NAACP Arlington Branch
Economic Development & Labor Committee
Small Business Spotlight
NAACP Arlington Branch is highlighting Arlington businesses owned or founded by people of color. Business owners can contact the Economic Development & Labor Committee to ask to be featured, or you can nominate your favorite Arlington business to suggest them for the spotlight.
BBQ At It’s Best
3800 S Four Mile Run Drive
Arlington, VA 22206
Local food truck serving home smoked and prepared barbecue and sides, including ribs, brisket, chicken and sausage. When not traveling to catering events, it can be found Saturdays and Sundays on Four Mile Run Drive.
Antone Jacobs is a lifelong resident of the Green Valley neighborhood where he now operates his business. He attributes his success to the care that he takes preparing his food, strong community support, and popularity among local residents and passerbys.
Black Heritage Museum of Arlington
3045 B Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204
The Black Heritage Museum of Arlington was founded in 1998 and celebrates the African American Journey to Freedom, providing a focal point exhibit on Arlington’s Freedman’s Village and contributions made by its residents and their descendants to local and national history.
Scott Taylor, the President of the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington since 2016, was born and raised in the Halls Hill neighborhood of Arlington.
Burrito Bro's
2599 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA 22204 &
7175 Lee Hwy, Falls Church, VA 22046
Burrito Bro's is a Tex-Mex family-owned restaurant by brothers Richard Arnez and Roger Coronel. The unconventional stand-alone red trailer has been a Columbia Pike favorite for the past 12 years. Since rebranding in 2017, Burrito Bro's has added a new variety of options to its menu including tacos, quesadillas, and vegetarian options and, of course, burritos! As of September 3, 2022 Burrito Bro’s has opened a brand new location in Falls Church at 7175 Lee Hwy.
Café Sazón
4704 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204
Basic, relaxed outpost offering South & Central American staples such as meats, rice and beans.
Claudia Salazar has operated and owned Cafe Sazon since 2011, offering at first just coffee and pastries, eventually expanding the menu to include South & Central American cuisine.
Dama Restaurant and Dama Pastry & Cafe
1505 Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA 22204
Dama is a well-known family owned and operated Ethiopian bakery and restaurant located in Arlington since 1999. Dama offers baked goods and Ethiopian and American cuisine at its location on Columbia Pike.
Founders Kelem, Almaz and Hailu Dama, and Amsale Saife-Selassie have over 20 years experience in the restaurant industry in the Washington DC area and have received high praise from their patrons throughout the years for their excellent food, including wide variety of pastries, provided in a friendly, casual atmosphere.
HMA Associates
1655 Fort Meyer Drive, Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22209
HMA Associates is a minority-owned, full-service communications and marketing firm in the DC metro area that develops culturally responsive and impactful solutions.
President and CEO Carlos Velázquez has over 20 years of leadership experience as a communications professional. His experience includes results-driven work within private, government and nonprofit sectors supporting the development of public information campaigns. His expertise in the execution of communications strategies as a vehicle for shifting public narratives about health equity makes him an innovative and dynamic thought leader in the cultural marketing field.
Idido Coffee and Social House
1107 South Walter Reed Drive
Arlington VA 22204
Idido is a popular neighborhood coffee house just south of Columbia Pike. Its mission is to consistently provide quality coffee, pastries, and healthy light meals with excellent, always friendly customer service. Offerings include a variety of coffee and other drinks, paired with both sweet and savory baked items.
Sofonias Gebretsadick is the manager and business partner at Idido. He has worked in the coffee shop and service industry in the DC area for over 10 years.
Mike Garcia, State Farm Insurance
927 South Walter Reed Drive, Suite 8
Arlington, VA 22204
Buckle up with State Farm, and get auto insurance in Arlington, VA that fits your needs. You’ve got plenty of options — from collision and comprehensive to rental and rideshare.
Mike Garcia, better known as Mike on the Pike, has been a State Farm Agent since 1987. He is a member and past Director of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. He holds a BFA from Catholic University and is a lifelong Arlington resident.
NOVA Optique + Eyecare
672 N. Glebe Road
Arlington, VA 22203
NOVA Optique + Eyecare in Ballston combines medical support and fashion to meet all customers' eye care needs. Services include comprehensive eye exams, specialty contact lens exams, dry eye treatment, diabetic eye exams, glaucoma treatment, macular degeneration testing, ocular emergency care, and LASIK and cataract co-management. With the latest medical technology and a commitment to individualized customer service, the team at NOVA Optique + Eyecare delivers results to improve vision health for every patient. After examinations, check out their unique selection of independent frame lines.
Dr. Sara Varghai founded and leads NOVA Optique + Eyecare. She's committed to helping her patients see and feel their best by providing thorough eye exams, and making sure each patient is educated on the health of their eyes including how to best prevent ocular diseases. As a female founder, Dr. Varghai is passionate about equal pay in medical practice.
The Resource Key
Arlington, VA
The Resource Key™ promotes inclusion and accessibility in marketing to ensure people with disabilities and older people are included. We work with companies across different industries with a focus on technology and emerging innovations that enable people with disabilities and older people to be included. The Resource Key's inclusive impact branding model moves brands forward by reimagining innovation and impact in internal and external marketing strategies to connect by leveraging recruitment strategies, partnerships, and digital content in new ways.
Jourdan Saunders MS, CCC-SLP has been a Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) for over 11 years using her expertise as the CEO of The Resource Key, designed to help brands build inclusion and accessibility into internal and external marketing strategies. She was awarded LinkedIn Top Voices 2020: Equity in the Workplace, established one of the first resource websites for students interested in the field of Speech Language Pathology which has received recognition worldwide, owner of one of the largest SLP resources groups on LinkedIn with over 20,000 members, and selected as top 100 Speech Language Pathologists impacting the field.
Vyana Infant Massage
Home-based business off Columbia Pike
Arlington, VA
Vyana Infant Massage was founded in 2018, taking its name from one of the five energy subdivisions of Prana. Infant massage offers numerous short and long-term benefits to both baby and caregiver, and Vyana Infant Massage is committed to helping families create a lifetime of love and compassion.
Khyati Desai-Seltzer is the owner of Vyana Infant Massage LLC, where she teaches parents the art and science of massaging their babies, an ancient indigenous practice, for short-term and long-term benefits addressing sleep, gas/colic, immunity, bonding, congestion, growth, and so much more.
Pentagon MMA
1041 South Edgewood Street
Arlington, VA 22204
Pentagon MMA was founded in 2012 by a husband and wife team with a dream of changing lives through Mixed Martial Arts. Today, we are a strong community of fun-loving, adventurous folks of all ages and walks of life who have a passion for Muay Thai (also known as Kickboxing or Thai Boxing), Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ), and mixed martial arts, and a deep appreciation for the benefits it brings to our lives. We are here to help you achieve your goals.
Whether you are looking for a more effective, exciting workout, learning self defense, or training with the best and competing at the amateur or professional level, Pentagon MMA in Arlington, Virginia is your home away from home!
Puppy Luv
400 Army Navy Drive #712
Arlington, VA 22202
Puppy Luv is a pet service company that caters to urban professionals that are on the go or home. As a pet services provider, property communities will have in-house dog walking, dog grooming, obedience training, and pet sitting services at their fingertips. Their goal as an in-demand pet service provider is to cater to you and your pets’ specific needs.
Lindsey established Puppy Luv from her love of dogs. She started with one client and built the company to multiple luxury apartment contracts. With the help of her team, Lindsey strives to give consistent quality service to all animals.
YM Byrd Art
Yvette Byrd is an Arlington-based artist specializing in event and headshot photography and mixed media art. Her art journey began 13 years ago as an Associate Church Photographer capturing guest speakers, baptisms and special events for over 8 years. Since starting YM Byrd Art, she's been photographing concerts, church events, weddings, headshots and landscapes. Three years ago she incorporated her love of photography, textiles and paints into mixed media artwork as well.
You can reach YM Byrd Art at [email protected] or 602-740-5529.