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Rainbow flag keeps business booming

On Largo's main street, some shop owners say being gay or supporting the gay community is good for business.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published June 4, 2006

LARGO - At City Hall, elected officials go out of their way to avoid talking about equal rights for gay people.

They remember the nasty letters and political threats from the last time.

But on downtown Largo's main street, the topic doesn't appear controversial at all.

To the contrary, some merchants say being gay or supporting the gay community is good for business.

Eight months ago, Mike Martinez and his partner, Sean Curran, hung a flag with rainbow-colored stripes outside The Strip, an art, furniture and antique mall on West Bay Drive west of Missouri Avenue. The flag signified pride in their gay lifestyle.

Business boomed, they say. And four months later when they opened another business on West Bay, they hung another rainbow flag outside.

"Our business has tripled," said Martinez, 37, who plans to open his third storefront on West Bay next month. "They actually tell us they stop by because of the flag."

Gabriela Celi, a straight businesswoman who showcases her design talents at The Strip, said the success of the businesses is a testimony to how far the community has come.

Three years ago, City Commissioners voted 4-3 to defeat a citywide ordinance that would have banned discrimination against people based on race, religion, gender, disability, gender identity and sexual orientation in housing, employment and public accommodations. It would have been the broadest human rights law in Tampa Bay.

Several groups, including the Pinellas County American Civil Liberties Union, supported the proposed ordinance. But a number of vocal critics opposed it, saying it endorsed alternative lifestyles.

Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, an advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, said Martinez and Curran's experience is not unusual - even in a divisive political climate.

"Oftentimes when businesses stand up on this issue it communicates to the entire community that this is a business that respects everyone," Smith said.

Smith added that when Hillsborough County instituted its ban on supporting gay pride events, business owners were the first to contact the advocacy group to say they were embarrassed by the county's actions.

Hundreds of merchants have joined a movement called a "buycott," which promotes businesses that support gay, lesbian and transgendered people and encourages customers to patronize them, Smith said.

In Largo, Martinez opened Renovations, a store that featured funky repainted furniture, three years ago. He met Curran, 31, a year and a half ago, when Curran asked him to sell a handcrafted mosaic table for him. The table sold a week later. The two started dating and a few months later, they decided to go into business together, change the theme of the store to an antique mall and call it The Strip. In February, they opened another shop called All Together, which is at 214 West Bay Drive.

Drew Karnstedt, 81, who is gay, also works at the shops, which feature items from about 70 mostly straight vendors who rent space. The eclectic mix of wares includes velvet and wicker furniture, hand-painted birdhouses, stained-glass lamps, mosaic portraits, old-fashioned cigarette machines and an assortment of chairs whimsically hung from the ceiling.

Last week, Martinez and Curran relocated The Strip to larger digs, a few doors east at 158 West Bay Drive. And in July, they plan to open a third store next door to that one, which will feature artist studios and offer art classes.

Martinez says he hung the rainbow flags because he wanted to be honest with his customers. He felt being open with them would foster trust.

"I know I don't want to be that closeted gay person anymore," he said. "I already had my personal life open. I wanted my business life open."

He's not worried about backlash from people who don't like his flags, or the message they represent, he said.

"They don't shop here anyway," Martinez said.

Shortly after the City Commission's vote, Largo officials passed an internal policy protecting employees, but since then the topic has resurfaced only for momentary blips on the political radar.

The issue resurfaced briefly last year when one of those critics, attorney Bruce McManus, objected to language in the city's mission, visions and value statement that he felt supported the gay lifestyle.

In recent weeks, he spoke at a City Commission meeting urging officials not to consider a human rights ordinance again, saying it stifled Christians who oppose homosexuality.

But officials say a citywide proposal isn't even on their minds right now. Mayor Pat Gerard and Commissioner Gay Gentry voted in favor of the ordinance, but say they don't see a need to put it back on the table with so many other pressing issues facing the community.

Gerard added that new commissioners Gigi Arntzen and Rodney Woods deserve a chance to become acclimated before diving into contentious issues.

"It's tough dealing with an issue like that, that you know is going to be controversial," she said.

Martinez and Curran's neighbors, most of whom are heterosexual, are supportive of them.

Hugh Geren, who recently sold Bloomtown Florist on West Bay Drive for health reasons, said Martinez and Curran's shops "have brought a lot of business to the block."

Dr. Woody Brown of Main Street Chiropractic on West Bay, said, "Any vibrant business is good for the community."

Supporting gay businesses can be beneficial to straight businesses like his own, Brown said. For example, he said, one of his colleagues advertises in a gay and lesbian phone directory.

They may not know it, but Martinez and Curran are following in the footsteps of Joseph A. Stefko, who owns the Hair Jungle salon a couple of blocks west. A decade ago, he hung a rainbow flag and set a rainbow painted bench outside his store when he opened his shop.

"I wanted to attract people with open minds, kind of like what they're doing," Stefko, 44, said.

Stefko eventually removed the flag when he changed his sign and repainted the bench a leopard motif when he switched to a jungle theme. Stefko said he didn't feel the need to replace his pride decor because his clients know him.

Gay issues and Largo politics may not mix right now, but there's evidence that gay businesspeople are good for economic development, Stefko said. He pointed to successful areas with gay businesses in St. Petersburg, Gulfport and Dunedin.

In Dunedin, much of the city's downtown redevelopment was stimulated by gay merchants. While the city doesn't have a human rights ordinance like the one Largo considered, gay residents and entrepreneurs are routinely part of city events, serving on the arts and cultural advisory committee and as members of the merchants association and the chamber of commerce.

Gregory Brady, who is gay, is active in city affairs and owns a salon in downtown Dunedin. He said many other communities respect Dunedin for its diversity and communities that are not broad-minded should take note.

"Dunedin is a community that is admired," Brady said. "We've gotten a lot of our success because of our inclusiveness, and that should send them a message."

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 4, 2006, 01:17:19]