owned by rapper Ludacris right there in Concourse D.

Or go for dinner at TGI Fridays:

Really, you can’t go wrong with TGI Fridays. Plus, all the chain’s locations in the airport are owned by Jackmont Hospitality, a company co-founded by African American entrepreneur Brooke Jackson Edmond. Started in 1994 by Brooke Jackson Edmond, Daniel Halpern, and Edmond’s father, the late Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson Jr., Jackmont’s core competency is food service, with $63 million in managed volume.

And while you’re at all these, you can walk around the airport beaming with pride knowing fully well that it wouldn’t be what it is today without the work of  H.J. Russell, a black-owned construction firm.