INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — More than 24 local businesses earned their XBE certifications as part of the 24 In 24 All-Star Initiative.

“Certification is an important way to expand business opportunities and ultimately scale and grow revenue,” explained organizers in a news release.

Derrick and Taria Slack own Black Leaf Vegan in Indianapolis. They participated in the free certification process.

“They picked three of the 24 to get $10,000 each to work on their branding, and we were one of the ones,” Derrick said. “It feels great because our hard work is coming to fruition, and our mission is solid: to help people live healthier wealthier lives.”

“From the outset, our goal has been to leverage NBA All-Star 2024 to generate measurable impact for our local business community and have an impact that will be felt long after this event has gone,” said Tracy Ellis-Ward, NBA Host Committee XBE staff lead and senior vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at PS&E. “We are proud of these exceptional businesses and the important steps they have taken through this process, and we are thrilled to have been able to provide them the support necessary to continue to thrive.”

The Slacks have been in business for about four years. Black Leaf Vegan began as a popup and then operated inside a food truck. Now, they own a cafe at 335 West 9th Street.

“We’re now a certified national women-owned business, a Black-owned business, and a family-owned business. It feels great because our hard work is coming to fruition, and our mission is solid: to help people live healthier, wealthier lives. And we’re doing that and getting that message out there and getting partnerships along the way to help us out with that,” Derrick said.

On Sunday, Black Leaf Vegan will be operating from the food hall at Rock Bottom, located at 10 W. Washington Street. Owners teamed up with GangGang to offer a special menu.

“Today, we’re starting our NBA All-Star menu. It’s going to be a taco sloppy joe. On the very top of the bun is going to be guacamole, fresh red onions, salsa taco, and some cheese, of course,” Taria said.

Derrick explained, “We’ve been able to extract all the harmful things, take those things out, but still keep the flavor in. You should be vegan because it’s just food. It just so happens that it doesn’t have any of those harmful things, as well as no animal products or animal byproducts. So, it’s overall great for our environment, our world, and our health.”