Tottenham restaurant owners who Beyonce donated £8,000 shocked to get shout-out on Renaissance tour-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro

Beyonce’s generosity knows no bounds (Picture: Getty Images)

Beyonce has well and truly earned her Halo after opening her pot of gold and donating money to Black-owned businesses while in London on her Renaissance tour last month. 

The Break My Soul singer, 41, performed five nights at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in May and June, attracting over 250,000 fans to the north London area, snubbing other typical concert venues such as Wembley or the O2 Arena. 

It brought a heap of business for local entrepreneurs, including Nigerian tapas restaurant Chuku’s, but that wasn’t the only surprise they got from Beyonce. 

Brother and sister Emeka and Ifeyinwa Frederick applied for a space at a luncheon hosted by Beyonce’s charity BeyGOOD, after the Grammy-winning singer pledged $1million (£785,000) to support small businesses in various cities on her Renaissance World Tour schedule, including London, New Orleans and Atlanta. 

Out of 500 London applicants, Chuku’s was selected as a winner and awarded $10k (£8k). 

Like many other businesses, the restaurant suffered the effects of the Covid pandemic, but especially as it had only opened four weeks before the first lockdown. 

Ife and Emeka have been fighting to keep Chuku’s open amid a spate of challenges (Picture: MyLondon/BPM Media)

Beyonce is spreading her wealth during city stops on her Renaissance tour (Picture: PA)

Speaking to Metro.co.uk, Ife, 31, said: ‘Despite battling through and ending last year with a fantastic campaign, the aftermath of lockdown and the hospitality environment we’re in has not been super kind to us so there’s a number of things we need to start to unravel. 

Emeka, 33, added: ‘We’re now three and a half years old and despite the restaurant still having art and colours which were inspired by Nigerian culture, it is a little bit tired and we’d really like to give it a facelift so people can see it in its initial glory when we first designed the space. 

‘We, unfortunately as many units, have flats which are linked above us and we had some flooding so that’s affected the space so we want to give it a wonderful lift. 

‘There was Covid which was a very obvious challenge but we were a new business and our first business so there’s all these other things.’ 

He added: ‘It’s all about keeping a strong spirit and keeping the show going but behind the scenes it’s been a very challenging time in the economic environment.’ 

Quinoa but make it jollof (Picture: Chuku’s)

Egusi Bowl is one of the many tapas options at the restaurant (Picture: Chuku’s)

Plantain waffle is a signature dish at Chuku’s (Picture: Chuku’s)

Ife and Emeka originally set out to create a restaurant that ‘was loudly and proudly celebrating Nigerian cuisine and culture’ but, thanks to Beyonce’s endorsement, hope that their reach extends even further and introduces their eatery to new demographic. 

The siblings were too busy to attend Beyonce’s Renaissance shows but did benefit from booming business thanks to Chuku’s’ proximity to the stadium – as well as a special shout-out on-stage. 

‘[We] would have absolutely loved to but the restaurant was bulging with her BeyHive and we actually changed our opening hours at their request,’ Emeka revealed. 

‘They asked if we could open early so we were super busy with the quarter of a million people that came to Tottenham so didn’t actually get the chance to see her perform which I heard was amazing. 

‘We did get shouted out apparently at the beginning of her concerts which was also a really lovely thing.’ 

Ife added: ‘The [BeyGood] director spoke a bit before the show about the luncheon and listed all the 10 businesses that had been awarded a grant at the start of each concert in the London round.’ 

Overall, the two are grateful for the ‘fantastic’ support and feel it’s a ‘testament to the work that’s been done’. 

Emeka said: ‘I hope that this will be an inspiration for other people who have a dream.’ 

Visit Chuku’s restaurant on 274 Tottenham High Road.

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