Historian John William Templeton and engineer Frederick E. Jordan Sr. founded National Black Business Month in August 2004 to drive the policies affecting the 2.6 million Black businesses.
“We all start out with a dollar and a dream,” said Sheletta Brundidge of ShelettaMakesMeLaugh.com, a business that celebrates Black culture and Black businesses.
Brundidge reached out to Hy-Vee in Robbinsdale, asking the store to celebrate Black Business Month by featuring Black business owners during a showcase on Saturday, August 9, when shoppers can meet the makers, sample their products, and learn their stories.
“We fish, we catch, we eat, and then we gotta go back and fish again,” Brundidge explained. “If we can get these products on the shelves at the Hy-Vee in Robbinsdale, then we can go back and create more and meet with people to do outreach, versus, whatever we sit there and sell, that’s what we get,” Brundidge explained.
“It was a no-brainer for us,” said Joe Lowe, store manager at Hy-Vee in Robbinsdale, who immediately agreed to Brundidge’s idea for the Black Business Showcase.
“We’re just excited because there are small business owners that are trying to grow their companies, and that’s what we like to do, we like to help people succeed,” said Lowe.
Three Black-owned businesses will be featured during the showcase, including Soul Grain, a granola company built on the combination of talents from Sylvia Williams, a pastry chef, and Liza Maya, a nutritionist.
“It’s everything,” said Sylvia Williams of Soul Grain. “Nobody can buy a product they know nothing about.” The Hy-Vee exposure helps get the word out about Soul Grain’s light and crisp granola with unique flavors. Soul Grain tends to convert non-granola eaters used to heavy, crunchy varieties.
“Each store we add raises our profile,” Williams said.
De’Vonna Pittman will also be at Hy-Vee on the 9th, sampling products from her company Nature’s Syrup Hair and Skin Care, which is on a mission to solve the curly hair crisis with potent, plant-based solutions.
Soul food samples will introduce Hy-Vee shoppers to Nadia’s Jamaican Kitchen, a restaurant in Brooklyn Park serving up jerk chicken, curry soup, and other Jamaican flavors.
“When we (Hy-Vee) first introduced produce back 90 years ago, we were driving pickup trucks to get it from farmers and bring it back to the stores to sell it,” Lowe explained. “We’ve always been about trying to support our local businesses and doing everything we can, because our community’s growing is best for everyone.”
Lowe says featuring local makers without the distribution of the bigger companies has always been a priority for Hy-Vee, which makes the process simple. “We can meet on a Monday and have them in the store by that Saturday,” Lowe said. “It’s a fairly quick process for us to get them into our store and into our computer system, and we’re ready to start selling as compared to going through a lot of hoops before you can get the product in.”
You can see and sample products while also meeting the Minnesota makers at the Black Business Month Showcase on Saturday, August 9, from 8:30 a.m. to noon at Hy-Vee in Robbinsdale, located at 3505 Bottineau Blvd.