Black-Owned Businesses in Lakeland to Support in 2026

A diner doing American comfort food, a Jamaican kitchen, a barbecue pit, a full-service barber shop that takes walk-ins, a waxing center, a dentist, a commercial builder that puts up restaurants, churches, banks and schools, and a cat cafe. Lakeland's record on this directory is 19 listings, and it is Polk County's first.

Every business named here links to its profile, where each ownership tag shows the source it came from. For the whole set, filter the Lakeland hub.

Quick answer

1. Eat at Jazzy's Diner for comfort food, or Our Noire Kitchen for brunch through dinner.
2. Get jerk chicken and oxtail at SW Caribbean Delights.
3. Get barbecue from Carter's BBQ.
4. Book a cut at My Touch Barber Shop, walk-in or online.
5. Book waxing at Wax Haven or skin work at Body Allures.
6. See the dentist at Midtown Dental.
7. Book the move with Infinite Moving and the pest plan with The Pest Cartel.
8. The Lakeland hub carries all 19 listings across 11 categories.

Where should I eat?

Jazzy's Diner does American comfort food. Our Noire Kitchen covers brunch, lunch and dinner. SW Caribbean Delights cooks jerk chicken, oxtail and rice and peas. Carter's BBQ runs the pit.

For an event, Essential Catering Solutions has catered across Lakeland, Polk County and the rest of Florida since 2016, and The Best Blue Velvet Cupcake bakes its signature cupcakes for the table.

Hair, skin and health

My Touch Barber Shop is a full-service shop that takes walk-ins and online bookings. Bella La Vie Salon runs salon and spa services, Wax Haven is a waxing center dedicated to that and nothing else, and Body Allures works on skin. Midtown Dental does general and cosmetic dentistry.

The house, the business and the community

NuJak Development is a commercial builder working on restaurants, churches, banks and schools across Florida, and it is the largest business in this record. Infinite Moving serves Lakeland and Central Florida, and The Pest Cartel runs pest plans on a schedule so you do not have to think about them.

Coney Funeral Home handles funerals and memorial services. My Laser Focus does change management consulting and leadership development, and Innovative Academy researches and builds programs aimed at economic, educational and social outcomes.

Two listings here carry welcoming and open to all tags rather than ownership tags, and both are worth knowing: Rose Dynasty Foundation runs inclusive programs, peer support and arts events for LGBTQIA+ people and families in Polk County, and Kitty Cat Lounge is a woman-owned cat cafe.

What the record does not cover yet

There are 19 published listings, and all 19 are filed in Lakeland itself. Winter Haven, Bartow, Haines City, Auburndale, Lake Wales, Mulberry, Polk City, Frostproof, Fort Meade, Dundee, Lake Alfred, Eagle Lake and Highland City have none yet, and at least one business on this list actually trades in Winter Haven.

Polk County should be deeper. The obvious source, a directory of Black-owned businesses in the county, no longer resolves, so what is here came from LALtoday and Polk County Moms. There is no auto shop, no roofer, no plumber, no lawyer, no accountant and no real estate agent in the record. That is a gap in the record rather than a description of Lakeland, and a free listing is the way to fix it.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the Lakeland label is the address. Everything here is filed under Lakeland and a few of these businesses are in Winter Haven or serve the wider county.
• Reading every tag as ownership. Two listings here carry welcoming business and open to all tags, which describe who a place serves rather than who owns it.
• Treating a caterer as a restaurant. One of the strongest food businesses here works events only.
• Skipping the trades. The commercial builder, the movers and the pest company are the parts of this record you will use more than once.

FAQ