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https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-businesses-orange-county-irvine-thriving/

Black-owned businesses are limited in Southern California’s Orange County, but growing relocation, community support, and local advocacy have helped the ones that are open thrive in recent years.

Though Black residents make up only about 1.7% of Orange County’s population—roughly 54,000 people—Black representation in Irvine is small but powerful. From soul food restaurants in bustling shopping districts to the county’s sole Black-owned wine cellar, these entrepreneurs are carving out space and earning strong support from the community.

Take Lynda’s African Delicacies, for example. The African restaurant in the Airport Business Center often draws long lines of locals eager to grab their orders from the city’s premier African food haven. Founded by Linda Umaru after the success of her hair braiding and beauty business, she has rapidly expanded both ventures thanks to the strong support from the Irvine community and popularity on TikTok.

@pocketfulofpasta GO SUPPORT! @Lyndas African Delicacies 17951 Sky Park Cir, 35 J, Irvine, CA 92614 We give everything a 10/10 @Fran.s816 #irvinefoodies #fufu #fufucravings #ocfoodie #fufuandsoup #africandelicacy #nigeriantiktok #foodreview #fyp ♬ Walking Around – Instrumental Version – Eldar Kedem

A Nigeria native, Umaru moved to Irvine in 2005 after marrying her husband. When they welcomed their first child, she chose to stay home rather than pay for daycare and started a hair-braiding business to support the family. As she cooked meals for her clients during appointments, she realized there was a demand for her food as well. What began in a small 1,200-square-foot salon quickly expanded — first to 3,500 square feet, and now to a 5,000-square-foot braiding salon and beauty supply store on Sky Park Circle, just steps from her restaurant.

Lynda’s African Delicacies began in 2019 as a food truck, but after locals consistently flooded the window with orders, Umaru expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in November 2024. Now running a cozy eatery near her braiding salon, she’s already preparing to enlarge the space to welcome more dine-in customers.

“The food is bigger than the hair salon,” Umaru tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “The traffic, you cannot just imagine, people were asking us how can you bring African food in Orange County, in Irvine. But my first thing that came to my mind is the kind of people coming to my house and when I was giving them this food, there’s not any barrier for any race that they were eating this food. And that’s how I realized, ‘Okay, this can be a business for us.’ And it’s just the crowd that they are coming here, it’s not even close to Africa. It’s just the Orange County people from different kind of race, everybody just love the food.”

With both businesses thriving, Umaru is celebrating and sharing the beauty of the African diaspora in Orange County, supporting protective-style wearers and serving delicious food to a diverse community.

“When you relate with the community and you offer them something of this nature, they go for it,” Umaru said. “They were able to relate with the food and the community loves it because of the kind of ingredients we are using in the food is mostly coming from Nigeria. So we cook it just like the way we cook it back in Nigeria and people love it.”

@ocfeed @lyndasafricandelicacies – 17951 sky park circle bldg 35 suite J, Irvine, California 92614 Authentic African cuisine – right here in Irvine!! This is a unique spot – we only have a few African eateries in OC and Lynda’s is super legit. Lynda’s began in a home kitchen, then turned into a food truck, and now operates as a brick and mortar in a little food center in an office park in Irvine. The menu is simple, and they have all the classics. Do not leave without fufu, it’s kind of the vehicle with which you actually eat the rest of the food, typically made from cassava. It’s starchy, doughy, and not meant to carry much flavor – because the rest of the food packs that punch. https://lyndasafricandelicacies.com/menu They have lots of veggie options, you of course have to get plantains. Get yourself some oxtail, it’s nice and tender. A traditional order for anyone trying it out for the first time seems to be oxtail fufu and egusi. It’s full of spices and flavored right, with a deep and rich earthy hearty taste that I’m gonna bet you haven't encountered before. Jollof fried rice is also a must. And then there’s their red sauce they’re putting on everything. Give me a bottle of that to take around with me wherever I go. SO good. Have you tried African food before? . . #african #africanfood #irvine #orangecounty ♬ original sound – Ocfeed

The growing visibility and success of Black-owned businesses in Orange County wouldn’t be possible without the tireless, behind-the-scenes work of the Black Chamber of Orange County. For more than 40 years, the Chamber has championed businesses, education, and veterans across diverse communities, helping ensure the strong representation seen in the region’s business landscape today.

“Orange County has 34 municipalities, Irvine being one of them. Before COVID, the Black Chamber Office was in Irvine,” the Chamber told BLACK ENTERPRISE. “We were located in the Orange County Workforce Solutions facility, where the county was dedicated to helping people  and businesses overcome obstacles, reach their goals, fulfill their potential and  contribute to a thriving region.”

The aim is to build on the county’s progress in diversifying its business landscape and remain a reliable resource for future Black-owned ventures in Orange County.

“Access to information is our motto and we are here to help all in our ethnic com munities, to improve, enhance and grow their business,” the Chamber said.

Consider Georgia’s Restaurant, the only soul food restaurant at the bustling Irvine Spectrum Center. Shoppers from every background line up for its crispy fried chicken, flavorful jambalaya, hearty gumbo, and honey-buttered cornbread—comfort classics that keep guests licking their fingers. Founded by Gretchen Shoemaker, the menu honors her childhood spent cooking alongside her grandmother, crafting dishes with “the whole heart and soul,” as she describes on her website. Now with four Southern California locations, Georgia’s presence in Irvine and nearby Anaheim reflects the growing space for Black-owned businesses in Orange County—and the community support helping them thrive.

@theladyerika First time trying Georgia’s soul food restaurant and the food did not disappoint ! #irvinespectrum #georgias #georgiassoulfood @irvinespectrumcenter @Georgia’s Restaurant ♬ Doo Wop (That Thing) (Instrumental) – Lauryn Hill

Elsewhere, McClain Cellars is making history as the only Black-owned wine cellar in Orange County. Founded by Jason and Sofia McClain, the couple turned their shared passion for wine into a full-fledged emporium that celebrates community, craftsmanship, and their own love story. After two decades in the tech world, Jason felt inspired to create something more personal. In July 2016, he and Sofia set out to craft exceptional wines from California’s best soils—bottles meant to evoke real emotion. Their journey took them up and down the West Coast, scouting vineyards and selecting the perfect wines to build their signature collection and found Irvine to be the best location to house one of its four SoCal locations.

“McClain Cellars chose Irvine as its headquarters because of the city’s unique business environment and community,” Jason tells BLACK ENTERPRISE. “As a hub for technology and innovation, Irvine’s corporate landscape provided a perfect fit for our wine blending and team-building events. We saw an opportunity to introduce a new kind of luxury experience to the city, one that combines the craft of winemaking with the corporate culture of Southern California.”

From their award-winning wines to premiere wine tasting room and unique wine blending experience that gives patrons the chance to be a winemaker for a day, McClain Cellars has built a sustainable business in a city not known for its Black representation while showing the success that comes when given space for ownership.

As the only Black-owned wine cellar in Orange County, McClain Cellars could have faced resistance, but Jason says the local community has been nothing but “welcoming and supportive.”

“People have embraced the concept of having a winery tasting room and event space right here in Irvine,” he said. “The feedback on our award-winning wines, our customer service, and the overall atmosphere has been overwhelmingly positive, which has been crucial to our success.”

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A post shared by McClain Cellars | California Central Coast Winery (@mcclaincellars)

Now they’re proudly building bridges and bringing Black excellence to the OC. Beyond being the county’s only Black-owned wine cellar, McClain Cellars also expands its cultural impact through its “Black Heroes Collection,” a wine series honoring African American icons such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, the Tuskegee Airmen, and Marian Anderson, among others.

“This has been a powerful way to share important stories and history with the Irvine community,” Jason said.

The McClains’ success highlights the growing opportunities for diverse business owners in Orange County, where an increasingly inclusive approach is helping local entrepreneurs introduce new concepts that bring the community together.

“Our thriving business demonstrates that Irvine’s community is open to new ideas and is actively seeking to support diverse businesses,” Jason said. “It shows that when you provide an excellent product and a truly welcoming experience, people will respond with open arms, regardless of the business owners’ background. This support has been crucial and truly highlights Irvine’s commitment to creating a vibrant and inclusive city.”

RELATED CONTENT: Black Business Hub In Wisconsin Nurtures Black Entrepreneurship

https://www.blackenterprise.com/2025-key-trends-costs-lessons-years-biggest-it-outages/

The cost of unplanned downtime increases annually, with businesses across every industry niche exposed to potentially ruinous expenses. The causes of IT outages vary along with recovery costs, so it’s vital for organizations of all sizes to carry out reconnaissance and learn from the trends and calamities others have faced in this context.

The dangers of downtime and the likelihood of it occurring increase during peak periods of activity. As the holidays approach, it’s especially useful to reflect on the most prominent incidents that occurred last year, with a view to preventing them as 2025’s busiest season begins.

To that end, the team at IoT solutions provider Digi Infrastructure Management put together an overview of serious outages from 2024 and 2025 across several key sectors, including the trends they point toward, the costs incurred, and what can be gleaned from the fallout.

Retail Downtime

One of the most prominent outages in this sector in the last 12 months involved Ahold Delhaize, a multinational retail company that suffered a cyberattack in November 2024.

With over 2,000 stores nationwide, including many Stop & Shop locations, and sales exceeding $14.49 billion in the U.S alone, the attack disrupted both brick-and-mortar transactions and e-commerce operations.

The outage was traced to Food Lion, one of its sub-brands, with the repercussions impacting the organization for more than seven days. This included trends with issues with its pharmacy services, with reports of customers being unable to pay with debit cards in some instances.

In April 2025, the company confirmed via a statement that the downtime caused by the attack also resulted in direct data theft. The perpetrators, reportedly affiliated with INC Ransom, stole as much as 6 terabytes of private information.

Subsequently, the group threatened to sell the data if certain, undisclosed demands were not met. It was subsequently confirmed that 2.2 million people had their data exposed in the attack.

While the costs incurred by Ahold Delhaize during this downtime and the subsequent ransom negotiations have not been made public, it is reasonable to assume that they amount to tens of millions of dollars. IBM’s most recent data breach research suggests the average cost of individual incidents is $4.4 million. Coupled with the in-store disruptions and reputational damage to its sub-brands, Ahold Delhaize’s incident serves as a cautionary tale for the entire industry.

Aside from the likely expense of this outage, it highlights the trend for interconnected systems to leave retailers exposed to wide-ranging disruption, even if the source of the original breach is localized. As soon as one IT asset becomes compromised, others may fall, or must be taken offline as a precaution.

Manufacturing Downtime

The toll taken by downtime in manufacturing is just as prominent and problematic as in retail, and the root causes of the costliest incidents are also shared.

The daily cost of downtime in this sector is estimated at $1.9 million, with the cost of ransomware attack-related downtime for manufacturers over a five-year period pegged at $17 billion. In terms of duration, outages associated with ransomware typically take around 11 days to resolve, although the most severe instances can persist for months.

The most prominent example actually comes from 2025, and the full extent of the damage done will take some time to quantify. The U.K.-based automaker Jaguar Land Rover suffered more than four weeks of downtime following a cyberattack in September, with losses exceeding $68 million suffered for each week its manufacturing operations were on pause.

This incident demonstrated not only the startling costs one company can incur as a result of downtime but also the knock-on effects of a significant manufacturing shutdown that ripples down the supply chain. More than 5,000 companies were affected by JRL’s outage, resulting in cumulative costs of over $2.55 billion.

The combination of lost earnings and recovery expenses will impact the manufacturer for half of this total, with the rest falling on suppliers, partners, and the broader economy.

As with the retail industry, lessons manufacturers can learn from this include the importance of business continuity planning in the face of persistent and pressing cyber threats. While an organization like JRL has the backing and the brand clout to weather this storm, it is unlikely that smaller-scale manufacturing firms would be able to undergo weeks of downtime with the possibility of recovery remaining intact.

Agri-Food Downtime

Businesses involved in agriculture and food production join their counterparts in retail and manufacturing as they struggle with the rising tide of cybercrime. In fact, one report suggests that the agri-food sector has experienced a 101% increase in such incidents over the past year, which is significantly higher than the 38% average across all industries.

Researchers argue that although it is usually the multimillion-dollar breaches that make headlines, more attention needs to be focused on the plight of smaller businesses that suffer from the same issues, albeit on a smaller scale.

Again, ransomware remains the primary concern in this sector. When IT assets are compromised, regional farmers and food producers could end up paying around $5,000 to regain access to mission-critical data. The downtime they experience during an infection also creates costs and complications that need to be recovered from.

Last Lessons from Downtime Incidents

The lessons exemplified by the most significant outages of last year are the same ones demonstrated in the wake of downtime incidents that have occurred over the course of more than a decade. Cyber threats are the biggest stumbling block for modern businesses, regardless of the industry in which they operate. Failure to protect systems and devices from these threats results in steep recovery costs, often amounting to millions of dollars for even midsize organizations.

Taking proper precautions and planning to preserve business continuity when attacks inevitably occur is a necessity for companies across the board. Some will have to learn the hard way, and these mistakes are undoubtedly helpful for others to absorb and avoid.

This story was produced by Digi Infrastructure Management and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.

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https://blackgirlnerds.com/why-wunmi-mosaku-is-a-standout-contender-for-best-supporting-actress-for-sinners/

Wunmi Mosaku has long been one of the most quietly powerful performers working today, but with her commanding turn in Sinners, she steps into the spotlight as a clear and compelling contender for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance is not merely memorable, but it is the emotional axis on which the film turns. Through a potent blend of vulnerability, conviction, and spiritual gravitas, Mosaku delivers one of the year’s most affecting portrayals and solidifies her place as an actor of astonishing depth.

From the film’s very first moments, Mosaku seizes the audience’s attention with a riveting opening monologue that sets both the thematic and emotional tone for the story. Her delivery is measured yet intense, restrained yet overflowing with lived experience and immediately signals that Sinners will be a film rooted in human pain, redemption, and the blurry moral terrain between them.

The monologue operates not just as exposition but also as invocation. She speaks with the cadence of someone who has endured, someone who has witnessed too much and survived it. In doing so, she becomes the voice of the film’s conscience. It’s rare that a single scene establishes so much, but Mosaku’s skill ensures the audience is spiritually tethered to her character from the start.

Throughout Sinners, Mosaku’s character evolves into a guiding presence, like a kind of savior for multiple characters who are spiraling through moral dilemmas, personal loss, and inner conflict. Though the film is packed with standout performances, hers is the one that consistently anchors the emotional rhythm. She offers refuge, truth, and clarity in scenes where characters confront their darkest moments. What makes her “savior” role so compelling is that Mosaku never plays it with saintly detachment; instead, she imbues her character with weariness, flawed compassion, and a deep sense of humanity. In fact, her saving grace is not perfection but understanding which makes her impact on the ensemble even more profound.

Mosaku’s artistry becomes even more evident when looking at her broader body of work. Whether it’s in His House, Lovecraft Country, or We Own This City, she has proven her ability to move seamlessly between genres while maintaining emotional authenticity. In His House, she delivered a devastatingly layered portrayal of trauma and guilt, demonstrating her capacity for raw psychological depth. In Lovecraft Country, she shifted into something more operatic and genre-bending, delivering a powerhouse arc that ranged from rage to transcendence. Even in smaller roles across her filmography, Mosaku brings a steadiness that commands attention without ever overshadowing the story.

What ties all these performances together is Mosaku’s remarkable control. She understands how to build a character from the inside out, focusing on interiority, emotional truth, and the subtle physical shifts that make a portrayal feel lived in. In Sinners, all of these strengths converge. It is a culmination of her range, technique, and empathy as a performer.

With a career defined by consistency and a performance in Sinners defined by emotional magnitude, Wunmi Mosaku stands as one of the most deserving contenders of the awards season. A supporting actress whose work elevates the entire film around her.

The post Why Wunmi Mosaku Is a Standout Contender for Best Supporting Actress for ‘Sinners’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

https://blackgirlnerds.com/sea-of-monsters-get-deeper-and-darker-for-percy-jackson-and-the-olympians/

Black Girl Nerds sat down with the cast and creative team behind the hit Disney series Percy Jackson and the Olympians to discuss what fans can expect from the highly anticipated second season. Featured in our interviews are series stars Walker Scobell (Percy Jackson), Charlie Bushnell (Luke Castellan), Dior Goodjohn (Clarisse La Rue), Aryan Simhadri (Grover Underwood), Leah Sava Jeffries (Annabeth Chase), and Daniel Diemer (Tyson). Executive producers Jon Steinberg, Dan Shotz, Craig Silverstein, and author/co-creator Rick Riordan also joined us to share insight into adapting the beloved world for screen.

Season two draws from The Sea of Monsters, the second book in Riordan’s best-selling series. Picking up one year after the events of season one, Percy returns to Camp Half-Blood to find everything in disarray. His bond with Annabeth is shifting, Grover has mysteriously disappeared, and he discovers that he has a cyclops half-brother Tyson whose arrival brings both emotional complexity and unexpected humor. Meanwhile, camp faces growing threats as Kronos’ forces close in, setting the stage for a darker and more urgent adventure.

The cast reflected on stepping back into their roles with new emotional depth, while the producers discussed honoring longtime fans of the books and bringing fresh twists for new audiences. Riordan shared his excitement about seeing The Sea of Monsters brought to life with a balance of heart, humor, and high-stakes mythology.

This season sends Percy and his friends beyond familiar borders and into the treacherous Sea of Monsters, where unexpected revelations and dangerous challenges await the son of Poseidon.

Interviewer: Jamie Broadnax
Video Editor: Jamie Broadnax

Percy Jackson and the Olympians premieres December 10th on Disney+

The post Sea Of Monsters Get Deeper and Darker for ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.