Black Companies In Orange County Are Thriving As Pioneers

[ad_1] by Jeroslyn JoVonn December 6, 2025

With sturdy help from the group, the small variety of Black-owned companies in Orange County are thriving as pioneers.

Black-owned companies are restricted in Southern California’s Orange County, however rising relocation, group help, and native advocacy have helped those which might be open thrive lately.

Although Black residents make up solely about 1.7% of Orange County’s inhabitants—roughly 54,000 individuals—Black illustration in Irvine is small however highly effective. From soul meals eating places in bustling procuring districts to the county’s sole Black-owned wine cellar, these entrepreneurs are carving out area and incomes sturdy help from the group.

Take Lynda’s African Delicacies, for instance. The African restaurant within the Airport Enterprise Middle usually attracts lengthy strains of locals wanting to seize their orders from town’s premier African meals haven. Based by Linda Umaru after the success of her hair braiding and wonder enterprise, she has quickly expanded each ventures because of the sturdy help from the Irvine group and recognition on TikTok.

@pocketfulofpasta GO SUPPORT! @Lyndas African Delicacies 📍 17951 Sky Park Cir, 35 J, Irvine, CA 92614 We give every little thing a ten/10 😋😋😋 @Fran.s816 #irvinefoodies #fufu #fufucravings #ocfoodie #fufuandsoup #africandelicacy #nigeriantiktok #foodreview #fyp ♬ Strolling Round – Instrumental Model – Eldar Kedem

A Nigeria native, Umaru moved to Irvine in 2005 after marrying her husband. After they welcomed their first youngster, she selected to remain dwelling quite than pay for daycare and began a hair-braiding enterprise to help the household. As she cooked meals for her purchasers throughout appointments, she realized there was a requirement for her meals as effectively. What started in a small 1,200-square-foot salon shortly expanded — first to three,500 sq. ft, and now to a 5,000-square-foot braiding salon and wonder provide retailer on Sky Park Circle, simply steps from her restaurant.

Lynda’s African Delicacies started in 2019 as a meals truck, however after locals persistently flooded the window with orders, Umaru expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in November 2024. Now working a comfy eatery close to her braiding salon, she’s already getting ready to enlarge the area to welcome extra dine-in prospects.

“The meals is greater than the hair salon,” Umaru tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “The visitors, you can't simply think about, individuals have been asking us how are you going to carry African meals in Orange County, in Irvine. However my very first thing that got here to my thoughts is the type of individuals coming to my home and once I was giving them this meals, there’s not any barrier for any race that they have been consuming this meals. And that’s how I spotted, ‘Okay, this generally is a enterprise for us.’ And it’s simply the group that they're coming right here, it’s not even near Africa. It’s simply the Orange County individuals from totally different type of race, everyone simply love the meals.”

With each companies thriving, Umaru is celebrating and sharing the great thing about the African diaspora in Orange County, supporting protective-style wearers and serving scrumptious meals to a various group.

“Once you relate with the group and also you supply them one thing of this nature, they go for it,” Umaru stated. “They have been in a position to relate with the meals and the group loves it due to the type of substances we're utilizing within the meals is usually coming from Nigeria. So we cook dinner it identical to the way in which we cook dinner it again in Nigeria and other people find it irresistible.”

@ocfeed @lyndasafricandelicacies – 17951 sky park circle bldg 35 suite J, Irvine, California 92614 Genuine African delicacies – proper right here in Irvine!! It is a distinctive spot – we solely have a couple of African eateries in OC and Lynda’s is tremendous legit. Lynda’s started in a house kitchen, then become a meals truck, and now operates as a brick and mortar in somewhat meals middle in an workplace park in Irvine. The menu is easy, they usually have all of the classics. Don't go away with out fufu, it’s type of the automobile with which you really eat the remainder of the meals, sometimes produced from cassava. It’s starchy, doughy, and never meant to hold a lot taste – as a result of the remainder of the meals packs that punch. They've a number of veggie choices, you after all should get plantains. Get your self some oxtail, it’s good and tender. A standard order for anybody making an attempt it out for the primary time appears to be oxtail fufu and egusi. It’s stuffed with spices and flavored proper, with a deep and wealthy earthy hearty style that I’m gonna wager you have not encountered earlier than. Jollof fried rice can also be a should. After which there’s their purple sauce they’re placing on every little thing. Give me a bottle of that to take round with me wherever I am going. SO good. Have you ever tried African meals earlier than? . . #african #africanfood #irvine #orangecounty ♬ unique sound – Ocfeed

The rising visibility and success of Black-owned companies in Orange County wouldn’t be doable with out the tireless, behind-the-scenes work of the Black Chamber of Orange County. For greater than 40 years, the Chamber has championed companies, training, and veterans throughout various communities, serving to make sure the sturdy illustration seen within the area’s enterprise panorama at present.

“Orange County has 34 municipalities, Irvine being one in all them. Earlier than COVID, the Black Chamber Workplace was in Irvine,” the Chamber informed BLACK ENTERPRISE. “We have been situated within the Orange County Workforce Options facility, the place the county was devoted to serving to individuals and companies overcome obstacles, attain their targets, fulfill their potential and contribute to a thriving area.”

The purpose is to construct on the county’s progress in diversifying its enterprise panorama and stay a dependable useful resource for future Black-owned ventures in Orange County.

“Entry to data is our motto and we're right here to assist all in our ethnic com munities, to enhance, improve and develop their enterprise,” the Chamber stated.

Contemplate Georgia’s Restaurant, the one soul meals restaurant on the bustling Irvine Spectrum Middle. Customers from each background line up for its crispy fried hen, flavorful jambalaya, hearty gumbo, and honey-buttered cornbread—consolation classics that hold visitors licking their fingers. Based by Gretchen Shoemaker, the menu honors her childhood spent cooking alongside her grandmother, crafting dishes with “the entire coronary heart and soul,” as she describes on her web site. Now with 4 Southern California areas, Georgia’s presence in Irvine and close by Anaheim displays the rising area for Black-owned companies in Orange County—and the group help serving to them thrive.

@theladyerika First time making an attempt Georgia’s soul meals restaurant and the meals didn't disappoint ! #irvinespectrum #georgias #georgiassoulfood @irvinespectrumcenter @Georgia’s Restaurant ♬ Doo Wop (That Factor) (Instrumental) – Lauryn Hill

Elsewhere, McClain Cellars is making historical past as the one Black-owned wine cellar in Orange County. Based by Jason and Sofia McClain, the couple turned their shared ardour for wine right into a full-fledged emporium that celebrates group, craftsmanship, and their very own love story. After 20 years within the tech world, Jason felt impressed to create one thing extra private. In July 2016, he and Sofia got down to craft distinctive wines from California’s greatest soils—bottles meant to evoke actual emotion. Their journey took them up and down the West Coast, scouting vineyards and choosing the right wines to construct their signature assortment and located Irvine to be one of the best location to deal with one in all its 4 SoCal areas.

“McClain Cellars selected Irvine as its headquarters due to town’s distinctive enterprise setting and group,” Jason tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “As a hub for know-how and innovation, Irvine’s company panorama supplied an ideal match for our wine mixing and team-building occasions. We noticed a chance to introduce a brand new type of luxurious expertise to town, one that mixes the craft of winemaking with the company tradition of Southern California.”

From their award-winning wines to premiere wine tasting room and distinctive wine mixing expertise that provides patrons the prospect to be a winemaker for a day, McClain Cellars has constructed a sustainable enterprise in a metropolis not recognized for its Black illustration whereas displaying the success that comes when given area for possession.

As the one Black-owned wine cellar in Orange County, McClain Cellars might have confronted resistance, however Jason says the area people has been nothing however “welcoming and supportive.”

“Folks have embraced the idea of getting a vineyard tasting room and occasion area proper right here in Irvine,” he stated. “The suggestions on our award-winning wines, our customer support, and the general ambiance has been overwhelmingly constructive, which has been essential to our success.”

Now they’re proudly constructing bridges and bringing Black excellence to the OC. Past being the county’s solely Black-owned wine cellar, McClain Cellars additionally expands its cultural influence by means of its “Black Heroes Assortment,” a wine collection honoring African American icons reminiscent of Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, the Tuskegee Airmen, and Marian Anderson, amongst others.

“This has been a robust option to share vital tales and historical past with the Irvine group,” Jason stated.

The McClains’ success highlights the rising alternatives for various enterprise homeowners in Orange County, the place an more and more inclusive method helps native entrepreneurs introduce new ideas that carry the group collectively.

“Our thriving enterprise demonstrates that Irvine’s group is open to new concepts and is actively looking for to help various companies,” Jason stated. “It exhibits that once you present a wonderful product and a really welcoming expertise, individuals will reply with open arms, whatever the enterprise homeowners’ background. This help has been essential and really highlights Irvine’s dedication to making a vibrant and inclusive metropolis.”