When the Guardian first profiled Angel Gregorio, the 37-year-old was running her Washington DC gourmet seasonings business the Spice Suite while hosting pop-ups for other Black entrepreneurs inside her Takoma-area store. She saw herself as a community builder first, and an entrepreneur second. “My business is about supporting Black businesses,” she said of her shop, which sells spices sourced from around the world, along with a multitude of products made by local Black women.
A year later, her business has followed an upward trajectory. Gregorio’s business is growing in other ways too: in January, the Spice Suite will reinvent itself as part of a mini strip mall that Gregorio designed and is opening in the Langdon neighborhood of DC.
When Gregorio first saw the 7,500 sq ft lot, she knew it would eventually house Black & Forth, the new retail project she had been dreaming about. Other Black entrepreneurs will join her on the journey. Gregorio is setting up a nail salon and braiding and brow bar inside the mini strip mall made of shipping containers.
Inspired by the industrial design of urban spaces around the globe where colorful shipping containers do double duty as stadiums or schools, Gregorio felt that the colorful and industrial aesthetic captured the improvisational and creative vibe that she envisioned infusing her new venture. She was also thinking about the souks that she had come across in her travels in Africa and the Middle East when she devised her plans for Black & Forth.
“I thought it would be really cool because DC doesn’t have commercial spaces made of shipping containers,” Gregorio says. Her culinary business will move to a building on the property that is double the size of its current storefront.
Building a mini strip mall may seem counterintuitive to anyone following the latest economic trends. According to a recent article in the Guardian, one in four US malls will close in the next few years. But Gregorio believes her plans to include a social justice aspect to her venture will set the stage for a new momentum.
While traveling around the world over the years, Gregorio cultivated a sense for adopting alternative business models to uplift the Black community. Her passion for business development manifested with SpiceGirlin’, a collective of female product makers who sell their wares at the Spice Suite. In exchange for the free exposure at the pop-ups, SpiceGirlin’ vendors rotate days managing the shop.
At the new site, part of the lot will be converted into a weekend farmers’ market. It will be a home for Black farmers and merchants who are based in the surrounding area to sell their goods. Agriculture is the largest industry in Virginia, with an estimated 44,000 farmers, yet Black farmers only account for 4% of them. An article in the Virginia Mercury followed the story of Black farmers in the state who sued the USDA for discrimination, citing years of being denied US Department of Agriculture farm loans. A settlement of $50,000 was paid out to the individual plaintiffs, but thousands of Black farmers still require help. Gregorio recognized that need, and plans to give farmers a space to sell their produce free of charge.
“Right now, it’s about the power of community,” Gregorio says. “If we just give a little bit of time, money or support, we can help each other grow.”
A big priority in your work is giving back to the community. How has the community helped you build your mini strip mall?
This project has become way more expensive than I anticipated. Because of zoning laws, what I am building qualifies as a strip mall, which means I am required to bring the public space, or the city-owned space around my lot, up to code. I need to install things like a water fountain; I have to redo the curbs, sidewalks and gutters. I have to plant trees along the public space and provide ground covering. There are also a bunch of other things that no small business owner should ever be responsible for. The city knows how helpful the Spice Suite has been to other small businesses, though, and has been helpful to me in other ways. Folks at various levels of government have given me support and guidance and helped me work my way through the policies. City council members have also voted to pass emergency legislation that covered some of the project costs that I would have to pay for myself. And that was extraordinarily helpful.
What is the business model for the boutique salons you’ve set up?
We talk a lot about affordable housing, but we don’t talk about affordable commercial space for Black people. Black people need to have their own spaces for their businesses, just as much as we need to have our own living spaces. I’m offering affordable rent. I want people to stay there for a long time and grow their businesses without spending a lot of overhead.
What are some of the basic barriers to entrepreneurship that you’ve noticed?
If you owe money in DC, you are prohibited from obtaining certain documentation that could be required to properly license your business. If someone needs money to pay off their parking tickets, then we want them to pay it and start their business. For some people that is a huge barrier. The cost of a logo or a website are small barriers that we can remove for folks by collecting donations.
Besides the salons, what kinds of businesses will be housed in the mini strip mall?
There won’t be any other businesses in the strip mall on a permanent basis. However, we will continue to allow for small businesses to pop up every day. The SpiceGirlin’ pop-ups and small business pop-ups will be held in the new Spice Suite space.
What was behind your decision to bring in a farmers’ market element?
I didn’t see enough people who look like me at the farmers’ markets or running the markets, so I decided I can host them. It’s a pop-up for growers and farmers. They won’t pay a fee to participate. All they have to do is bring a tent, a table and sell their produce. I love farmers’ markets and everyone at this farmers’ market will be a Black-owned small business.
