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Entrepreneur Evan Fay has a new venture launching. In 2024, Fay, a U.S. Air Force veteran and California native with experience in real estate, celebrated the grand opening of his French-inspired coffee shop, Café Noir, in North Detroit, MI. He and his business partner , Asher Van Sickle, opened the shop to “provide a welcoming space for people to connect, socialize, and build community,” the Detroit Metro Times reports. “Yes, we want to offer coffee and really good food but we also want to be community-centric… We just want to offer a space that is inviting and if you need to use it or there’s a private event or whatever, we want to make sure that we’re that space,” Fay said at the time, per the outlet. “We’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback, a lot of people have been very excited about coming to the space and showing support. We’re really thankful to the community in the North End. We’re really excited. We’re here to be consistent and be available for people to come.” View this...
Detroit, MI, native Eminem is joining a list of individuals, such as former NBA players Grant Hill and Chris Webber, to bring a WNBA team to the city, according to Sportico. The 15-time Grammy Award-winning rapper — born Marshall Mathers — is part of a group led by Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons. “This is an exciting opportunity to welcome the WNBA back to Detroit and bring additional investment and economic activity into the city,” Gores said previously, per AFROTECH™. “For the WNBA, this is home, and our bid represents an unprecedented opportunity for the league to come full circle and effect a long-hoped-for Detroit homecoming. No city is more prepared to embrace the team as a community asset that drives unity and common ground.” According to Sportico, the franchise would play at Little Caesars Arena, which cost $863 million to build and is home to the Pistons and Red Wings. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Michigan’s largest city had a WNBA team called the Detroit Shock from...
Spelman College graduates who were friends first and then founders seconds are taking their nail bar to new heights. Kelli M. Coleman and Anika J. Odegbo are the founders of The TEN, marketed as Detroit, MI’s first modern nail bar. The two shared a common goal of embarking on an entrepreneurial journey to build wealth, which they brought to life in 2016. “So, Anika and I are friends and Spelman sisters. We ultimately met when we found out that both of us intended to attend. We decided to room together, and the rest is history, as they say. Both Detroit natives, I grew up in Southfield, and Anika grew up in Detroit proper. We come from entrepreneurial families; we really understand the power of entrepreneurship to create generational wealth. It was always our respective goals to own businesses of our own in addition to carrying on our family’s entrepreneurial legacy. That’s sort of the origin of how we know each other, and that’s how The TEN came to be,” Coleman told the Michigan...
A new Detroit, MI, coffee shop has opened its doors. Crain’s Detroit Business reports Charity Dean, president and CEO of the Michigan Black Business Alliance, has launched Rosa Cafe + Market at 222 Third Ave. This isn’t Dean’s first venture either — she previously opened a Rosa Cafe, named after her great-grandmother, in 2022. “We just wanted to make sure we were open for the people,” Dean explained to the outlet. “There’s been a lot of excitement about the new cafe, so we wanted to get it open.” The new 800-square-foot storefront, which is currently being stewarded by five employees, is in a luxury residential property close to the Detroit River. The Cafe will be able to seat nearly a dozen customers at once inside while more can gather in its outdoor patio. Customers can expect to sip on various coffee items including an Ethiopian house roast coffee made by Faust Haus Roasting Co. Additionally, there will also be snacks and food options available for purchase. Dean is looking...
Big Sean has never been one to shy away from showcasing the love he has for Detroit, MI. He knew very early on that he was called to not only put on for his city but also put on for others along the way. He isn’t the only one who sees something special in Detroit. Dubbed one of the Blackest cities in America, Detroit has a population that is 76% Black, according to the United States Census Bureau. Among its other attributes, the Motor City got its nickname for being the center of the U.S. auto industry for more than a century. Detroit is also home to Motown, one of the culture’s most revered musical styles and Black-owned music labels, founded by Barry Gordy in 1959. It served as the catalyst for Black music becoming some of the most popular music, not only in America but also across the globe. Throughout his music, Big Sean has always amplified his city’s stance in the world and its impact on culture. Now, he’s taking it a step further, partnering with Pensole Lewis College of...
Kevin Johnson’s food venture is rapidly growing. As AFROTECH™ previously told you, the former NBA player who made headlines for becoming the first Black mayor of Sacramento, CA, is the founder of a restaurant venture named Fixins Soul Kitchen. He opened the first location in that very city, which is also his hometown, in 2019, notes Eater Detroit. “I grew up in Oak Park, so that was the poor part of the city of Sacramento, and like every city around the country, it was the underserved community,” Johnson told Eater. “I wanted to do our first Fixins in that neighborhood to prove that we could be successful in the neighborhood I grew up in.” Fixins Soul Kitchen has expanded and now has four locations in the following areas: Sacramento, CA (Oak Park) Los Angeles, CA (LA Live) Tulsa, OK (Black Wall Street) Detroit, MI (Paradise Valley) View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fixins Soul Kitchen (@fixinssoulkitchen) The restaurant’s menu items were inspired by various soul food...
Created with good intention, Detroit, MI-based Sports Rap Radio has been shut down. As Blavity previously reported, it was the first all-Black-led sports radio station based in the United States. It was brought to life with the help of former Detroit sports anchor Rob Parker and his peers including former NBA player B.J. Armstrong and former college stars Dave Kenney and Maurice “Moe” Ways. “[This is] history-making,” Parker told CBS News at the time. “[It’s] groundbreaking, [and] we just believe that the time has come.” The need for a a fully Black-led radio station was essential, according to Parker, who considered it a “problem” the city didn’t already have one, when looking at its population. “Just four years ago, there were no Black full-time sports hosts on the radio in Detroit,” he mentioned, per CBS News. “In a city that’s nearly 80 percent Black, I looked at that as a problem.” The station launched on June 4, 2024 on AM 1270 leasing WXYT from Audacy, according to Barrett...
A Black architectural firm is behind the first-ever 3D-printed home in Detroit, MI. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, a 988-square-foot, two-bedroom project launched in October 2022 has reached its finish line. The 3D-printed home was built thanks to nearly $160,000 in funding from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program for materials and a partnership between the Black architectural firm developArchitecture, furniture store Gardner White, and robotic construction firm Citizen Robotics. Citizen Robotics and developArchitecture also engaged BIPOC individuals in 12 aspects of the home-building process. “It’s rewarding to finally share our pilot home because 3D printing is the future of architecture. 3D printing will eventually become a standard method across the industry, and Detroit is the perfect landscape for this type of innovation,” said Bryan Cook, founder and CEO of developArchitecture, in the press release. The...
Ice Cube’s BIG3 is rapidly expanding! As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the 3-on-3 basketball league recently sold teams in Los Angeles, CA; Houston, TX; and Miami, FL, in deals reportedly worth $10 million each as they seek to venture away from a touring league to a city-based model, which will go into effect for the 2025 season. “We need to plant our roots in cities so we can be more than a rolling all-star game coming through,” BIG3 CEO and Co-Founder Ice Cube told Bloomberg at the time. “It’s really about growing the sport and the league.” In recent news, Detroit, MI, has been announced as the next city to house a BIG3 franchise thanks to the interest of ownership group GameAbove Sports, which includes Founder and Chairman Keith J. Stone and Detroit pro sports figures George Gervin and T.J. Lang, MLive reports. Former NBA point guard Earl Boykins is working closely with GameAbove Sports as well. “The entire team at GameAbove and I are thrilled to bring a BIG3 franchise to the...
Two Black women are entering into business to help other Black- and woman-owned businesses thrive. Aya House According to Crain’s Detroit Business, Nina Love and Tequion Brookins are opening Aya House, a 3,000-square-foot co-working space that will be a home to other businesses. The founders also will donate a portion of monthly proceeds to a nonprofit. The space will be located at 2055 Gratiot Ave in the Eastern Market area of Detroit, MI, and open towards the end of August. The founders are fueling the venture with their background knowledge as well as their respective experience in hospitality (Love’s The Love Experience) and event production (Brookins’ Tequion Brookins LLC). It will also be supported through a $130,000 investment from the founders in addition to a $40,000 cash grant from Motor City Match. As for what customers can expect, there will be monthly and annual memberships available. Additionally, private events can be held at the location for a rate of $300 per hour,...
Detroit, MI, has done it again, and it’s only right that one of the Blackest cities in America becomes the home to the first all-Black-led sports radio station in the nation! Sports Rap Radio on AM 1270 made its debut on the airwaves in Motor City on June 4, and not only does it feature all Black hosts, but the radio station is also Black-owned, Blavity reports. “[This is] history-making,” said former Detroit sports anchor Rob Parker, per CBS News. “[It’s] groundbreaking, [and] we just believe that the time has come.” In addition to Parker, who is responsible for helping to bring this vision to life, the history-making team of co-owners includes Parker’s longtime friend Dave Kenney as well as athletes, former NBA player BJ Armstrong and University of Michigan wide receiver Maurice “Moe” Ways. “Moe was the missing piece. I needed somebody young, smart, from the city,” Parker told the outlet. The two have kept in touch since they first met, when Ways was a football star at Detroit...
A new day has begun in Detroit, MI, thanks to the leadership of the Detroit Black Community Food Sovereignty Network. For nearly a decade, the Motor City hasn’t had a full-scale Black-owned grocery store, Detroit Metro Times reports. Now, in May 2024, Detroit People’s Food Co-Op, the first Black-led co-op grocery store in Detroit, has opened its doors. As Detroit is one of the major U.S. cities that faces a significant shortage of food access, Detroit People’s Food Co-Op offers fresh, local grocery items, a deli, and a coffee bar. The outlet details that the store’s fruits and vegetables are sourced from four Black-owned farms in Michigan. In addition to providing quality food and health and wellness products, what makes the grocery store special is that anyone age 21 and over can become a member and have ownership in the co-op. On May 1, 2024, it had over 2,700 members and counting. “This is not something you’re invited to. It’s literally yours,” said Lanay Gilbert-Williams,...
A new report has shown celebratory news for Detroit, MI. “The Growth of Housing Wealth in Detroit and its Neighborhoods: 2014-2022,” a study by the University of Michigan Poverty Solutions, has been released showing that Black homeowners in Detroit have “gained $2.8 billion in home value,” per a news release. View this post on Instagram A post shared by City of Detroit (@cityofdetroit) Beginning in 2014, the study was conducted after Detroit’s municipal bankruptcy. In July 2013, Detroit became “the largest U.S. city to file for bankruptcy,” per AP News. The news release details that the study had a goal of finding out if the city’s housing values had seen growth across those nine years, and if these improvements had been fairly distributed across Detroit neighborhoods and racial/ethnic groups. With an 94% overall increase in home value, and 80% increase for Black homeowners specifically, since the study started, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan credits residents stabilizing...
As a visionary, Dr. D’Wayne Edwards is on a mission to immerse the Black community in more design spaces. Beyond just talking the talk, he has also walked the walk as a leader in the design arena, responsible for creating over 500 footwear styles for companies like Nike and entertainers such as Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Nas, and more. “When I started 35 and a half years ago, the technology wasn’t there. It wasn’t the Stone Age, but there was no Instagram and there was no Google,” Dr. Edwards said during an interview with AFROTECH™. “These things didn’t really exist, so we had to be much more resourceful. So, we were kind of almost creating in the dark… I think of that era as kind of the purity of creation and just raw talent because we didn’t have anything to compare it to.” In 2010, Edwards established the first U.S. academy solely dedicated to footwear design. Now, he’s sharing that same sentiment through the lens of students at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU). View...
