[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 50 (Thursday, March 19, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





          CELEBRATING THE LEGACY OF ELIHU AND CAROLYN BRAYBOY

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 19, 2026

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today during Black History 
Month to celebrate the entrepreneurial legacy of Elihu and Carolyn 
Brayboy, owners of Chiefs Creole Cafe. Like a hearty bowl of gumbo, the 
Brayboy's and their beloved cafe brought comfort and community to 
neighbors across the Deuces corridor. Their commitment to preserving 
and investing in Black-owned businesses remain a pillar of their 
community advocacy.
  Carolyn was born and raised in Blakely, Georgia until in sixth grade, 
when she moved with her parents to St. Petersburg. Carolyn attended 
Perkins Elementary, now known as John Hopkins Middle School, Gibbs High 
School, St. Pete Junior College, and Florida State University, earning 
a bachelor's degree in business and master's degree in finance and 
marketing. Her parents were sharecroppers and were often financially 
strained. After school, she would get dropped off at the cotton field 
and was told to pick cotton.
  Elihu was born and raised in Wahiawa, Hawaii, where his parents were 
civil servants during Pearl Harbor. His grandparents agreed to raise 
him until he moved to St. Petersburg in seventh grade to live with his 
mother. He attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Bishop Berry 
High School, now known as St. Pete Catholic, and Bethune--Cookman 
University, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration. 
Elihu's mother was a nurse at the segregated Mercy Hospital. His father 
was a mortician at Sanchez Funeral Home.
  Both Carolyn and Elihu grew up in the height of the Jim Crow Era, 
where Black residents in St. Petersburg were forced to live in what is 
now called the Midtown area, just off 22nd Street South. When Elihu was 
attending Immaculate Conception, right next door to 16th Street Middle 
School, Carolyn spotted him and asked her friend who he was. They dated 
all throughout high school and separated in college. They were 
separated for 10 years during which Elihu moved to Louisiana, before 
deciding to move back to St. Petersburg and finding out Carolyn was now 
divorced. They have now been married for 46 years.
  The Brayboy's are proudly rooted in their faith. A year after Carolyn 
Brayboy had been diagnosed with stomach cancer and was recovering, her 
minister had a message for her from Isaiah, Chapter 61, Verse 4. ``You 
are to restore the ancient ruins, the wasteland and devastation of many 
generations.'' It was then; the Brayboy's felt the calling to their 
service to the Deuces community.
  As St. Petersburg changed and gentrification spread throughout the 
city, the Brayboy's were instrumental in protecting Black-owned 
businesses and reviving the 22nd Street South Corridor, a historic 
African American Business District. In 2014, Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy 
purchased the Sidney Harden Grocery Store building, the only grocery 
store serving St. Petersburg's Black community for decades and 
transformed it to a neighborhood corner diner. Despite the false 
perceptions of the Deuces and racial bias from lenders who repeatedly 
denied the Brayboy's business loans, Chiefs Creole Cafe served 
customers renowned crawfish, po-boys, rice and beans drawing customers 
from across the Tampa Bay area for a decade until they closed their 
doors in 2023. With a large mural on the outside of Louis Armstrong, 
the vibrancy of Black culture can still be felt without even walking 
through the cafe's doors.
  Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy were not just culinary connoisseurs, but 
champions for affordable housing and historic preservation of Black 
culture and life in South St. Petersburg. In 2008, The Brayboy's 
purchased the first black-owned commercial laundromat. Following the 
purchase of the cafe, the Brayboy's purchased the old Ninth Avenue 
Service Station in 2021. From service station to a 1,900 sq. ft. 
commercial space has been divided into three separate affordable units, 
neighbors are able to call this renovated space their home. The 
Brayboy's have additionally purchased The Dr. Gilbert H. Leggett 
Building, a rundown commercial building that belonged to Dr. Gilbert H. 
Leggett, one of the city's first African American dentists. 
Additionally, Carolyn looks to expand her garden with flourishing 
collard greens to alleviate the food desert crisis in South St. 
Petersburg. Through every season of their life, the Brayboy's have 
remained steadfast in ensuring all people, regardless of race, deserve 
to live, work, and play in a healthy, affordable community.
  The BrayBoys are proud parents to their children Augustus Aiken, III, 
Lynae Brayboy and Ramona, who has a servant's heart as large and warm 
as her parents. She is at the helm of the Deuces farmers market, 
Sunshine Fresh Market, which hosts local vendors who sell fresh foods, 
homemade goods and often, local music by Black artists.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my St. Petersburg neighbors, I commend 
Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy for their determination to preserve Black 
history while renewing meaningful investments to current residents. In 
a time where division seeps deep in our community, we must all take a 
note from the Brayboy's menu of wise lessons: ``You can solve a lot of 
problems if you eat together.''

                          ____________________