Historic West End Partners hosted a workshop Wednesday as part of an effort to boost foot traffic and help small Black and minority-owned businesses grow along the low-income Beatties Ford corridor.
A few dozen community members received marketing booklets to take home as part of the workshop. They also received tips on the types of slogans and pictures to showcase on their websites and the best platforms to use to grow their businesses.
Page Kryst owns a hair salon along Beatties Ford Road. Kryst said she came to the event to help expand her hair salon and network.
“It can help me by making my business known and connecting with other businesses in the community, which is my main focus,” Kryst said.
The workshop, led by Chase Bank, is part of an initiative by Historic West End Partners to support small Black and minority-owned businesses like Kryst. As part of the initiative, some businesses along the corridor are providing discounts to help boost foot traffic. Organizers with the Historic West End Partners also say they want to remove the stigma surrounding the corridor.
A narrative that Martine Clark, the owner of the restaurant Bite Your Tongue, doesn’t believe is true anymore.
“I would say the narrative was that it wasn’t safe. I’m across from the police station,” Clark said. "For me, my business, the community around me, and the people I met, it’s safe for me. I have no problem over here — day or night.”
Wednesday's event also featured people who were interested in starting a business along the corridor. Anthony Love, 58, was one. Love, who is Black, says he's hoping to start a luxury car rental service business to help reshape the community. A community, he says, that has faced challenges with drugs and crime in the past.
"There's a lot of African Americans who have lived in the area, so I want to make sure that we are building back to the old community of how it was before we had all the issues,” Love said. "To revitalize and make it look a lot better, and still have an African American presence in the area."
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