Black-owned eateries to get big exposure in ‘Wing & Mac Smackdown’

BEATING BREAST CANCER—KEESHA MARCELLE BENNETT, AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED WITH BREAST CANCER IN 2021 AND OVERCOMING IT IN 2023, IS ONE OF THE CONTESTANTS IN THE “WING & MAC SMACKDOWN,” APRIL 27. Event is Saturday, April 27, in the Hill District & In 2021, many people in the Pittsburgh area and beyond were battling COVID-19. Pittsburgh native Keesha Marcelle Bennett was battling breast cancer. Getting that diagnosis wasn’t exactly the plan Bennett set for herself after moving back to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia with her husband, Tyrell Bennett. But she told the New Pittsburgh Courier that through it all, she and her husband stuck with their original plan in launching their food business, “PeacefulPlatez.” Two years later, in 2023, Bennett got the greatest news—”I’m all clear, I’m in remission,” she told the Courier of her breast cancer diagnosis. Bennett can’t wait for Saturday, April 27. That’s when the “Wing & Mac Smackdown Part II” competition will take place at St. Benedict the Moor Center, 2900 Bedford Ave., Hill District. Doors open at 5 p.m. The first “Smackdown” was held in 2016 by Briana White of Breelicious Bites. White has also written a host of restaurant reviews for the Courier over the past...