Minnesota’s Black Business Week blooms at 38th and Chicago

The fifth annual Minneapolis Black Business Week kicked off Thursday with a powerful celebration at the historic intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis. The corner, internationally known as the site of George Floyd’s murder in 2020, is now the backdrop of a renewed Black business renaissance.

Vendors, entrepreneurs, and hundreds of community members gathered to celebrate the legacy, and future, of Black entrepreneurship.

“In the past five years, we’ve seen a bunch of new businesses on the block,” said KingDemetrius Pendleton, owner of Listen2Us Studio. “What many had written off is growing fruit.”

Since 2020, at least five new Black-owned businesses have opened at 38th and Chicago, including Pendleton’s studio, Bichota Coffee, City Food Studio, Mystic Healing Stones, and Plot Gallery. They’ve joined longstanding neighborhood staples like Just Turkey, Smoke in the Pit, and Finish Touch Boutique to create a vibrant commercial corridor once again anchored in Black ownership.

“We’re already brilliant”

C. Terrence Anderson, owner of Bichota Coffee, addressed the stigma often associated with the location head-on.

“We’re a specialty coffee shop in what some people think is the most difficult place to do business,” said Anderson. “That’s a narrative that isn’t true if you’re on the ground here. I find love, joy, and connection with this community.”

According to a 2023 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Black Minnesotans represent about 7% of the state’s population but own only around 1% of its businesses. Nationally, that number is closer to 2.4%. Disparities in access to capital, property ownership, and technical assistance continue to create barriers, but events like Black Business Week are part of a broader movement to close those gaps.

Building Black legacy

Before the construction of Interstate 35W in the 1960s, 38th Street was a thriving hub of Black culture and commerce. Like St. Paul’s Rondo neighborhood, the area was gutted by highway expansion, redlining, and systemic disinvestment. The murder of George Floyd brought global attention back to the intersection, but it also catalyzed a new wave of purpose and pride.

At Thursday’s panel on Black legacy and entrepreneurship, six local business leaders shared their visions for wealth-building in the community: Chef Lachelle Cunningham (City Food Studio), C. Terrence Anderson (Bichota Coffee), P.J. Hill (PGMA Development), Tracey Williams-Dillard (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder), Renay Dossman (Neighborhood Development Center), and Asa “Ace” Rice (Plot Gallery).

P.J. Hill, a former professional basketball player turned investment banker, launched his development firm in 2020. His goal: “Make 1,000 Black people multimillionaires.” His inspiration stems from his great-uncle, Pastor Curtis Farrar, who has owned the building at 3808 Chicago Ave for over 50 years.

“Ownership is the gateway,” Hill said. “It’s how we move from survival to strategy.”

Tracey Williams-Dillard, publisher and CEO of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, emphasized the importance of generational knowledge. Her family’s paper, headquartered on 38th Street for over 90 years, remains a rare example of sustained Black-owned media.

“I started my career at the age of eight because my grandmother brought me along and taught me,” said Williams-Dillard. “Legacy means giving our children the chance to learn by doing.”

Asa “Ace” Rice, founder of Plot Gallery, draws inspiration from his family’s home of 76 years. “My goal is to see if we can get to 100 years in one house,” said Rice. “In business, we want Black artists to own their work. Too often we’re the face of a brand, but not the owners. That has to change.”

More than a week

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey opened the event by calling Black-owned businesses “foundational to the success of Minneapolis — past, present, and future.” While the weeklong spotlight runs through July 31, business owners emphasized they are open, invested, and welcoming all year round.

“We’re rejecting the narrative that this community is unworthy or not ready to be enjoyed and invested in,” Anderson said. “Vibrancy is allowed to look different than what we see in the ‘successful’ parts of the city. 38th and Chicago is full of brilliance already.”

With each grand opening, mentorship session, and dollar reinvested into the block, a new legacy is taking shape, rooted in history, but reaching for the future.

Learn more about Minneapolis Black Business Week and local entrepreneurs at minneapolismn.gov.

 Riley Bruce is a South Minneapolis-based photographer and videographer who contributes to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder.