Black and Mobile, a Philadelphia-based food service app dedicated to delivering meals from Black-owned restaurants to its customers, are now expanding.
Launched in 2019, twin brothers David and Aaron Cabello were inspired to start their own business after Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election. Around that same time, they began working for delivery app services including PostMates, Uber Eats, and Caviar, earning $1,100 in one 30-hour week.
After discovering no Black-owned food delivery apps existed, David decided to start a business that would exclusively support Black-owned restaurants.
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“At that point, I said if I can make this much money delivering food on a bicycle, how much can I make if I actually own the company?” he said.
After earning a few thousand dollars within the first five months of business, David was hit by a car and was forced to regroup. Hiring a Black-owned tech company to develop the app, David also launched a Kickstarter fundraiser that garnered attention on social media and led to orders.
The business grossed $25,000 in sales within the first year.
In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, the Cabello twins – now 25 – chose Detroit to expand to due to the large Black population and their distant relation to the late Honorable Elijah Muhammad of the Nation of Islam – which started in the city.
Due to some Detroit based restaurants officially closing due to the pandemic, the twins had to rebuild their roster and currently offers delivery for more than a dozen Black-owned restaurants in the city.
The twins took to Twitter to announce their plans to expand in Houston for 2021. Black and Mobile is currently available in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Atlanta.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge in restaurant deliveries, and police brutality protests following George Floyd‘s death sparked a renewed interest in the public supporting Black-owned businesses.
Black and Mobile has earned half a million dollars in sales in 2020 alone.
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“I don’t want a Black man to have to get killed for people to support Black businesses,” David said of the surge.
He stressed that they intend to circulate money within the Black community and offer employment for those who drive for the service.
“It doesn’t matter what color you are. If you want to support Black businesses and get some food, that’s all that matters. We don’t promote anything about hating anyone or not hiring anyone,” David explained. “We don’t ask what color you are when you apply for a job with us. If you want to support Black businesses and Black people, this is a simple way to do it.”
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