RECENT COMMENTS
Do you want to start a business in Church Hill?
Come to the meetings on June 26 and June 29, 2013 and hear about the SEED program – a business plan competition, which will award up to $10,000 to business owners seeking to open or expand in Church Hill along the 25th Street and Nine Mile Corridor.
SEED is an initiative of Bon Secours Richmond Health System and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC).
Each entrepreneur granted funding will receive business planning and coaching assistance.
To be eligible, a business must be located in the 23223 zip code within the City of Richmond, preferably along the 25th Street and Nine Mile Corridor
June 26, 2013 6:30-7:30pm
East District Initiative Building
701 N. 25th Street Richmond, VA 23223
June 29, 2013 10:30-11:30am
East District Initiative Building
701 N. 25th Street Richmond, VA 23223
To RSVP to the info meetings, contact Killeen King, SEED Program Administrator, at kking@lisc.org or (804) 358–7602 ex. 14
Applications are available online at www.virginialisc.org and www.EastEndVision.org.
We already are diverse.
Arguably, yes, though African-Americans are not equitably represented in the commercial aspects of the area.
It looks like 40% or so of the SEED winners in the 1st 2 years have been African-American, in an area of the city that is just over 78% black.
It also looks like the percentage of black winners went down dramatically in the 2nd year of the SEED awards, from maybe 50% to under 30%.
I work with LISC and Bon Secours on this project and we welcome more diversity. However, in order to be funded, you need to apply and provide a completed business plan. So please, spread the word, as we did not have many African American candidates submit applications last year.
Let’s not fail to mention that when African American headed business do open, they receive very little support from the surrounding white community – at least in the same way that business headed by white owners do….Johnsons vs. every other restaurant in the neighborhood!
Many SBDC’s provide free business plan development help. I am not sure about the Richmond SBDC, but here is there link: http://www.grsbdc.com/starting_a_business-plan.html . REDC Community Capital has several loan products that could help new businesses in the Church Hill area (micro-loans, neighborhood in bloom loans, business enterprise zone loans) and can probably get an interested person connected to business planning and other new business training. Good luck to all who apply!!
@Teresa you need a better example. I rarely see anyone of any color in Johnsons. We’ve been twice. The food was so salty I assumed there was an accident in the kitchen. It was literally inedible, and I have a strong preference for salty foods.
@Teresa Let’s also not fail to mention that some businesses in the area don’t get the crowds because they don’t operate under commercially minimum standards. Str8 out of Philly – so slow and orders are often wrong (how about every time I’ve been). Johnson’s – no commercial kitchen in the building, so it does buffets and has poor service timing. Also of note, the OMG’s space’s uninviting configuration.
I’d root for any of these places to get and use the seed money to come up to commercially minimum standards. Everyone in this neighborhood wants to see people succeed. Except for Buzzy’s neighbors.
In order to be successful, you need a plan. And “diversity” will only go so far.
Teresa, how about some Latino business? Will that satisfy your whines about ” diversity”?
Lol@Houdan so salty you assumed it was an accident and you have a strong preference for salt but you’ve eaten there twice so….contradictory it must have not been that bad I’ve eaten their numerous times @Johnson’s and the food and service was to my liking and I will continue to support. my food was freshly cooked in a timely manner for myself and my family and both sides was occupied with African Americans and Caucasians Keep up the Good work Dre we want you to succeed!
Thanks Kenya & Teresa I am so thankful of my customers who come to support me regularly and you’re right Kenya, Houden has been twice at Johnson’s and to OMG Cafe plenty of times, and frankly I think he uses CHPN just to be a Prick but any how, I love the diversity of my business when it comes to my customers, Just as well as I have seen Caucasions turn there nose and won’t take a menu I’ve seen African Americans do the same. As for “near by neighbor”, my kitchen is fully equipped with everything we need to prepare our Menu by law, Mr or Mrs. know it all!!!! To assure you our Confidence here you can give me any platform in the City with any Chef or Any Cook & watch me Bring it!!!!!!
@Dre code minimum standards are not the same thing as marketplace/commercial minimum standards, but best of luck to everyone.
Why don’t we ever talk about how nice the the inside of Johnson’s look or how the everything inside was hand built and new Classic look or how Welcoming the big window is in front or how were open 7 days a week from 11;30am til 9pm, but you don’t cause that was bull shit!! You rather talk down on our restaurant deterring a new customer.. But you will give thumb’s up to an establishment that sell $12 avocado burgers with Jefferson Park grass as lettuce & call that fresh local lol..or put a bunch of cluttered mitch match furniture in the restaurant and call it Vintage, Let’s talk realistic no one in any East end comity invites Johnson,s, St8 outta Philly, or Ron’s BBQ to any out door function’s or host any event’s at our establishment’s even though Johnson’s is the largest establishment seating wise in Church Hill & I’m not angry of any sort just pointing out the facts
@Dre – I am aware of at least one community meeting that has been at Johnson’s, which I thought was nice of the restaurant to host. If Johnson’s is offering to donate catering to a neighborhood association meeting, I bet you can find links to grateful volunteers on their websites! Cheers to the finely built bar you have, and the original finishes your landlord kept. You might want to talk to some seasoned restaurateurs about PR.
@ just a Neighbor you probably are aware of that one function @ Johnson’s were no one ordered anything not even water except for young lady @ the end but my space was good enough to meet but not eat.
Any how it doesn’t matter my customer base is bigger than Church Hill %65 of any revenue made in Church Hill comes from outside Customers who travel here. Our Restaurants in this Community are the selling point for people to buy or sell homes or rent, just check out craigslist the first thing people say is you can walk to nearby restaurant in there rental adds, but when people move here they log in on CHPN and find a long list of computer thugs bashing businesses .
For Christ sake!!!! if you eat at place and have a problem with food or service talk to a Manager ot Supervisor before you leave don’t bash them online because you obviously know the owners, so the same way you speak of our names on here approach us all with the problem in person so the owner can address the situations, because that’s what real Neighbors do!!!
Oh as for your comment on PR or seasoned restarauntor this our family 7th successful restaurant here in Richmond Check out the Internet were very well seasoned & I hold two degrees & never needed help with building relations!!!
@Deandre you are totally missing my point. I very much want you to succeed. Not feeling very welcome right now, though. So there we are.
Good luck Seed Grant Applicants!
AmyN-B
8 hours
I sent the following email to Council:
I am a 9-year resident of Richmond’s Church Hill neighborhood. When my husband and I moved from Charlottesville to Richmond, we were dismayed by the lack of small businesses. At that time, Church Hill was home to two restaurants and several corner stores (including the location now occupied by Captain Buzzy’s Beanery).
When Captain Buzzy’s opened, we were overjoyed to see Church Hill becoming the sort of neighborhood that could support a local coffee shop. I even worked at Buzzy’s for a short period because I was so enthusiastic about supporting a business of its kind in the neighborhood.
With Captain Buzzy’s success and community support, additional business owners took risks to open restaurants, bakeries, and other retail. Many of these businesses including the restaurants that predate Captain Buzzy’s have obtained ABC licenses. These licenses have not led to undue noise or disruptive behavior, but have further solidified these locations as gathering places for Church Hill’s neighbors and customers from the greater Richmond area.
Please consider supporting Captain Buzzy’s and allowing this nearly decade-old commercial neighbor to adapt its business model to serve alcohol, keep later hours, and have outdoor space. Captain Buzzy’s deserves the same regulation and scrutiny as other Church Hill businesses.
@Dre it’s some people who wants you to go above and beyond in order to get their business you are a extremly nice guy and you and a few of your employees are very nice no matter what you do it’s always gonna be someone who has a problem you can’t please everyone some people aren’t even happy with their selves so they come on here to bash people to make their selves feel better I’ve eaten at a few restaurants in this area amd didn’t feel welcomed at all my money spends like everybody elses I didn’t get the welcoming hello how can I take your order it was yea what are you having and my food didn’t come out in a timely manner I have a lot of complaints but me being a church hill resident I never talked down about the other restaurants I continue to support and laugh when I read the post on here at people who always talk about how great church hill is NOW lol your right church hill is a nice place to live it just have some bitter unhappy hard to please people who resides here
I have two thoughts when reading most of the posts on ChurchHill People News. One, I wonder why this forum accepts personal attacks and cannot seem to be respectful of others. Insults and cursing only shows ignorance and a poor grasp of the english language. Two, when were proper grammar and punctuation deemed unnecessary in today’s society? Do you not recognize an intelligent thought is better validated by use of civil tongue and properly written sentences and coherent thoughts?
While we do not all have to agree, I would hope that being respectful of each other and trying to make a point with facts, not accusations, would go a long way in improving our neighborhood. Do you really want to live in an illiterate Peyton Place?!!
Ann,
Please differentiate between the “posts” and the “comments”. I hardly *ever* curse in the posts 🙂
John
Personally, I don’t see color or racial preferences at all when selecting a restaurant. I focus on what is offered on the menu and the look of the space. I’m pretty sure that’s what most others are looking for too, and my neighbors are always talking up new business, and clearly would be happy to support newcomers within our neighborhood. I hate to think of anyone thinking that Sub Rosa received support only because the owners weren’t black. The SEED program sounds fantastic and I encourage all to apply. Sub Rosa made excellent use of the funds to get products and services the community wanted.
Funny, John! 🙂 As you are well aware, I was speaking of the dueling neighbors who comment on the posts.
@20 – so are you saying poor grammar and punctuation are required to have a valid argument? Seems kind of superficial to me.
I prefer a well formatted response out of consideration for others (there’s nothing more painful than reading an unpunctuated response) but have seen plenty of grammatically incorrect comments raise good points. And I’ve seen plenty of well formatted but empty ones.
By the way, your comment has a grammar error. So I guess by your standard, I should disregard the whole thing anyway…
@ Bozatwork, very well said..On behalf of my business I denounce any racial bias, although I respect Teresa views as anyone else’s but it’s not Johnson’s against every restaurant in the neighborhood, it’s all about business’s coming together & supporting each other, I’m great supporter of the roosevelt & my buddy “John Murden” has been to my aid countless times i allways eat at WPA & Alamo BBq and on any given saturday you might catch me @ Patrick Henry Chugging down a cold one with Rick but any how just as the late Rodney King said “Can’t we all just get along” Peace!!
I don’t see color when I choose a restaurant. I generally don’t even know the owner’s race for most places–not that I would care about it if I did. It’s just that I don’t tend to meet the people who own many of the restaurants I choose. I have been to Johnson’s a few times. I didn’t choose it because he is African-American. I chose it because the food is really good. I don’t think I have ever met the owner.
We don’t go to Johnson’s a ton. We love the food, but our favorites there are also not great for our waistlines and if we go, we want our favorites. I will say that I have worried about how the place is doing since I don’t see a ton of people when I walk or drive past and when we have eaten there, it has generally been nearly empty. I think that’s a function of the big windows not having tables in front of them so you can’t see people in the restaurant. You drive by Alamo and the Roosevelt, you can see the people eating. Anyhow, I hope it is working OK for Mr. Johnson and we will be back again after we get a few more pounds off. The food is really good.
I wish people would not use the “I don’t see color” argument. This comes from a place of privilege whereby “white” people can ignore race and pretend that it is both virtuous and right of them to pretend it doesn’t exist.. Two main arguments on this:
1. Of course we see race. Whether consciously or not, we all have ingrained stereotypes and misconceptions of people based on race. Until we address these – consciously – we will continue to harbor them. It doesn’t make us bad people to realize that we were raised in such a way to believe certain things about certain people. In fact, it makes us better people to realize these prejudices and actively work to repair the relationships we have with people of different race. I myself work daily to repair the damage done to my psyche by my family growing up and the racial driven jokes I was barraged with as a child.
2. People criticized Dre when his business was on 25th – pointing out all the flaws of the building. Now, he is in a gorgeous new building with big windows and yet, people fall a million other things to scrutinize. I don’t see anyone constantly feeling they can criticize and offer “suggestions” to Roosevelt or Dutch and Company the way that they feel they can to Dre. It is paternalistic and condescending.
And instead of talking about race and saying white people don’t patronize African American led businesses – I think it is more correct to say that the middle to upper class families in CH, of any race, rarely patronize and support the businesses held by African American or other people of color. Look through the posts on this blog where the people on here feel they can criticize businesses. Which businesses (with the exception of Buzzy’s) face the harshest criticisms. Which businesses face none or little? I’m going to need some hard proof that there isn’t a trend there.
A great article about the racism of “colorblindness”
http://www.wupr.org/2013/04/03/“i-don’t-see-race”-the-pitfalls-of-the-colorblind-mindset/
First, to Mr. Johnson: allow me to reiterate what I said earlier. I have been to your restaurant a few times with my wife. We thought the food was great. It is only because our favorites on your menu are not good for our waistlines that we don’t come more often. That is not a criticism of your food—it means we need to get to the gym more so that we may eat even more of what you are serving. We ate in your restaurant on 25th Street too and the food was also excellent. I wish you every success so I can continue to enjoy your cooking. I sincerely apologize if you took offense to anything I said, as apparently #28 did. I’m a fan of your food and wish I could dine at your restaurant more frequently.
As for #28….
Maybe we make our comments to Mr. Johnson since he is, you know, actually interacting with us here, and the owners of the other restaurants are not. I know I, for one, have posted my equally-unsolicited suggestions for Dutch on another thread. The thread turned to Mr. Johnson’s restaurant, so I aired my thoughts. Welcome to the internet, where people have opinions on the topics being offered.
And of course I don’t see a color when I choose a restaurant. How can I when, even if it mattered to me, I have absolutely no idea who the owner is or what that person looks like in most cases. I have no idea what race the owners of Dutch and Company or the Roosevelt are. I also don’t know their names nor could I pick them out of a line-up. So clearly, I don’t see color in making choices about restaurants because there is no color for me to see in most cases. Equally clearly you are therefore clueless as to what place my comment comes from. But please don’t let that keep you from pontificating to demonstrating your immense moral superiority and enlightenment
Let me take this one step further. You say people railed against the building Mr. Johnson’s restaurant was in when it was on 25th Street, clearly implying based on the rest of your comment that those who railed did so on the basis of Mr. Johnson’s color. I would point out to you two things. First, if memory serves me, Mr. Johnson posted in another thread about the problems he was having in the building as the cause of him closing. That would mean he was equally critical of the facility. Second, I know there is a new restaurant in the building–the name is escaping me. I have no idea who owns it so I certainly cannot judge the building based on race as it concerns its current owner. But I can tell you this, I don’t care if Jimmy Sneed or Dale Reitzer opens in that location, in my opinion, it’s still not a great building for a restaurant and they are likely to have a problem. The track record of previous tenants in that space would bear that out. Race has not a thing to do with it.
With that said, I will return to my place of privilege in the evil bourgeois existence that causes me to be such a horrible person.
Just wanted to say I tried Johnson’s for the first time today for lunch & was incredibly impressed. I’ll echo #29’s comments about the waistband, though. Got to hit the gym now to work it off! P.S. I know it was just a hypothetical, but Jimmy Sneed in Church Hill would be a beautiful thing.
Speaking for myself, one of the critics above, I have criticized the Johnson’s building’s kitchen facility as a wet blanket over the ability to do business there since way back when Jumpin J’s was in that building. If J is out there in internet land, I think she *might* agree. I happen to know some industry business people who agreed when that place was for lease.
Dre says he can rock it there despite this, so I’m going to believe him and can’t wait to give it another try. He definitely brings the enthusiasm!
I’m one of the broken records about big open storefront windows and the true meaning of my complaint is not getting through. If you have them but cover up the windows with curtains, you can’t see in. My whole point is that you need to see the activity inside. Cooking! Guests! Light! Active uses!
Where can you see big windows with open curtain activity? At every financially successful restaurant in the neighborhood. Yes there are exceptions all over, no need to name them. And of course pull the shades when the sun is beaming in on a 130 degree Phoenix afternoon. But active street-fronts ALWAYS help your bottom line as a restaurant. It’s not debatable.