Black Lives Matter. Stop Asian Hate.

“You, no matter what race you are, [have been] socialized by racism and every other system of oppression. You can only transform the external to the extent that you have transformed yourself.” — Ashtin Berry, hospitality advocate, founder of America’s Table, co-founder of Radical Xchange, educator, sommelier and bartender.

Martha Dear is owned and operated by Demetri Mechelis and Tara Smith, a white married couple.

This small restaurant opened amid a global pandemic and a new wave of reckoning with our nation’s racist roots—both of which have shaped the development of our small business. Our industry, alongside most others in our country, was built by, and continues to be upheld by oppression. Plain and simple, racism is not a mistake. Our society is operating exactly as it was intended, which means that exploitation, especially that of BIPOC communities and women, is baked into how we function. Challenging this is at odds with capitalist values. How do we build an anti-racist business as a for-profit restaurant? Well, there is no clear playbook.

We think it starts with how we define our culture, staff our restaurant, compensate our employees, and create opportunities for growth. We will most certainly fumble. We are white folks unpacking both our identity and privilege. We are not asking for a pass. We are striving for accountability. Ashtin Berry said it best: accountability is “about acknowledging how even when we don’t intend to, we are capable of harm and rectifying it because we care about those impacted by our actions.”

We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement—and we know that in this work, our intentions matter little when compared to our actions. We will continue to examine and challenge who gets a seat at the table in the food world that we hold so dear, because, in the words of Paola Velez, co-founder of Baker’s Against Racism and founder of La Bodega Bakery, “When we lift up each other we all grow.”

Martha Dear is committed to improving working conditions for all hospitality professionals. Martha Dear does not discriminate on the basis on race, national origin, color, sex, age, veteran status, gender identity, religion, disability, genetic information, or sexual orientation.