EAST ORANGE, NJ — A renaissance of Black-owned restaurants continues to blossom in East Orange.
On Tuesday, the city welcomed yet another culinary success story to its borders, hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony for Gaby To Go at 305 Park Avenue.
According to city officials, the Black-owned business has an inspiring origin:
“Guerline Gabriel and her husband Pierre came to the U.S. in 2003 and settled in Essex County to raise their family of four children. Known for her love of cooking, Guerline chose East Orange to establish her business due to the Haitian population base and the opportunity to share the cuisine with the larger community.”
Specialties on the menu include grilled fish, fried port and fresh vegetables such as spinach, okra and eggplant.
Gaby To Go is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. For more information, call 862-215-9118.
Gaby To Go isn’t the only restaurant that has created smiles with a grand opening in East Orange this year, however.
In March, local and Black-owned Tasha’s Caribbean and Soul Food opened to a resounding round of applause from community members. The “farm to table” restaurant at 405 Dodd Street offers a delicious culinary fusion of its owners’ Caribbean and Southern heritage.
Specialties include oxtails, curry chicken, roti, collard greens, yams, cornbread and fresh seafood platters cooked to order.
In recent years, East Orange has also seen other celebrated restaurants launch in the city, such as the family-owned A Taste Of Royalty at 8 Oak Street, which opened in 2019.
Another local Black-owned business, Strictly Bagels and Things, opened in 2019 at 393 Main Street. It offers a unique mix of breakfast, burgers, fish boats and subs … all on bagels.
Also that year, Urban Taste opened at 495 Central Avenue. Owned by Genavee Winfrey, Nate Barnes and Matthew Meade, the restaurant boasts a Caribbean and soul food menu with an array of sliders, wings and seafood.
Urban Taste also supports local artists and hosts socially conscious events, such as its Sunday “Brunch with a Purpose,” whose partial proceeds support various causes throughout the area.
And in 2018, another inspiring business opening took place when Roger Miller – the personal chef of singer Lauryn Hill – opened a family restaurant with his wife, Andrea Tucker-Miller, at 442 Main Street.
Miller, who emigrated to New York at the age of 17 from Guyana, said Spice N Thing, which features mouthwatering Caribbean cuisine, will allow him to pursue his dream of combining “community and amazing food.”
