In the 1930s, it was hard for a Black-owned business to thrive, let alone get on its feet. Jim Crow laws were pervasive throughout the country, restricting Black people from having access to many places and being able to own property.
But that didn’t stop N.J. Harris from creating one of the first Black-owned businesses in Chandler, which served as a hub for the Black community and their culture.
Harris’s Bar-B-Q was established in 1932 on Saragosa Street, and it was unique because it was built around Chandler’s first water tank. Glen Lavon Woods, Harris’s granddaughter who helped in the restaurant when she was in middle school, said Harris bought a piece of land from one of the Mexican families in Chandler before salvaging the water tank, which was decommissioned by the city and turning it into a full-fledged barbecue pit.
Woods said she didn’t quite know how Harris managed to overcome the barriers to establish his business but credits his people and networking skills in helping him avoid controversy about the business.