Name: Sandra Pittman Business Name: Sandra’s Next Generation, 636 Congress Avenue, New Haven. Year Business was started in New Haven: 1989 Why did you start your own business? Growing up on 99 Edgewood Ave my family and sold Soul Food dinners for $5. We sold out every week and my husband encouraged us to open a restaurant. Why…
Name: Evelyn Massey Business Name: Noir Vintage & Co., 111 Court Street, New Haven Year Business was started in New Haven: My business came to life with a storefront June 2023 but started at the end of the pandemic as an online store on Instagram, and with the help of market pop-ups and vending opportunities around…
Name: Linwood & Lachele Lacy Business Name: Woody’s Wings, 91 Church Street, New Haven. Year Business was started in New Haven: December 2019 on Whalley Avenue for 3 years Why did you start your own business? I wanted to show my different training styles of cooking with a fast-food twist. I also wanted to…
Name: De’Ari Allick Business Name: Dope N’ Delicious, 300 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven. Year Business was started in New Haven: 2021 Why did you start your own business? I started my own business to give my kids a better future Why did you choose to start your business in New Haven? I actually started my first restaurant…
Photos are of Elaine of Petals Market. Owner: Gideon Gebreyesus Business Name: Petals Market, 100 Ashmum Street, New Haven Year Business was started in New Haven: 2019 Why did you start your own business? The area is known as a food desert, and the business was open to fill the void with the collaboration of Yale and…
Name: Emerson Business Name: BIM Auto Repair, 223 Whalley Avenue, New Haven. Year Business was started in New Haven: 2015 Why did you start your own business? I opened Bim Auto Repair as a tribute to where we were from. Bim is the name used for Barbados, where we grew up with a single parent raising five boys…
Name: Stephanie Williams Business Name: Elite Hair Studio, 1440 Whalley Avenue, New Haven Year Business was started in New Haven: February 2005 Why did you start your own business? In the span of two weeks, I transitioned from a hairdresser to a young Black business owner. During the time the salon I was at was…
Name: Kristen Threatt & Brian Burkett Thompson Business Name: Gorilla Lemonade Year Business was started in New Haven: 2022 Why did you start your own business? Gorilla Lemonade Lemonade was powered by Eat Up our food catering business. We started Eat Up in 2019 and we never sold beverages until 2022 and the rest was history. We got…
Name: Shem Adams Business Name: Phillys A Taste Of Philadelphia, 1008 Chapel Street, New Haven Year Business was started in New Haven: New Haven started in May of 2022 ( Phillys started in 2010) Why did you start your own business? I was previously an entrepreneur (Barber Shop/Music Engineer/Night Club owner) but never tried the restaurant industry. Since a lot…
Name: Nethia Joyner Business Name: Mae Flower & Gift Shop, 302 Dixwell Avenue, New Haven Year Business was started in New Haven: 2019 Why did you start your own business?: I started this business because I had a commitment to creating a legacy for my family. The shop is named in honor of my mother who is still very…