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When Mayor Pam Iorio surveyed 40th Street between Busch Boulevard and Hillsborough Avenue, she discovered all the reasons why neighbors have long wanted the problematic road widened.
She also discovered an African-American soul food restaurant. At Quincy's, Iorio treated herself to ample supplies of homemade lemonade, baked chicken, dark and lovely chocolate cake, peach cobbler and her favorite, macaroni and cheese. Iorio was so impressed she ordered her Thanksgiving meal from Quincy's, and the restaurant helped cater the city's recent neighborhood open house.
It's an interesting story when you consider a recent survey revealed a dollar bill turns over only once before leaving the African-American community, while in other communities it turns over as many as eight times.
"I think a lot of the problem is just a lack of recognition of what businesses are out there," Iorio said. "We didn't know about Quincy's before. If you know what stores are in the community, you'll go back to them."
Spurred by a committee of African-American leaders, Iorio proclaimed the third day of every month as African-American Dollar Day. It encourages residents to patronize African-American businesses. The group was headed by Randolph Kinsey, chief legislative assistant to state Sen. Les Miller.
"There have been other cities that have tried this, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to try it in Tampa," Kinsey said. "We put together a group and we tried it last year, but we asked the mayor to make a proclamation and we're going to really push it this year."
Said City Councilman Kevin White: "One of the main reasons African-American businesses fail is because we don't patronize each other. If we patronized each and every one of our own black businesses in Tampa, we would be some of the most powerful individuals in this town."
Kinsey said one of the committee's next steps will be creating a flier highlighting almost 50 businesses. Among those will be stores from the CDC of Tampa Incubator Plaza on 2705 E Martin Luther King Blvd. With the help of technical assistance and micro loans, there is a nail salon, a T-shirt shop, clothing stores and a bakery/deli. Each is required to have a business plan and each has inspiring stories.
Thelma Shuman was selling clothes out of her garage before opening Sure Faith Designer Fashions. Oliver and Sheryl Lewis were peddling homemade pies and cakes out of the kitchen before opening Mo's Bakery and Deli.
David Jones manages the Youth Print Center and not only does work for the city, but specifically seeks out community youths for employment.
"If we tell them to come off the corner, we have to keep them employed," said Chloe Coney, executive director of CDC of Tampa.
Clearly, African-American Dollar Day can not only stimulate the economy, it can impact lives and help people grow. It may even help the mayor grow ... sort of.
"I'll always go to Quincy's now," Iorio said. "Well, not all the time because I don't want to end up weighing 400 pounds."
Spotted in Old Hyde Park Village at the Samba Room Friday night, Justine Henin-Hardenne. The world's No. 1 tennis player now lives and trains in Saddlebrook.
Coming to the Bay area is a good move for the Belgian native because the Women's Tennis Association Tour is based in St. Petersburg. In fact, she was dining with WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott and his wife Cybille on Friday. Henin-Hardenne, 21, joins a number of current and former pros calling Tampa Bay home, including Jennifer Capriati, James Blake and Marty Fish. I guess the tennis world is figuring out what we've known all along.
That's all I'm saying.
- Ernest Hooper can be reached at 813 226-3406 or Hooper@sptimes.com