SMALL
BUSIN
ESSES
U7 project / small business along the green line
along the
2013
GREEN LINE
Providing a model for vulnerable corridors
to sur vive any major infrastructure project
The U7 Project • April, 2013 • Saint Paul, Minnesota
small
businesses
along the
GREEN LINE
Table of Contents
Introduction…………………………………………….…....…... 1
Glossary of Terms…………………………………………...….. 7
U7 People and Partners……………………………….....……..... 8
Case Studies
May’s Market………………………………………....……........ 9
Master Framers…………………………………........................ 11
Foundations Health Career Academy…………..….......…........... 13
Thai Café……………………………………………...……....... 15
Mi Linda Tierra…………………………………..…................... 17
Embodied Health……………………………..…….....…........... 19
University Furniture………………………………….................. 21
Ultimate Look…………………………………..……...….......... 23
Flamingo Restaurant…………………………………..…........... 25
Ha Tien Grocery and Deli…………............................................. 27
Capital City Auto Electric……………………………….............. 29
Ashama Grocery and Meat & Ashama Auto Repair....................... 31
Universal Hair and Travel…………………....……...……........... 33
Big Daddy’s Old Fashioned Barbeque.....……….....……............. 35
Transformation Salon……………………………..…...….......... 37
East African Bakery………………………………..….…........... 39
Introduction
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
(The Green Line/Central Corridor - St. Paul, MN)
small business profile / light rail infomation
A major section of the Central Corridor, University
Avenue, was the early to mid-20th-century
thoroughfare connecting Minnesota’s two major cities:
St. Paul and Minneapolis. It was an entertainment and
retail destination as well as a major industrial corridor.
Everything from Model T’s to airplanes, caskets to
refrigerators was built along the avenue. It had a welldeveloped streetcar system that residents used to
shop, work, and play. Soon after World War II, those
tracks were pulled out and the newly-built Highway
94 carried much of the east-west traffic from then on.
The face of University Avenue and its businesses
changed from the inevitable march of progress.
1
The 11-mile-long Green
Line links five major centers
of activity within the Twin
Cities region:
DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS, THE
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, THE MIDWAY
AREA, THE STATE CAPITOL COMPLEX,
AND DOWNTOWN ST. PAUL.
The corridor represents an
estimated 280,000 jobs.
BUILDING A
TRANSIT SYSTEM
Today, the Twin Cities have the 16th largest metropolitan population in the United States. Still vibrant,
the faces and businesses along University Avenue
have changed dramatically from a half-century
ago with the arrival of immigrants from Africa and
Southeast Asia. Yet for its size, and considering
the success of its global business climate, the
Twin Cities currently can claim only a few miles of
light rail (LRT) or commuter rail tracks.
The Green Line will connect with the existing
Hiawatha Line, also known as The Blue Line, at the
Metrodome station and will terminate at the
Minneapolis MultiModal station. This station will also
serve as the base for the new Northstar Commuter
rail line which runs to South Central Minnesota.
LIGHT RAIL TIME LINE:
• June 2006
The Metropolitan Council approves
construction of the Central Corridor Light Rail
Transit Line, also known as the Green Line.
• March 2010
Construction began
• December 2012
Heavy construction concluded
• Spring 2014
First train expected to run
small business profile / light rail information
2
THE GREEN LINE [Central Corridor Light Rail Line]
MAP
STATION AREAS & CULTURAL DISTRICTS
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U7 Service
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U7 Service Area
Existing Hiawatha Station
Little Mekong
2
Existing Hiawatha Station
Miles
Little Africa
Capital Area, Architectural Zone
University-Raymond Commercial
Heritage Preservation District
Creative Enterprise Zone
Downtown / Low
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Rail Line
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Rondo Historic
Central Corridor Station
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OTHER GREEN LINE DETAILS:
• Trains: 31 new light rail transit vehicles, each
with 66 seats and comfortable standing room for
an additional 70 people
• Stations: 18 new stations, plus five stations
shared with the Hiawatha Line in Downtown
Minneapolis (see map of the Central Corridor
LRT route)
• Service: Trains operating every 7 1/2
minutes during peak travel periods, with a
travel time of 39 minutes between Downtown
St. Paul and Downtown Minneapolis
• Projected Weekday Ridership:
More than 40,000 by 2030
• Cost: $957 million
CENTRAL CORRIDOR LIGHT RAIL LINE [green line]
STOPS & CULTURAL DISTRICTS
Lining the corridor by the hundreds are
small, ethnic “Ma and Pa” businesses
tion
ate Station
35E
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Downtown / Lowertown
Capital Area, Architectural Zone
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4
U7 MISSION: SURVIVE AND THRIVE
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman charged Mihailo Temali,
CEO of Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), with
executing this mission. NDC invited a group of seven
community development organizations to form the
University Avenue Business Preparation Collaborative
(U7). Each par tner had a long, successful history
of suppor ting the growth and development of small
businesses, collectively originating over 800 loans
to over 700 small businesses. Together, these loans
represented capital of over $10 million. These members
also provided over 28,000 hours of technical assistance
to more than 1,200 small businesses.
Many Minnesotans — including city planners,
environmentalists, and citizens — believe that public
transportation is a logical course for the state’s major
cities. Yet unless a project of this nature is builton
a new or abandoned road, businesses are likely to
suffer due to disruption from construction and loss of
parking. And University Avenue, home of independent
and family run shops, many of which are owned
by Minnesota’s newest immigrants, was on fragile
footing to begin with due to the recession.
In the early stages, planners knew that this project
would be a delicate operation; in addition to
construction, it was critical to keep existing small
businesses surviving and thriving before, during,
and after the Central Corridor Light Rail project.
small business profile / about u7 & profile project
Lining the corridor by the hundreds, are the small, ethnic “Ma and Pa”
businesses that make up The Green Line today. With this in mind, it
was the strong belief of each par tnering organization that it would take
a two-part equation to achieve the best possible results:
5
1.
repare each business owner, with
P
help from U7 and other business
suppor t providers, with careful
financial planning, expansion of
a customer base, and an increase
in sales through more effective
marketing before LRT. These
improvements would create financial
reserves prior to the expected drop
in sales due to the inability to reach
customers. In addition, it would
generate sales even during the
construction.
2.
rovide additional solutions by
P
Metropolitan Council and other
government entities. The on-street
parking losses, decreased customer
access, and predicted loss of sales
during and after construction would,
in some cases, be so extreme that
individual business owners would
need access to well-funded loans
and grants in order to ride out the
construction storm.
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
The following essays profile 16 such Green Line
businesses. All are small and independently owned;
all felt the effects of light rail construction and all have
received some level of assistance from U7. These
individuals represent the diversity that make up the
face, economic hear t, and social vitality that University
Avenue is today. There are seven women and ten men:
two Hispanics owners (a couple), four Asian owners,
three African owners, four Caucasian owners, and
four African-American owners with storefronts that
span the Green Line from Lower town/Downtown
St. Paul to Highway 280. These storefronts include
four hair salons, three markets, a furniture store, a
framing shop, a restaurant, a yoga studio, a bakery,
an automotive shop, and a health care academy.
These owners were asked about their history as
business owners, the effect of light rail construction
on their bottom line, how they met representatives
from U7, what services they were provided, and how
those services made a difference in their ability to
stay alive during construction.
Through a combination of business assistance
from U7 and an enormous amount of perseverance,
patience, and sweat equity, all that are profiled here
have survived the worst of the construction — some
better than others but all — with U7’s assistance
— with a stronger infrastructure than when they went
into construction.
From the very start of this project, it has been U7’s goal
to think of University Avenue and St. Paul Lowertown/
Downtown businesses through multiple lenses. Each
business is unique, each claims its own distinct
character, history, and needs. To this end, we believe
we have made a positive impact on these businesses,
and therefore the U7 mission has been a success.
BUSINESS OWNERS CITED: ( about assistance from U7 )
• N ew logo, branding, marketing, and an understanding of social media
• L oans that covered some or all of the losses suffered during
construction, as well as loans for façade improvements, new parking
lots, energy improvements, and business expansion
•W
orking with U7 Small Business Consultants (SBC) to learn new
accounting systems, business management tools and financial
record keeping.
small business profile / about u7 & profile project
•P
rinted materials, such as flyers, menus, business cards, stationary,
and wayfinding signs
6
Glossary of Terms
U7
A group of seven community-based development
nonprofits, formed in January 2008, to officially
make up the University Avenue Business Preparation
Collaborative (U7). The mission of U7 is to help existing
small businesses “survive and thrive” before, during,
and after construction of the Green Line through stronger
management and marketing practices. Emphasis is
placed on independent businesses within the areas
of Rice Street to Emerald Street, and Lower town and
Downtown in St. Paul.
SBC
A Small Business Consultant provides outreach and
direct services (such as financial and accounting reviews
and/or marketing recommendations) to small businesses
along the Green Line. He/She coordinates with the U7
Graphic Design department to establish marketing,
branding, and social media services.
small business profile / about u7 & profile project
NDC SMALL BUSINESS
TRAINING
7
An 11-week course designed to help graduates of NDC’s
small business training build vibrant practices that create
employment opportunities, provide goods and services,
serve as role models, and establish community gathering
places that contribute to community revitalization. The
program is offered in 20 neighborhoods and ethnic
communities throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro
area and focuses on teaching entrepreneurs how to create
a viable business plan.
CITY OF ST. PAUL READY FOR
RAIL FORGIVABLE LOAN
Created to be a modest safety net for for-profit small
businesses with no more than $2 million in annual
gross sales and that show a loss in sales due to the
construction of the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit
Line. The forgivable loan may be used for basic business
expenses, including payroll, inventory, rent/mor tgage,
utilities, taxes, marketing, and insurance. Up to $20,000
is available per business. Distributions are structured
as 0% loans that are forgiven at the rate of 20% for each
year for a total of five years the business stays on the
Central Corridor Light Rail Line.
CITY OF ST. PAUL STAR
(Sales Tax Revitalization)
Neighborhood STAR awards loans and grants for capital
improvement projects in St. Paul neighborhoods, and is
funded with 50 percent of the sales tax proceeds.
FACADE IMPROVEMENT
MATCHING GRANT
Funded by federal award and the City of Saint Paul’s
2010 Neighborhood STAR fund and Living Cities Grant
dollars, these monies are used to provide oppor tunities
for physical improvements and revitalization of
commercial proper ties along University Avenue before,
during, and after the Central Corridor Light Rail Transit
(LRT) construction.
METROPOLITAN COUNCIL
The Metropolitan (Met) Council is the regional
planning agency serving the Twin Cities seven-county
metropolitan area and providing essential services to
the region. The Council works with local communities to
plan for future growth. The Met Council is the governing
body of the Central Corridor/Green Line LRT project and
provide key outreach staff to the project.
SPARC
Sparc collaborates with community members,
developers, and organizations to provide services
and plan for our neighborhoods’ future.
LIVING CITIES
Living Cities provided U7 with loans and a grant
for facade improvement projects. Living Cities
harnesses the collective power of philanthropy
and financial institutions to improve low-income
cities and the lives of the residents who live
there. The Living Cities Loan fund is a new tool to
help NDC achieve its mission and is a powerful
tool for change.
LIVING CITIES LOAN
FUND PURPOSES:
SMALL BUSINESS
EXPANSION FUNDS
SMALL BUSINESS
BUILDING OWNERSHIP
FUND
Assists locally- and minority-owned small
businesses in purchasing their own building
for the sake of promoting a long-term presence
along the corridor.
NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT CENTER
President and CEO Mihailo Temali
U7 PROJECT STAFF
Project Manager
Isabel Chanslor
Small Business Consultants (SBC)
Jason Allen, Maria Kuria**
Sia Lo*, Marilyn Porter*
and Pangia Vang
NDC Loan Officers
Perla Mayo and Sai Thao
NDC Training and Communications
Maren Misner*
Design Team
Ryan Kidder (Lead), Steve Olson*
Kirsten Zache**, Kim Urban** and Nou Vang**
Small Businesses on the Green Line Author
Emily Blodgett**
*former employees at U7
** contractors
U7 BOARD MEMBERS AND PARTNERS
Gene Gegelu, African Economic
Development Solutions
Nieeta Presley, Aurora/St. Anthony NDC
Jill Henricksen, Greater Frogtown CDC
Dave Chapman, Metropolitan Consortium of
Community Developers (MCCD)
Matthew Ides, Sparc
Mihailo Temali, Neighborhood Development Center
President and CEO
U7 FUNDERS
Central Corridor Funders Collaborative
The St. Paul Foundation
F. R. Bigelow Foundation
Small Business Administration Assistance Support
(federal loan secured by U.S. Representative Betty
McCollum)
Living Cities Catalyst Fund and Facade Improvement
Grant
City of St. Paul STAR funds for Façade Improvement
Program
Business Resources Collaborative (BRC)
CITY OF ST. PAUL
Craig Blakely, Economic Development;
Parking Improvements
Nancy Homans, Policy Director; Ready for Rail
Forgivable Loan
Ellen Muller, Economic Development Manager, Ready
for Rail Forgivable Loan
Craig O’Brien, STAR program
METROPOLITAN COUNCIL
Robin Caufmann and Outreach Staff
Metropolitan Council Central Corridor Project Offfice
small business profile / Glossary and U7 People, Partners and Funders
Assists a small, select group of targeted
businesses on University Avenue who have
a significant long-term growth oppor tunity
and who can serve as a more visible anchor
for the avenue, symbolizing the strong, longterm potential for ethnic and minority-owned
businesses in this district.
U7 PEOPLE, PARTNERS,
AND FUNDERS
8
May Yang, left and his daughter Tiffany
ay’s Market... is
M
the oldest Asian market
in the Twin Cities.
May’s Market
280
th a
35E
T
LR
Rice St.
wa
55
INGTON AVE
Dale St.
Hi a
H
WAS
Business Location
Lexingoton Ave.
377 University Avenue
May Yang, Owner
Snelling Ave.
35W
R
DA
CE
M located just east
UN of the
May’s Market,
IS
IVE
SI
State Capitol
S
Western Avenue SGreen
Line
stop,
isRSIthe
TY
University Ave.
IP
AV
PI
oldest Asian market
the Twin Cities. E
Rin
MINNEAPOLIS
IV
Downtown/Lowertown
ER
For 22 years, it has sold groceries,
94
St. Paul
medicinal teas, and items for Asian
ST PAUL
celebrations. May’s carries hundreds
R
IVE
IR
of dried herbs that when properly
P
IP
SS
combined, will produce remedies that
SI
are thousands of years old, yet still in
demand today. Many within the Asian
including a non-profit, retail, service, and a restaurant.
community use May’s Market as an apothecary for
May purchased the building unaware of the impending
medicine. If it is a complex remedy, May requires a
light rail construction project.
prescription from a Chinese herbalist.
M
IS
ST
May Vang, the Hmong owner, is patient with curious
customers. He speaks English and Chinese, as well
as some Thai and Laotian. May purchased the 18,500
square foot building on the corner of Western and
University Avenue in 2005. He has multiple tenants,
9
The summer of 2012, was the most difficult time for
him. University Avenue was torn up and Western was
closed, making May’s Market nearly impossible to get
to. In a normal month, May said his revenues averaged
$18,000 to $19,000. During construction, he averaged
about $13,000 — a 31% loss.
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
In 2010, May said that SBCs Sia Lo and Sai Thao stopped by to talk with him about the imminence of the light
rail construction and to discuss the services U7 could provide to help him and the other small businesses in
his building. He signed on eagerly and said he was open to any help they could offer.
May said that U7 has been a consistent presence these last two years. Present SBC Pangia Vang stops by two
to three times a month or “whenever I call.” May has received approximately 120 hours of services, most of
which was financial and façade improvement advice.
Other projects included:
• Offering financial advice, and giving information about an inventory tracking program. May was told to
collect e-mail addresses to contact his customers about detours and sales and specials within the market.
• Consulting on local media advertising options.
• H
elping restructure his mortgage with his bank. Helping with loan application to the Small Business
Administration.
• P
rovided a $60,000 façade grant and $50,000 Living Cities loan from NDC. These loans enabled him to
upgrade his façade with new exterior signage reflecting the Little Mekong district design guidelines In fact,
the May’s Market project has served as a model for Little Mekong and other cultural districts along the
corridor. The façade project improved the signage and windows for several businesses located in May’s
building: a grocery store, a tax office, a hair salon, a non-profit organization, and a restaurant.
• Facilitating a Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan, which went toward business expenses incurred during
construction.
• Designing a new simplified logo. He and U7 are in the process of launching a May’s Market website.
Though May saw a decrease in revenue during
construction, the uniqueness of his store, his stature
in the community, and the services he received
through U7 has given him confidence that he will
thrive. The loans U7 helped facilitate to increase
his property values, and May’s investment in both
his business and his tenants, has far reaching
implications for how businesses in economic
distress and in a cultural district can survive a major
infrastructure project.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
After initial hesitation about the project, May is excited
about the prospect of a train stopping right outside his
door. He hopes that a more ethnically and regionally
diverse crowd will discover his shop and be interested
in the herbal medicines and products May’s Market
has to offer. After more than two decades and a
challenging construction project, May is confident that
May’s Market can survive anything now.
small business profile / may’s market
THE BOTTOM LINE
10
Business Location
th a
T
LR
M
IS
SI
UN
IVE
RS
ITY
AV
E
State Capitol
University Ave.
Downtown/Lowertown
St. Paul
94
R
DA
CE
262 E. Fourth
Street
PI
RI
MINNEAPOLIS
VE Owner
Roger Nielson,
R
SS
IP
35E
Dale St.
wa
55
Master
Framers
GTON AVE
SHIN
Lexington Ave.
Hi a
WA
280
Snelling Ave.
35W
ST
It is a unique, niche business, where well-established
ar tists, private collectors, and ar t museums are his likely
clients. Restoring existing frames is about 30 percent of
his income. Master Framers has been operating out of
the 4th Street location since 1977, on the street level of
a large, drafty 27-unit building (primarily ar t studios) he
owns with two par tners.
In 2010, Nielsen felt like a guinea pig for the Green Line
project. “They dug up and repaved 4th Street three or four
times. At its worst, there was a two-month period in 2012,
when no one could get to the shop.” Nielsen said that
Master Framers has had to lay off two people in order
to be “leaner and meaner.” The loss of 6 to 10 parking
spaces in front of the business has been very difficult
because customers are usually carrying a heavy load
when they leave. As a landlord, he went from having a
waiting list of tenants to one or two vacancies.
With the economy and light rail construction, and changing
demographics of a new generation content to display ar t
with pre-made frames, revenue is down 20 percent. All of
these factors led to finding himself $35,000 “in the hole”
– a sum he’s had to cover with his personal retirement
account and for tunately, a Forgivable Loan.
11
IP P
SS
SI
IR
R
IVE
M
Roger Nielsen’s Master Framers, located a block from the
beginning of the Green Line in Lower town, couldn’t be
more different from the typical strip mall poster framing
shop. Though the front room has a retail feel, step in back
and it feels like a workshop at the Minneapolis Institute of
Ar ts. The intricate, ornate, and substantial frames hanging
in the front are created in the craftsman’s workshop in the
back, where shelves of sharp steel molding forms, gilding
and painting stations, and board lengths of flawless milled
oak and basswood wait to be transformed.
IS
ST PAUL
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Roger heard about U7 because he went to a
lot of early light rail informational meetings
and “raised hell” with other business owners
toward city planners and engineers about the
route of the train and the subsequent disruption
of construction. Isabel Chanslor, U7 Project
Manager, approached Nielsen at one of those
meetings and told him about programs she
thought would be useful for his business. “I
found them pleasant and surprisingly easy to
work with,” he said. “She brought in a checklist
and said ‘what do you need?” U7 has spent more
than 35 hours working with Nielsen’s business
and building, primarily providing financial advice
before, during, and after construction.
“Without the forgivable
loan and U7’s help, I
wouldn’t be here today”
Roger Nielsen, Owner
Other projects included:
• Facilitating the City of St. Paul Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan to offset huge losses Nielsen suffered during
construction.
• Arranging for an Xcel Energy audit to address the enormous gas and electric bills of his building. Nielsen
is weighing whether the expense of fixing a beautiful but warped front door and replacing the windows
throughout the building is a cost-effective project. Chanslor is investigating options for low-interest loans
for energy improvements for Nielsen.
• Erecting wayfinding signs to direct customers to parking and their shop. Though “it didn’t help the parking
situation though once they found us,” he said.
Nielsen believes that without the financial assistance
U7 helped coordinate “We had two killer years.
Without the Forgivable Loan and U7’s help, I wouldn’t
be here today. Just now (late 2012) things are coming
to fruition.”
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
Nielsen does not believe that light rail is going to
directly benefit his framing business. He said that his
clients would rather pull up directly to the building and
are unlikely to take a large framed piece of art home on
a train. He does believe that it will create a demand for
more downtown housing, which creates a demand for
his housing rental business.
small business profile / master framers
THE BOTTOM LINE
12
Foundations
Health Career
Academy
225 University Avenue
Rachele Simmons, Owner
healthcarejobsmn.com
Graduate
of NDC’s
Small Business
Training
Foundations Health Career Academy (FHCA) is
an inexpensive, no-frills school founded to teach
students the skills to pass the cer tification test to
become a nursing assistant or home health aide. In
80 hours spread over 16 days, Rachele Simmons
trains an average of six students for $950 a
person. A similar program through the Red Cross
costs upward of $1,500. With the vast majority of
her clients lower income, immigrant, and minority
women, the difference is significant.
Located in one large room on the top floor of the
Hmong Professional Building, at the corner of Rice
Street and University Avenue, Simmons has created
a clinic “laboratory” with beds, blood pressure
cuffs, and other nursing equipment. “The academy
is a labor of love,” she said. Once a specialist nurse
“making six figures,” Simmons dipped deeply into
her savings and retirement accounts to make FHCA
happen. Her graduates have a 97 percent success
rate in passing the cer tification tests. She loves
telling her students, many of whom come from
challenging life situations, “after this class, you’ll
have something no one can ever take from you…
an education and job skills.”
Simmons moved to her site on University Avenue
in March 2012, literally weeks before bulldozers
tore apar t the street. It was a difficult star t, to say
the least. Though her building has a parking lot,
she estimates that approximately 65 percent of her
students take public transpor tation.
Though convenience was her goal in choosing
the University Avenue site, there were months this
summer when she couldn’t cross the street with her
class to get to the nursing home where they intern.
U7 branded FHCA to
“a whole new level.”
Rachele Simmons, Owner
13
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
280
th a
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Simmons went through NDC’s Small
Business Training to learn the next
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on University Avenue. Wanting her to
succeed with such a positive business
plan, they putMI her in touch with Uthe
U7
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staff. At their first
SIT
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P of U7’s services AVE
was advised of all
PI
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and was told what sheERhad to do on
her end to receive help, par ticularly
getting all the financials in order
to be eligible for the Ready For Rail
Forgivable Loan.
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Simmons believes that her students
and graduates are potentially her best advertising for more students, but the 320 hours U7 has put in toward her
business have been incredibly important in promoting FHCA’s name and services.
Other projects included:
THE BOTTOM LINE
U7 branded FHCA to “a whole new level.” They
helped her with legal issues, flyers, branding, her
website, Google Maps, a Facebook page, and printed
materials with address changes. These, in turn, have
brought in new students and greater visibility within
the Twin Cities medical community.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
Simmons thinks the light rail will definitely be good for
her students, but also good for the Twin Cities. “We’re
not two cities. This makes us one city. There are so
many more options for people to get to where they
need to go,” she said.
small business profile / foundations health career academy
• Facilitating a $1,000 micro-grant in 2011 that she used for relocating costs.
• Creating a website that has attracted new students, kept them informed, and created a community by
congratulating and encouraging her graduates. U7 staff have photographed some graduations and posted
photos to her site. Both Simmons and her students are grateful for the attention and recognition.
• Instructing Simmons on the importance of social media — setting up her Facebook and Twitter accounts
where she has been an active poster and tweeter.
• Helping digitalize all FHCA instructional and administrative’materials.
• Helping secure a grant from Valspar Paint to repaint the interior of the large, one-room classroom and a
matching grant of $400 for façade improvements.
• Advising Simmons to approach her landlord about reducing her rent during construction. Though this never
happened, she said the building owners agreed to creative lease payments.
14
Quickly built a great
reputation online and in
the community for
excellent Thai dishes.
Ya Poophakumpanart, Owner
280
Thai Cafe
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Ya Poophakumpanart,
Owner andMISSChef
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thaicafemn.com
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Lexingoton Ave.
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Located on the north side of University
Avenue in the Frogtown neighborhood,
Chef Ya Poophakumpanart is taking
a well-deserved rest at a sunny table
after the afternoon lunch rush. Through sheer will,
95-hour 7-day work weeks, and assistance from U7,
Ya finally believes that Thai Café will survive. U7 was
able to provide for the immediate needs so she could
continue her work in the kitchen and with customers. And
this is where Ya shines: Thai Café has already earned a
reputation on Yelp for delicious Thai food and thus a loyal
clientele willing to brave light rail construction.
IS
ST PAUL
Ya is a professionally trained chef who traveled her
country of Thailand to gather unique recipes and flavors.
She opened Thai Café in early 2011, two years after she
arrived and just a year before construction started in
earnest. She speaks Hmong, Thai, and only a little English.
We conducted this interview through an interpreter.
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Ya was visited by Sia Lo, a former U7 Small Business Consultant, who stopped in a month after she opened to explain
what services U7 could provide. Sia, who is Hmong, was able to communicate in more detail the light rail construction
schedule, other pertinent information, and what it might mean for her business. Immediately, the U7 team introduced
Ya to general business management, marketing, and graphic design projects. Ya received approximately 120 hours of
U7’s assistance, including the full complement of U7’s marketing and branding expertise.
Other projects included:
• Creating Thai Café’s colorful and modern brand, working with her on the design and pricing of her menu and
business cards, and building a website using a City of St. Paul’s Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan.
• Facilitating a $1,000 micro-grant in 2012 to follow through with more marketing and branding.
• Maintaining, along with Ya’s high school-aged daughter, her Facebook page and website. Though clients
must pay annually for the domain name and hosting, all other “backend” services are provided by U7. Lo
suggested early on to gather e-mail addresses of patrons so she could contact them with the most up-todate parking and detour information.
• Pushing catering to survive the times when getting to her restaurant was nearly impossible to get to.
• Posting wayfinding signs that pointed patrons to her restaurant and parking.
• Creating 500 flyers that were passed out in nightclubs and church parking lots (though the return was very
small on this).
• Maintenance of her website, which was completed before construction, encouraged phone orders for pick-up.
• Coordinating façade improvement and new signage through her landlord May Yang, owner of May’s Market.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Ya is confident about the future and thinks that
ultimately the light rail will be good for the Twin Cities
and very good for her business. She knows that she
provides delicious food that people will seek out;
a train running by her door can only help but bring
them to her. With the light at the end of the tunnel, she
believes that she can hire more employees. She’d like
to make the modest restaurant feel more high-end, and
thus more attractive for business lunches and a more
affluent clientele.
small business profile / thai cafe
Ya believes that the expectations of bad business due
to construction were worse than the reality. Even at
the height of disruption, her income and sales count
were greater this summer than last. Part of this, no
doubt, is due to Thai Café’s reputation, but Ya credits
U7 as well, a service she said that has saved her
time and money.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
16
ail
280
35W
Business Location
Mi Linda
Tierra
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585 University Avenue
Lucio Parra & Rosie Santos, Owners
State Capitol
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Mi Linda Tierra is an Hispanic grocery store just east
of Dale Street on University Avenue. The façade is a
brilliant green, inviting, and fun. Inside, like many of the
businesses on this corridor, are two independent business
owners wondering if they’ll be able to survive, even now
that the worst of the construction is over.
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Lucio Parra and Rosie Santos owned a restaurant in
Lima, Peru before emigrating to St. Paul 12 years ago.
They initially star ted a cleaning service, then found this
struggling Hispanic grocery and thought it would be
more conducive to a better family life. For a while that
was the scenario. They have two children, a 14-year
old girl who helps out on the weekends and 3-year old
son. When they began, they worked hard to market their
grocery, create relationships with U7 and with the nearby
Hispanic community, stock popular items, and create a
meat counter customers found wor thy of traveling long
distances for. They were soon bringing in up to $1,500 a
day. Construction and the recession knocked them back
to square one and now they are averaging roughly $200
to $300 a day.
Lucio and Rosie underwent some legal and
banking issues with the previous owners of the
grocery store, which was a further financial
hardship. NDC Loan Officer Perla Mayo stopped
by soon after they took over to introduce
herself. She talked them through the financial
obligations left by the previous owners and told
them about NDC and the services they could
provide. They were unaware of the impending
light rail construction when they purchased the
store. Mayo introduced Isabel Chanslor to them
and their relationship with U7 began. Lucio and
Rosie, who did not have retail grocery experience
before they opened Mi Linda Tierra, also did not
take the NDC entrepreneurial class. “I think we
probably should have,” Rosie said.
Rosie believes that all Mi Linda Tierra’s financial problems
stem directly from the trucks, noise, disruption, and
blockages caused by the construction. She said that many
of their customers have more than one job, so they’re
always in a hurry. “They run in and then they run out. They
say ‘I can’t wait in traffic to get to your store,’” she said.
Some of those customers have come back now that the
worst of the construction is over, but unfor tunately many
have not.
17
Despite financial
difficulties Lucio and
Rosie have used their
help from U7 to survive
another day.
Lucio Parra and Rosie Santos, Owners
Other projects included:
• Providing financial advice before and then facilitating the City of St. Paul Forgivable Loan program. Rosie and
Lucio used the money to pay bills. Rosie said they could have used a loan twice as large to cover their debts.
• Designing a whimsical avocado logo and designed flyers with special deals. Also provided were business
cards and a website, which has since been taken down.
• Providing marketing assistance, such as making better use of both Mexican and American holidays, keeping
the website up-to-date, and making use of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. SBC Sia Lo also
suggested providing weekly, monthly, and quarterly features such as recipes and photos to bring people to
the site on a regular basis.
• Coordinating with the community development organization Sparc and Valspar Paints to provide up to 20
gallons of paint to spruce their market up.
• Erecting wayfinding signs to direct customers to parking and their shop.
Despite financial difficulties, Lucio and Rosie have
used their help from U7 to survive another day.
Throughout the process, the couple has maintained
a positive and cheerful attitude and have continued to
run an organized and well-stocked Hispanic market.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
Rosie said that most of her customers come to them by
bus or by car. Since the rail stop is practically outside
their door, eventually the train will have a positive
effect on Mi Linda Tierra. Whether they still own the
business when the trains finally run, Rosie said, is the
big question.
small business profile / mi linda tierra
THE BOTTOM LINE
18
Embodied
Health
2506 University Avenue
Lucinda Pepper, Owner
embodied-health.com
Graduate
of NDC’s
Small Business
Training
Embodied Health, a yoga and massage business,
is an oasis of calm on a street that has seen much
chaos. In 2007, Lucinda Pepper fell in love with the
location and space in the large brick building on
the nor th side of University Avenue near Highway
280. She loved it there even during the summer of
2011 when construction and detours made getting
to her studio nearly impossible.
Pepper is an evangelist for the transformative
powers of massage and yoga, and has made it a
mission to reach out to as many who need it as
possible. Growing her business before she star ted
working with U7, was “person to person,” pursuing
free media, creating a website, and sending out an
e-mail newsletter. Success was painfully slow:
gross revenue her first year was slightly more than
$5,000 a year. “It was nerve-wracking.”
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Pepper took Neighborhood Development Center’s
small business training class in 2005, two years
before she opened the doors to Embodied Health.
As a graduate of this program, she became eligible
to receive a small business loan. NDC Loan Officer
Sai Thao introduced Pepper to U7’s Isabel Chanslor
and Ryan Kidder. “I remember them giving me their
slogan: ‘Offering marketing and financial services
to help businesses survive and thrive light rail
construction at a free or low cost rate’ and thinking,
“Yes. That’s what I need.” Pepper said that after she
had assembled some qualitative data, U7 dove in
and began on the Embodied Health project.
Lucinda Pepper, Owner
19
“It was astounding
how helpful working
with NDC and U7
has been for me”
Other projects included:
• Facilitating a $1,000 micro-grant in 2011 that she used for marketing to new clients.
• Creating a new brand and logo, and helping facilitate getting a new awning, and written materials, such as
gift certificates, post cards, and business cards. She also received instruction in the importance of using
her branding consistently.
• Setting up a photo shoot to provide art for her website and written materials.
• “Tutoring” Pepper in social media, Twitter, and Facebook. She uses these to promote workshops and keep in
touch with her clients. She now tweets 2-3 times a week and posts on Facebook daily. She keeps the social
media guidebook assembled by the U7 design team in her purse and uses it daily.
• Launching her new, attractive website in July 2012. U7 designed and printed 1,000 postcards announcing
the launch. She sent out approximately 500 to her clients, and delivered another 500 to coffee shops,
restaurants, businesses, etc.
• Providing continuing mentorship on an as-needed basis, particularly for website or social media issues.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
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THE BOTTOM LINE
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“Knowing me, I’d still be slogging
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55 I would have had
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having to close.”MINNEAPOLIS I RIV
Vandalia St.
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small business profile / embodied health
Hi a
H
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Business Location
Hampden Ave.
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Downtown
Minneapolis
280
Raymond Ave.
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394
Pepper is a light rail advocate. Transit means community connectivity,
a strengthened infrastructure, and a better environment. Already, she
sees University Avenue looking better, with new lights and sidewalks.
For Embodied Health, she envisions commuters seeing her awning
from the train and one day stopping in.
280
4
She said that within one week of
sending out the postcards announcing
her website, her scheduled doubled;
six months later, that uptick has
been maintained. “I was inundated
r
thsta Rail
Nor uter
with calls. It was a quality problem.”
m
Com
This year, Pepper says, gross
revenue should top $46,000. “It was
35W
astounding how helpful working with
NDC and U7 has been for me.”
20
German’s longevity in
the furniture business on
University Avenue gives
him perspective.
David German, Owner
University
Furniture
280
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David German,
Owner
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The last few years have been very
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difficult and frustrating for David
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German and his business at the
SI
corner of University and Avon. And
the frustration has led to anger.
The appearance of jackhammers and trucks during
German emigrated from the Ukraine 26 years ago and
the summer of 2012, meant fur ther disruption and
has been selling furniture along University Avenue for
greater inaccessibility for his customers looking to buy
more than 13 years, but he is no longer cer tain he can
furniture.
hang on for even another six months. He says just as
there’s a window of normalcy outside his shop, more
“When I first star ted this business, on a scale of one to
construction and detours are announced. Though the
10, business was a 9 and a half. After the recession,
4,500 square foot store is packed tightly with sofas,
it was a 6 or a 7,” he said. “Now it is a 3.” Looming
tables, bedroom sets, mirrors, and wall decor, much of
rent and insurance bills forced German to lay off two
what he sells is through catalogs and delivered directly
employees. He often gets feedback from customers
to customers’ homes. He says he is in the process of
who say that what was once a 15 minute trip to his store
reducing inventory. “I’m scared to buy more furniture.”
from Minneapolis, now takes more than 30 minutes.
21
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
German had attended a meeting where someone had handed him a card for a small business consultant at
U7. He believes his relationship with U7 has been one of the bright spots of the whole light rail construction
process. “(SBC) Pangia (Vang) understands how bad it is and she keeps me informed of what services can
help me next,” he said.
Other projects included:
• Providing financial advice early to assure that German would be eligible for the City of St. Paul Ready For
Rail Forgivable Loan through U7, and then helping facilitate that loan.
• Acting as an intermediary with the Metropolitan Council when German had concerns with construction.
• Providing advertising advice and technical assistance with promotion. German advertised in the St. Paul
Pioneer Press for a monthly fee of $50, created flyers for the neighboring community and his customers
for $60, and advertises in the Twin Cities Russian newspaper. He is, German said, the only Russian around
selling furniture.
THE BOTTOM LINE
As difficult as the construction has been on his
business, German believes that a train system will
ultimately be good for the Twin Cities, bringing people
in from the suburbs, and hopefully buying his quality,
inexpensive furniture.
small business profile / university furniture
German’s longevity in the furniture business on
University Avenue gives him perspective about
his present situation. But the recession and the
construction project one after the other have been
the heaviest blow of his career. However, he hasn’t
felt alone. German believes that Vang and others at
U7 have consistently been a supportive presence.
The facilitation of the Forgivable Loan allowed him
to get out from under a stack of bills and Vang’s
willingness to go to bat for him with the Metropolitan
Council was a service he appreciated.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
22
Ultimate Look
1455 University Avenue
Dominque Wells, Owner
ultimatelookmn.com
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Ultimate Look is a full service African-American beauty
and nail salon and barbershop located west of the Hamline
Street rail stop. Though more than 20 years old, it gives
off a modern, sleek feeling, both in the shop and on the
website. This is primarily due to the young owner who
took over the family business when the founder, his aunt,
got sick and turned to him for help. Only 28, Dominque
Wells, is a skilled businessman, juggling being owner,
manager, and even barber in the shop.
Wells said that a year before construction began,
many representatives of U7 came to him —
Small Business Consultants Sia Lo and then
Pangia Vang, and graphic designers Ryan Kidder
and Steve Olson gave him details about the
upcoming construction schedule and suggested
he attend more city and transit meetings.
The most important thing that Wells heard
from U7 was to keep in good contact with his
existing customers. He began collecting e-mail
addresses and building his database so when
getting to his shop was the trickiest, he would
be able to contact them to provide them with
detour and parking directions. U7 has provided
approximately 215 hours of assistance since
partnering with Wells.
Ultimate Look has survived the worst of the construction.
The biggest construction-related nightmare was in the
summer of 2011 when the sidewalk in front of Ultimate
Look “disappeared.” He said that the customers who
actually braved University Avenue and came for a cut or
beauty service were sometimes 45 minutes or an hour
late. Sales dropped dramatically; down 50 percent for four
or five months. Despite all this, he optimistically believes
that better days are ahead.
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Business Location
“We should bounce
back for the better.”
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Dominique Wells, Owner
Other projects included:
• Designing the branding for Ultimate Look. “They gave us a new design, a new way to reinvent ourselves,”
Wells said. “We got some new business cards and promotional things done, including a new website.”
• Preparing and applying for the forgivable loan. “If they hadn’t pushed me, it probably wouldn’t have gotten
done.” “The loan,” he said, “went toward catching up on bills, new furniture, and other remodeling.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Wells believes that ultimately the light rail will be good
for his business and the others along University Avenue.
“We should bounce back for the better.” However, he
does question whether this project was the best use of
St. Paul’s money. As the Twin Cities are “moving up,”
it’s probably time they connected with each other in a
modern way, he believes.
“This has been a tough time. I had to figure out a lot
of stuff about how to make this business work, but I
pushed through,” Wells said. “I wouldn’t have willingly
done it, but then I didn’t have that option.”
small business profile / ultimate look
Wells said the overall impact of his work with U7 has
been very positive. “They provided me with a more
consistent structure from the business standpoint of
branding, marketing, and tracking losses and gains.
Because they helped me set and meet my goals, I
definitely feel we’ll grow and survive,” he said. On
the positive side, the majority of his old customers
are back now that his shop is easier to access, and
better yet, new people are coming in as well.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
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24
Flamingo
Restaurant
490 N. Syndicate Stree
Shegitu Kebede and Frewoini Haile,
Co-Owners
flamingorestaurantmn.com
Flamingo is a three-year old East African restaurant
located a half block north of University Avenue
near Hamline. The owners are Shegitu Kebede and
Frewoini Haile, two women from Ethiopia and Eritrea
respectively. When they decided to bring their unique
tastes to St. Paul’s Midway area, they were unaware
a gigantic construction project would add one more
stress to an already rocky first year.
The worst of the construction was the summer of
2012. “For a while, it didn’t look like life existed out
here,” Shegitu said. “Except for the construction
workers, people couldn’t get to us. We were running
out of nails to bite.” Instead, Flamingo ramped up
its catering and delivery services. “They opened
our eyes,” Shegitu said. “They told us not to just
sit and wait for people to come to us.”
But now, Shegitu seems to radiate calm and
relief. With an Urban Spoon rating of 92 percent,
Flamingo is past the worst of construction and has
become a go-to spot for delicious, unique dining in
the Twin Cities.
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
“I can’t remember if we looked for them or they
came to us. I think, though, that God sent them
to us,” Shegitu said. U7 has spent more than 450
hours, primarily on accounting assistance and
marketing and branding.
Shegitu Kebede, Owner
25
“We want to be a
success story for U7”
Other projects included:
• Advising Shegitu and Frewoini to look for cheaper groceries, start a savings account, start collecting e-mail
addresses to “create relationships,” and to contact customers about specials and navigating detours and
to grow their catering services.
• Providing far-reaching financial and accounting services. U7 SBC Mary Kuria taught them bookkeeping
skills, instructing them to pay special attention to the cost of goods in order to reduce expenses and
increase revenue. She also taught them to file their own taxes, has them using new and more efficient
accounting software, and is offering advice in renegotiating their lease.
• Designing the uniquely fun and attractive logo of a one-legged flamingo fit into the African continent, menus,
signage, business cards, but also with advice on how to consistently use their new branding.
• Facilitating the City of St. Paul Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan to offset construction losses, in addition to a
façade improvement matching grant.
• Helping Flamingo navigate at least two major setbacks. The first was the restaurant’s original and poorly
installed street sign that crashed to the ground in a wind in the early morning hours. Fortunately no one
was hurt. Also, the restaurant was a victim of a nearby power surge that burned out every appliance in the
restaurant. They went into debt to purchase new stoves, ovens, refrigerators, etc., because the mishap was not
covered by insurance. U7 assisted in rallying customers and clients to raise funds to keep the restaurant going.
• Erecting wayfinding signs to direct people to the restaurant and parking were very helpful.
280
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Business Location
THE BOTTOM LINE
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DOING BUSINESS IN THE
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Shegitu, a world traveler, knows that a train system is the mark of a healthy city. “When I travel, I never take
the bus. I take the train everywhere. The Twin Cities is growing, becoming more diverse and is economically
very sound.” In addition, she said she is very happy that the train station is close to Flamingo.
small business profile / flamingo restaurant
Fairview Ave
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There was a time, she said, when
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was
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they
had
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very confident
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we will make it,” Shegitu
said. “We
want to be a success story for U7.”
Snelling Ave.
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26
Son Dao, Owner
Ha Tien
Grocery and Deli
353 University Avenue
Son Dao, Owner 280
Business Location
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Construction inside and outside his building has taken
a bite out of Son’s bottom line. He estimated that
business plummeted nearly 40 percent in the summer
of 2012 when the construction began in front of his
store, making getting to and parking at Ha Tien so
difficult. “People stopped coming. It was easier for
many of my customers to go to other larger markets,”
Son said. A major employer in the neighborhood with
seven full-time and 14 par t-time workers — many from
Frogtown — the primary concern on Son’s mind was
getting those customers back and bringing in new ones.
27
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Ha Tien Grocery Store was in a state of
chaos one day in early January, 2013.
Heavy plastic sectioned off a third of the
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difficult. But it was this
VE
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and vision of progress for
the 16-yearold Asian market right across the street
from the Western Avenue light rail
stop. Vietnamese owner Son Dao is
upbeat, looking remarkably vibrant for
working 16-hour days, seven days a week
since 1996, with one 3-day vacation in 2006.
Lexington Ave.
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Snelling Ave.
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“Business is definitely
up from the low last
summer.”
He knows that Ha Tien, with about 7,000 square feet
of retail space, needed to create a niche to differentiate
itself from the Asian “mega” markets, many of which are
within a mile of Ha Tien. Currently, that niche is a deli,
starring the incredibly popular banh mi, an Asian sub
sandwich, as well as other quick, pre-prepared meals.
Once the construction inside the store is complete — new
floor tiles, wider aisles, a new refrigeration system, and
greater energy efficiency; and outside, the new sign and
façade — he said he will be ready to promote the store
again – hopefully before the Chinese New Year’s holiday.
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
A representative from U7 first came to Ha Tien in the summer of 2010 to give him the latest on the plans for
the light rail construction. Like many busy business people interviewed for this project, Son had difficulty
remembering the details of how the relationship came to be and even what services he had received in the
last two years.
Other projects included:
• Facilitating a City of St. Paul façade grant, a $200,000 Living Cities loan from NDC, and another $30,000 in
grants from Living Cities and STAR. These loans enabled him to upgrade his business with new energy efficient
equipment and exterior signage, lighting, and paint, reflecting the Little Mekong district design guidelines.
• Providing technical assistance for on-going projects.
• Creating a new logo and other branding work, as well as launching a new website (estimated launch date:
Spring, 2013)
• Erecting bright yellow wayfinding signs directing customers during construction.
Son said business is definitely up from the low last
summer, in fact he was able to maintain steady sales
before and after construction and even turned a profit
in 2012. His confidence is reflected in his plan to
hire more employees once construction inside and
outside the shop is complete. Operating in a more
attractive, energy efficient site will only encourage
positive outcomes for his bottom line. He said U7’s
techinical support, design work, and loan assistance
has been helpful in making him hopeful in the future.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
Son is thrilled and very hopeful that the train station
outside his door will bring him new customers — not
just Asians, but curious Westerners exploring a cultural
and gastronomical experience. Son remarked that as
difficult as the construction had been on his business,
the change to University Avenue has been dramatic.
“Parts of University Avenue were very ugly and terrible
and even boring. Now it looks so much nicer,” Son said.
“The train will be good and it will make this city stronger.”
small business profile / ha tien grocery and deli
THE BOTTOM LINE
28
Capital City Auto Electric
690 University Avenue
Jeff Zrust, Owner
ccautoelectric.com
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Capital City Auto Electric is an 82-year old business located
in Frogtown, located just kitty corner to the U7 offices. A
simple, gritty garage located behind a building that houses
two other businesses (including Universal Hair), Jeff Zrust
does not attract clients with the ambiance of his facility.
Zrust attributes Capitol City’s longevity in St. Paul to two
things: reputation and respect in the community, and lack
of competition. Capital City specializes in troubleshooting
and repairing all auto-electrical systems. Because it is so
specialized with low overhead, it is less expensive than
traditional garages and dealerships.
When Zrust heard that a light rail train was finally
going to be a reality, he started going to every
city and planning meeting he found out about
and was talking to anyone who knew about
logistics, timing, detours, and disruption. It was
at one meeting that a small business consultant
from U7 approached him with information about
how to weather the upcoming construction
storm. U7 Small Business Consultant Pangia
Vang and Loan Officer Sai Thao helped
Zrust devise an accounting system that has
dramatically changed and simplified his billing
and tax preparation so now he is “keeping better
track of my money,” he said. U7 staff spent
approximately 45 hours assisting Zrust with his
accounting practices and branding.
The construction has been a mess and customers have
had a much more difficult time getting to him, Zrust
said. But he believes that unlike many businesses along
the Green Line, Capitol City has not felt the impact of
construction as harshly as the restaurants, salons, and
retail stores. There is only one other business in St. Paul
that specializes in auto-electronics, so “people go out of
their way to get here.”
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“(They taught me)
to keep better
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track of my money”
St. Paul
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Jeff Zrust, Owner
Other projects included:
• Creating a website that included information about services and classic photos of Capital City’s founders
from early in the 20th century.
• Facilitating a City of St. Paul Ready For Rail Forgivable Loan through U7.
• Designing a new logo for Capital City, which Zrust says he plans on using for his business cards. Capital City
also had a new sign erected on the awning over University Avenue.
Capital City’s U7-driven website had only been up
for about three weeks in the fall of 2012 when he
started getting results: “There’s a few people finding
me now. I’m definitely getting some calls because
of it.” All in all, Zrust said in an understated way, U7
“had done quite a bit and they’ve been pretty good.”
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
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Zrust does not believe that the light rail will be a positive
thing for his business because people need to bring
their cars to him. He is also not confident that the light
rail is the right thing for the city and doesn’t think it’s
been thought through enough.
small business profile / capital city auto electric
THE BOTTOM LINE
30
Ashama Grocery and Meat
& Ashama
Auto Repair
804 University Avenue
Yusuf Ali and Mohamed Salah, Owners
ashamagrocery.com
Two Ethiopian men, Mohamed Salah and Yusuf Ali,
began Ashama Grocery and Meat and Ashama Auto
Repair in 2002 on the corner of Avon and University
avenues with little or no business experience. They had
instead a philosophy of hard work, catering to a diverse
community with service and product, and including
members of their community to ensure success.
Yusuf, who runs the automotive center, wants
Ashama to be known as a place that is trustworthy,
friendly, and fair. Salah proudly gives tours of
the grocery; there are plastic containers with
extraordinary spices and traditional cooking pans
and teapots that you’d never find at Target.
Also striking is the employees. There are currently 35
“shareholders” who work parttime to keep Ashama
afloat during difficult times; they have invested
money, helped pay taxes, and contributed toward
improvements, but they also can be seen carrying
trays of bread or delicious fried lentil pastries, or
in the refrigerator, making sure the goat is being
drained of all its blood and butchered in accordance
with Islamic law. That kind of buy-in was important
when construction was so overwhelming that
customers were directed to enter through the back
door. Yet still, business is down 30 to 35 percent
Salah said, and it hasn’t fully come back.
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Mohamed Salah, Co-Owner
31
When word of a major construction project in front
of their business was announced, Yusuf attended
city and contractor meetings to understand the
scope of the project. It was here that Yusuf was
approached by SBC Marilyn Por ter who offered U7’s
help. U7 has provided approximately 100 hours of
assistance to Ashama, most of it bookkeeping and
accounting assistance.
Other projects included:
• Facilitating a Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan that helped the business cover losses incurred during the construction
period. Because Islamic law outlaws owing money, the partners never applied for a traditional loan.
• Establishing Quickbooks as Ashama’s accounting and organizational software instead of a spreadsheet.
SBC Mary Kuria spends approximately two hours a week assisting Yusuf with bookkeeping and training.
This year Kuria is planning on teaching them to track inventory and print business checks to employees
and suppliers for the first time. With reports now generated from Quickbooks, the owners are able to make
better financial decisions.
• Designing a logo, and soon, refreshing the website built by the U7 design team two years ago.
Rail
THE BOTTOM LINE
Business Location
35E
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University Ave.
small business profile / ashama grocery & meat and auto repair
Downtown/Lowertown
St. Paul
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Although business has not rebounded
to pre-construction days, Ashama
GTON AVE forward with a much
is HINmoving
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more sophisticated and streamlined
accounting system, an attractive logo,
and an updatedMI website, in addition
UN
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to its loyal clientele.
The
two
men
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are
confident
enough
MINNEAPOLIS RIV
expanding with a deli andERmaybe one
day building upward with housing.
But today there is still a lot of work,
even with U7’s help, to thrive. “They
have made my life and my job easier,”
Yusuf said.
Lexington Ave.
Hi a
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280
Snelling Ave.
35W
“(U7) have made my life
and my job easier.”
Most shoppers walk or take public transportation to get to their Ashram, so Salah is all smiles about the prospect
of a train running by their store so many times a day. “Maybe new people will want to stop in,” he said, grinning.
R
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“It made it much less
stressful knowing
someone (U7)
was there to help me.”
Wonneda Hing, Owner
Universal
Hair and
Travel
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Wonneda Hing,PI ROwner
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ST
Her dream has been battered by the recession and light
rail construction: a one-two punch. When construction
was in full force, Wonneda says business was down
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After a difficult childhood in wartorn Cambodia, Wonneda Hing had a
dream of not just making it, but one
day opening up her own hair salon in
the United States and actually thriving. Wonneda has
operated Universal Hair and Travel on University Avenue
since 1992, first by the State Capitol, then four years
ago in her own building two blocks west of Dale. She
provides hair and manicure services, but also has a small
travel agency as well, booking flights mostly to Southeast
Asia for those who are not comfortable using computers.
IS
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50 percent. She believes parking issues are the biggest
road block to having her once-loyal customers come
back to her. Early on in the process, she was told she
would have three on-street spots in front of her building.
As time has gone on, the spots were dropped from the
plan and she has not been able to get anyone from the
City of St. Paul or Metropolitan Council to tell her why. “I
have an 82-year-old customer who walked two blocks
to get to me,” she said. Because times are tough, the
owner of a nearby parking lot now wants her to pay rent
if her customers want to park there. “Winter will be a
real struggle.”
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
U7 approached Hing well before construction was underway. Living through the ramifications of detours, noise,
dust, and the loss of the three on-street parking spots her customers counted on, has been economically and
emotionally painful. A bright spot in the process has been that her relationship with U7 has been very positive
and respectful, “at this point, anything helps. They have always been very informative about what programs
would be most helpful for me,” she said. U7 has spent more than 130 hours primarily strategizing on attaining
loans and façade improvements.
Other projects included:
• Designing a new logo and providing business cards, website, and social media assistance.
• Providing practical advice before construction began regarding her customers and financial preparation.
• Facilitating a City of St. Paul Forgivable Loan and a $1,000 micro-grant in 2012 for marketing purposes.
Most of this money went toward paying bills, but she was also able to purchase a new product line to sell
in the shop. She also received nearly a $10,000 grant to upgrade her building’s façade from Living Cities
and STAR funds.
• Assisting in working with the contractor to negotiate, design, and install an awning over her front door.
Long after the machinery is gone, business is still
down at Universal. On the up side, Hing said that
friends and customers compliment her on her new,
much more attractive and noticible awning. She
hopes this will one day draw train travelers to come
in. She also credits U7 with doing everything they
could and standing by her when business was at
its lowest. “It made it much less stressful knowing
someone was there to help me,” she said.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
Hing has great hopes that the Green Line will mean
good things for her business, but is cautious about
increased crime, the continued impact on businesses,
and greater congestion of cars along University. These
days, Hing draws on the strength and perseverence
she needed as a girl in Cambodia.
“I will survive,” she said “I have to. This is my life.”
small business profile / universal hair and travel
THE BOTTOM LINE
34
Big Daddy’s
Old Fashioned Barbeque
625 University Avenue
Ron Whyte, Bob Edmond, Gene Sampson, Owners
bigdaddysbbq-stpaul.com
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Big Daddy’s Old Fashioned Barbeque is a beloved
institution in St. Paul. For 28 years, Ron Whyte and his
par tners Bob Edmond and Gene Sampson have been
practicing traditional smokehouse barbecuing using
impor ted hickory wood. The three have been friends –
as well as rivals, always trying to out-cook each other
in backyard barbeques. They joined forces and went into
business when friends and family told them their food was
too good not to share with rest of the community. For years
they sold their ribs and chicken out of a trailer (“we had a
food truck before food trucks were popular”); this was an
outdoor process and the smell was a beacon for Frogtown
residents and visitors. When they moved indoors, first on
the nor theast corner of Dale and University, and then three
years ago, across Dale to the west corner, they built an
enormous silver smokehouse, which features prominently
inside their small restaurant.
r
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were barely
making anything as
it was so tough.”
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Recently, the economy and construction have taken
a toll on sales. Whyte often remembers the days when
280get to the
customers sometimes had to wait 20 to 30 to
35W
head of the line at lunchtime. There are no lines now.
394
Catering has been an economic savior as the walk-in
Downtown
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business decreased.
Never
theless,
Big Daddy’s has a
HINGTO
Minneapolis
WAS
loyal following, a strong word of mouth reputation and
lots of positive reviews in online customer comments, and
local and regional newspapers. M
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Dale St.
94
Ron was nervous when he heard that light rail
construction was actually going to happen.
Mike Temali, CEO of NDC and a fan of both
Big Daddy’s and the three men, alerted Ron
about the U7 project and how it could lessen
the negative impact should they contract for its
help. They met with U7 for the first time in early
January, 2010. “Mike told us that we better start
putting aside money. We were barely making
anything as it was so tough,” he said. Big
Daddy’s became an enthusiastic client of U7’s,
logging nearly 360 hours of both in-house and
contract assistance.
35
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From Left to Right: Ron, Bob and Gene, Owners
Other projects included:
• Developing a marketing strategy, tweaking their branding, and revising the menu using monies from a City of
St. Paul’s Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan.
• Pushing the owners to invest, build, and rely on their catering services.
• Providing assistance in bottling and selling Big Daddy’s BBQ sauce. U7 Lead Graphic Designer Ryan Kidder
spent hours creating an original look for the branding of the bottle, but this project is currently shelved.
• Improving their basic website. Business “went way up” when it was re-launched with pictures, biographies,
and an updated menu. Ron said neither he nor his partners were interested in social media maintenance. U7
provided a volunteer willing to manage Facebook and tweet for them.
• Staging a photo shoot of three staged food scenes: holiday, graduation, and a picnic These photos have been
used on the restaurant’s website, for flyers, and sent out as mailers to bolster Big Daddy’s catering operation.
• Erecting bright yellow wayfinding signs directing customers during construction.
The first week U7 launched Big Daddy’s website,
they received reservations for 20 catering orders.
Also, Big Daddy’s re-engaged old fans when they
launched their Facebook site; many posted that they
thought the restaurant had closed and were happy
they were wrong.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
As for the impact of a completed light rail line on his
business “people tell me it’ll help my business, but I
can’t see it.”
small business profile / big daddy’s
THE BOTTOM LINE
36
Transformation
Salon
931B University Avenue
Mary Milton, Owner
transformation-salon.com
Graduate
of NDC’s
Small Business
Training
on-street parking her once-loyal client base counted
on. Customers have told her that it’s too difficult to
get to her and they didn’t want to be bothered with
the traffic. But still, Milton, who has owned the shop
since 2007, is playing it one day at a time. In addition
to owning Transformation, she works in a salon and is
a part-time minister at a church in Brooklyn Center to
pay the bills and the $700 per month rent on the salon.
She doesn’t know how long she can juggle it all.
Milton remembers as a girl watching her mother cut
hair in her Arkansas living room and knowing it’s
what she wanted to do in her life. She moved north
and got a degree from St. Paul Technical College in
cosmetology and has been in the beauty business for
20 years. It was a dream come true to open her own
salon, and University Avenue seemed to be just the
place because of its central location and convenience
to her client base, the African-American community.
MEETING U7 &
BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
Mary Milton, Owner
It was a Thursday afternoon and Transformation Salon owner
Mary Milton had had only three clients that week. Business
has been painfully slow at the one-chair beauty salon
located equidistant between the Hamline and Lexington rail
stops. Snow had been plowed into her only parking spot
behind her building, and the light rail has taken all of the
37
When Milton first heard that a huge construction
project would be causing huge disruption outside
her store, she star ted talking with other nearby
businesses. It was at Blessings Salon, her former
employer and another U7 client, where she first
heard there was a non-profit offering help to
business owners like herself. She had taken the
small business training class at Neighborhood
Development Center, so she was confident that
anything associated with the organization would be
helpful. It was in the spring of 2010 when she made
a phone call to U7. Milton sat down with Isabel
Chanslor to determine what services she was eligible
for and what U7 could do to prepare Transformation
Salon for what was to be a devastating blow for
her business. U7 has provided approximately 180
hours of assistance since par tnering with Milton.
Other projects included:
• Facilitating a $1,000 micro-grant that she used to purchase a new product line for the salon.
• Facilitating a Ready for Rail Forgivable Loan.
• Designing a new logo for her business, as well as new business cards and punch cards.
• Creating a new website touting Milton’s prices, services, history, and glowing testimonials. U7 staff has
encouraged Milton to use social media, but she has not followed through on learning how to set up or
maintain a Facebook page or Twitter account.
• Helping negotiate use of a nearby church parking lot. This worked for three months, but the owner finally
locked his gate citing vandalism to cars parked there.
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Milton is a woman of strong Christian
faith who cares not only about the
effect of light rail construction on her
business, but on her neighbors. “Life
has changed completely because of
this. So much has been uprooted,”
Milton said. “People are hurting.
Restoration has to happen.”
“Life has changed
completely because
of this LRT.”
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small business profile / transformation salon
MINNEAPOLIS
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Transformation Salon is in a difficult
financial spot, but U7 has lessened
GTON AVE of hard times and taught
theHINimpact
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Milton budgeting skills to project
profits and losses in the future.
Dale St.
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THE BOTTOM280LINE
Lexington Ave.
Rail
38
Francesco O’Ryan, Owner
East African Bakery
786 University Avenue
Francesco O’Ryan, Owner
eastafricanbakery.com
Graduate
of NDC’s
Small Business
Training
Francesco O’Ryan is the unlikely name of an East
African mechanical inventor turned wholesale bakery
owner working on University Avenue. But O’Ryan and
his bakery are filling a niche that’s far from unusual.
East African Bakery is the second largest provider of
two traditional breads — hambasha and injera — to
restaurants and groceries (like Flamingo and Ashama)
in the Twin Cities. And that’s saying something: the Twin
Cities has the nation’s highest population of residents
originally from East Africa.
O’Ryan owns the building that both East African Bakery
and University Furniture are housed in. Where University
Furniture’s windows are covered with signs advertising
sofas and bed sets, there is nothing to mark the presence
39
“...in less time,
I’m more accurate
with where my
money is going...”
of the bakery. His six East African employees work through
the night in a small warehouse operation aside pallets
of flour, bags of the African grain teff, and two unusual,
original machines O’Ryan and his friend Jerome Guettler
invented to streamline the creation of his breads. His
background is as a machinist, and a decade ago he and
Guettler attempted to mechanize a process that has been
done by hand on another continent for probably centuries.
The damage done to East African Bakery because of
light rail construction is different from many profiled here
because of the nature of his business. During the worst
of the construction in the summer of 2012, his drivers
were able to get out of the parking lot for their deliveries,
but their clients were suffering: huge amounts of
hambasha and injera were coming back unsold and had
to be thrown out. Businesses that had been affected took
their toll on O’Ryan’s bottom line. “Since construction,
everything has slowed down,” he said. “It’s been a pain,
to say the least.”
MEETING U7 & BUSINESS SOLUTIONS
PROVIDED BY U7
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Business Location
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University Ave.
Downtown/Lowertown
St. Paul
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O’Ryan is graduate of the Neighborhood
Development Center’s small business
GTON AVE
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training
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WAS
“learned how to go forward.” His bakery
was formerly located in Roseville, but he
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with U7’s Loan
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Thao who updated him on the construction
schedule and checked-in with him on his
finances and accounting practices. U7
has provided approximately 100 hours of
assistance since partnering with O’Ryan.
Lexington Ave.
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Other projects included:
• Streamlining and improving the bookkeeping operations. U7 Small Business Consultant Mary Kuria introduced
O’Ryan to Quickbooks and other more efficient computer accounting programs. She visits O’Ryan every two
weeks to go over his books and plan for the coming fiscal quarter.
• Investigating whether he would be eligible for a forgivable loan through the city to cover the losses he
sustained during construction.
• Helping O’Ryan focus more on reducing the cost of goods he purchases, therefore increasing his revenue.
• Connecting with the West Side Community Center Neighborhood House and arranging for the unsold and
returned injera and hambasha to go to their multi-cultural food shelf.
The impact of U7’s attention, O’Ryan said, is that
“in less time, I’m more accurate with where my
money is going and I can spend more time finding
customers.” O’Ryan believes from the NDC class
and accounting, U7 has helped him get over the
$40,000 loss in revenue attributable to construction
during those summer months.
DOING BUSINESS IN THE
TIME OF THE LIGHT RAIL
O’Ryan is positive about the way the light rail will
change the landscape of the Twin Cities, making it
easier and more attractive to walk around. He believes
that the restaurants and grocers buying his products
will be healthier, his staff will have better transportation
to work, and the value of his building will increase.
small business profile / east african bakery
THE BOTTOM LINE
40
Providing a model for vulnerable corridors
to sur vive any major infrastructure project
2013