Years ago, while pursuing education and a change of environment, we met in Charlotte, fell in love, and were married within seven months. About two years in, we received an opportunity from a family friend to run a small short-order restaurant in Virginia and after desperately trying to defeat the odds of two inexperienced people running a business in their early twenties, we closed the doors. We knew that one day we would have a second chance to right all the wrong business decisions we made. Black Nile is that chance.

Six years ago, we returned to a NYC different from the Brooklyn and Bronx we’d grown up in. A city that we had left while young, confused, and ambitious now seemed unfamiliar. Buildings were taller than they’d ever been outside of Manhattan. Some people were packing up south for a new start, some people were moving in who would’ve never considered it in the past, and some people sat stagnant with little hope and even less direction. We returned motivated to make a mark in our city, our way. 

While things have changed, we know there’s still people who remember the times we fell in love with this city. Even with all the struggle and hard times, the smiles and memory of the good times provide us hope for the place we call home. Black Nile is that hope.

We’ve always been a little unconventional since we decided to do life together. Being Muslim, Black American, city kids with southern roots, and two people who found love way earlier than most see fit nowadays. We knew we had to create a safe place where unicorns can exist with the people we love, but sometimes see us as the other. 

A place to love, grow, be treated well, and experience good food that we provide using our love for each other. There are many places in this beautiful and diverse city where someone can get a drink accompanied by a basic meal surrounded with people you may never see again. 

However, there a few places where good food, great service, community, conversation, laughter with family and friends surrounded by sincere love can exist simultaneously. 

A place where lovers can gaze, siblings can  joke, fathers can bond with  their sons, and mothers can advise their daughters. Where friends link up and no matter how long it’s been, they laugh. Where two boroughs, two souls, and two hearts collide to create a jewel in the heart of Brooklyn. Black Nile is that Place.

It's both a blessing and because of you that we’re able to achieve the unimaginable, for our standards and those of similar backgrounds. 

Thank you.

Peace & Blessings, 

Mr. & Mrs. Black Nile