Searching the Business Directory

The directory is WABA's heart: a searchable collection of Black-owned businesses across the country. Every listing shows the essentials — category, location, rating, and contact details. You can filter for businesses whose claimant's ownership or authorization to manage the listing WABA has confirmed; that confirmation is not a quality endorsement or Black-ownership certification.

You don't need an account to search or browse.

1. Open the Directory. There's one search box ("Business, category, city, or ZIP…") — type a business name, a category, a service, a place, or a mix of them, like "coffee in Atlanta" or "barber 30310".
2. After two characters, suggestions appear in groups: Categories, Businesses (picking one opens that business's page), and Places. Choosing a place keeps whatever you've already typed, so "soul food" plus "Atlanta, GA" searches both together.
3. Click Search.

Want results around you? Click Use my current location. The results then read "Within 50 miles of your location", and Clear location takes it off again. If your browser blocks location, just type a city or ZIP instead.

Above the results, a small chip shows how WABA read your search — for example "Searching for "tacos" in Houston, TX". If it guessed wrong, use the switch on the chip to search your words as plain text, or as a place, instead. You may also see "Showing close matches for…" when your spelling didn't match exactly, or "Also showing…" when a related category was added (a search for "braids" also pulls in the matching hair category).

Web: The search box on the home page also offers Popular pills — Restaurants, Beauty & Wellness, Professional Services, Retail, Health & Fitness, and Arts & Entertainment. Tapping one drops the word into the box; press Search when you're ready.

Under the search box on the Directory is a scrolling row of colour-coded category chips — 22 main categories, from Restaurants & Food and Hair & Beauty to Home Services and Technology.

• Tap a chip to narrow your current search. Your search words and place are kept.
• Once a main category is picked, a second row shows its subcategories so you can get more specific.
• Tap the active chip again to clear it.

Prefer to see every category at once, with counts? Use the categories page — see the guide on browsing categories.

Typing a ZIP code searches that ZIP exactly — even if you've shared your location. To widen out, tap the pill Show businesses near {ZIP}, which adds everything within 50 miles. The pill then reads "Showing {ZIP} + 50 miles — show only {ZIP}" so you can switch back.

Once results appear, click Filters (a badge shows how many are on). On phones the panel slides up from the bottom. Filters apply the moment you change them; use Reset to clear the panel or Done to close it.

• Category — a searchable picker ("All categories"). You can show or hide subcategories inside it.
• Management confirmed — the switch "Ownership-confirmed listings only" shows listings whose claimant's ownership or authorization to manage the listing WABA has confirmed.
• Featured — "Featured businesses only" shows businesses highlighted by the WABA team.
• Sells online — "Buy on WABA" shows only businesses you can buy from on WABA right now.
• Sort By — Best match (the default), Nearest (only when your search has a location), Newest First, Alphabetical, Highest Rated, or Best Quality. Best match uses your search words first, then distance when there's a location, then how complete the listing is.

Each switch shows a live count, and switches with nothing to show are greyed out. Active filters appear as chips under Active filters — remove one with its x, or use Clear all. Your search and filters are saved in the page address, so you can share the link and others see the same view.

Results load 12 at a time — click Load more businesses for the next batch. Use the List / Map toggle to switch between the result cards and a map of the same results; on wide screens both sit side by side.

If a search comes up empty you'll see "We couldn't find any businesses matching your search." — but WABA doesn't leave you stuck there:

• Try widening your search lists one-tap fixes with live counts, such as removing a category or the Management confirmed filter, searching your words everywhere instead of in one place, or showing businesses near your ZIP.
• Did you mean…? suggests a category when your words look like one.
• Close matches from outside your chosen area are shown underneath.
• Know a business we're missing? Add it takes you to the application to get a business listed.

1. Tap the Directory tab at the bottom of the app.
2. Type in the Search businesses, cities, or states... box and press search on your keyboard. Your last few searches appear under Recent Searches, and suggestions pop up as you type.
3. Tap a category chip to browse by category, or tap Near Me to show only businesses within 50 miles of you — each result then shows how far away it is.
4. Use the list/map toggle to see your results on a map.

For finer control, tap Filters to open the filter sheet:

1. Pick a Minimum Rating (Any through 5+).
2. Toggle Ownership Confirmed if you want listings with confirmed ownership or authorized management.
3. Choose Sort By: Default, Rating, Distance, or Newest.
4. Changes apply as you tap — Apply Filters closes the sheet, and Reset starts over.

Mobile: Sorting by distance and Near Me need location access — you'll see a hint to enable location if it's off.

• Search matches names, categories, and services, and the last word you type can be a partial word — "braids", "vegan", or "account" all work.
• Add a place for local results; leave it out to search nationwide.
• If you strike out, follow the Try widening your search suggestions, or try a broader term — "food" instead of a specific dish, for example.
• Found a gem? Open its page and tap the heart to save it to your favorites.