Black Wall Street Renaissance

Hey Vocal readers! We meet again. Please enjoy this awesome interview with Kris Murray of ELife Restaurant speaking about the upcoming Black Wall Street Renaissance.

Tammy Reese:

Tell me about yourself and and your family.

Kris Murray:

I am Kris Murray, a media and marketing consultant and entrepreneur that is blessed to be a part of an amazing family of community-hearted, business-minded, activists, educators and encouragers. We own and run a plant based soul food restaurant in the Washington, DC metro area, which serves as the base of our many community uplifting efforts including health literacy education, cultural advocacy, business support and other family resources.

Tammy Reese:

Tell me about the business.

Kris Murray:

Everlasting Life Restaurant is not just another vegan restaurant, it is a place of peace, hope and inspiration in the midst of a community plagued with an astounding number sick and obese residents who have been drowning in a sea of poor dietary habits for decades. Located in a strip mall just minutes away from the nation’s capital, the establishment is surrounded by fast food restaurants with no source of fresh, healthy food for miles. “I see a community that was left without, underserved, ”says Everlasting Life’s founder, Dr. Baruch. “ It is gross what is being done to our people. But rather than curse the darkness, I made it a mission of Everlasting Life to shine that light.”

Tammy Reese:

What inspired your family to become entrepreneurs?

Kris Murray:

Dr. Baruch Ben-Yehudah (known as Dr. Baruch), who has been vegan since 1978, founded Everlasting Life with the idea that one should not have to leave one’s own neighborhood to find something healthy to eat. He looked around and realized there were only unhealthy restaurants serving his largely African American community. His observation is based on an awareness that stemmed from an experience he had 24 years ago. While setting up speakers at a food conference, he heard one of the speakers practicing her speech in which she said, "If you can control a man’s food, you can control a man." A statement that triggered both his heart and his business mind and led him to asking the very important question: "Who is controlling my food?"

That was the impetus for his first business, a food co-op in the garage of his Temple Hills home in the early 90s. He later opened a restaurant on Georgia Avenue in Washington, DC, Everlasting Life Café and in 2001 he opened Everlasting Life Restaurant and Lounge in Capitol Heights, MD. Everlasting Life is now scheduled to open a new location December 2018 in Anacostia. Anacostia particularly special in offering Dr. Baruch a homecoming, given his Southeast DC roots.

“Our food is our medicine,” Ben-Yehudah says. “We call Everlasting Life a hospi-rant," a hospital restaurant.

Everlasting Life, now Elife Restaurant, is a cafeteria-style restaurant offering fresh salads, whole plant-based entrees and side dishes, vegan desserts, juices and smoothies. We have 3 locations: Capitol Heights, Takoma Park and Anacostia. (DC Metro Area)

Tammy Reese:

Tell me about the event?

Kris Murray:

The Black Wall Street Renaissance is Prince George’s County Maryland’s largest and longest running pop up shopping bazaar that celebrates Black owned businesses! Prince George’s County is the home of several of the wealthiest African American communities in the country. It is therefore, the perfect place to continue to display economic excellence and provide an opportunity for financial support of Black entrepreneurship, for community support endeavors and for recirculating resources within the African American Community.

The event aims to extend an economic opportunity that allows our fellow community members to share in the success that Everlasting Life Restaurant (ELife), host of the event, is thankful to have. Although supporting independent vendors and businesses has been a highlight of ELife community support efforts since the beginning, the Black Wall Street Renaissance was formally established in December of 2016 and we have continued to develop and improve the experience for vendors and shoppers since it’s initiation.

The event happens every first Saturday at ELife Capitol Heights. We’re holding a special version of the event in August, which is also National Black Business Month, that extends the event through August 8th. We have also implemented a virtual Marketplace so that vendors outside of our local region (and those who prefer to stay home due to the current pandemic) are able to participate. Attendees are invited to shop both locally and virtually to show their support for the vendors and the movement to increase wealth in the Black community.

Tammy Reese:

What impact will the event make on your community?

Kris Murray:

Our goal is very simple. It is to encourage and inspire our brothers and sisters to look within themselves for the answer to our community’s problems, first; And second to organizations like ours which was built specifically to help establish and maintain a flourishing community. We aim to gain the trust and support of the participants and invite them to link arms with us as we move to intentionally provide a better future for generations to come.

Tammy Reese:

How can someone contact you?

Kris Murray:

Visit our website ELifeRestaurant.com to learn more about our 100% Plant-Based Soul Food, Our Founder and History and the Black Wall Street Renaissance.

Tammy Reese:

Please tell me anything else you would like our readers to know.

Kris Murray:

Thank you so much for this opportunity to share and reach your audience. We hope that you find the information valuable and the offerings a great resource to help you all reach your financial goals!