Indigestion or Thriving Metabolism? People of Color-owned Restaurants Digesting Sustainability

This study explores people of color-owned (POC) restaurants under the governance of Washington, DC (DC) who provide community programming. Since 2009 ‘sustainable’ legislative changes have affecting DC’s food industry, causing a change in operational costs and allowable materials to serve food. DC government’s acknowledgment of racial has informed its urban plan: racial equity is embedded throughout the approach to further develop the city. With documented barriers to success experienced by racial minority business owners and the potential for upcoming legislation to place additional constraints on restaurants, it warrants investigation to see what POC owners are doing in community programming and their experiences concerning recent urban policy which has affected DC’s food industry. A pragmatist approach complemented with Nadler & Tushman’s theory of organizational behavior and McMichael’s theory of contested development informed a content analysis and a case study design; the latter which employed observations and semi-structured interviews to gain insight on participants’ experiences. 19 POC-owned restaurants fit the study’s criteria: 12 displayed community programming within the scope of DC’s sustainability plan; 17 displayed community programming outside of the scope. The case study demonstrates the significance of businesses ownership of POC in DC, reflected contested development theory, and offered insights on how DC’s urban plan is understood by the staff of one restaurant. This work may inform practice to analyze the effects of environmental-focused policy on POC and equity goals, particularly within DC. Recommendations for future research, theory, and practice within equitable urban planning are included.