Want to support Black-owned businesses? Here’s a list
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Petit Marche owner Marchet Sparks. Photo by Dan Whisenhunt
This story has been updated.
By Zoe Seiler, contributor
Decatur, GA — Georgia was recently ranked the second most supportive state for Black-owned businesses in a study done by Zippia, a website that provides career advice and a job board.
The study looked at four categories: the number of Black-owned businesses per capita, the number of people employed by Black-owned businesses, the percent of Black residents with a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the percent of Black workers in management and business, according to the study.
Georgia has about 8,900 Black-owned businesses that employ just under 83,800 people, the study says.
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In the last few weeks, residents of Decatur and surrounding areas have encouraged their neighbors to support Black-owned businesses and lists of businesses have been added to multiple neighborhood Facebook groups.
Here is a list of some Black-owned businesses located throughout the Decatur and Atlanta area.
Art and Music
Bakery
Book Stores and Clubs
Car Services
Simply Done Mobile Auto Detail
Clothing and Accessories
Squash Blossom is a women’s clothing boutique that also offers gift items for men.
“We sell everything from underwear to outerwear, hats to shoes, everything in between, so clothing, jewelry, accessories and gifts,” owner Lisa Bobb said.
The store, which is on the Decatur Square, has been there for 20 years and was originally started by a mother-daughter team. Bobb bought the store in 2015, she said.
“I was a customer of Squash Blossom for many years and I loved it. I always had a dream of owning my own boutique,” Bobb said. “I got the opportunity to purchase Squash Blossom because the owners were ready to do something different. Instead of starting from scratch, I decided to take over the business and just tweak it and make it my own.”
She said the store has changed since she has a different style and point of view.
“I have different styling preferences myself the way I dress from one day to the next. I think that’s reflected in the things that I buy,” Bobb said. “What I’m hearing from my customers is that people say there’s more for them to choose from. It appeals to more of a variety of women.”
She thinks there is more of a variety in the item available than there was before. Bobb said that multiple generations can shop in the store at once and walk away with new items.
“I definitely have seen mother, daughter, grandmother shopping in Squash Blossom and everybody finding things that they love,” Bobb said.
Bobb has also seen different types of women come into the store with different body types and identities. She added that people of color have said they are able to find more items for themselves in the store than they did in the past.
“My goal is always to find unique, artistic, but wearable clothing, shoes and accessories for the woman who wants to look beautiful while making it look easy,” Bobb says on Squash Blossom’s website.
Squash Blossom has two locations. One location is on the Decatur Square located at 113 East Court Square. The website says the store just reopened with CDC guidelines. The store is open Monday through Wednesday from noon to 5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
The second location is in Grant Park and is temporarily closed due to COVID-19. It is located at 519 Memorial Drive, Suite B-01.
Coffee and Tea
Dance Classes
Dental and Orthodontic Offices
Perfecting Smiles with Gentle Hands
Doctor and Chiropractic Offices
Total Women’s Health and Wellness Center
WellSpring Health and Wellness
Veterinarians and pet care
Education
Electricians
Fitness Centers and Activities
Decatur Strength and Conditioning (formerly CrossFit Decatur)
Jazzercise Decatur Fitness Center
Games and Comics
Hair Salons
Wildheart Salon has been in Oakhurst since 2016 under owners Cartez Washington and Tiffany Pateritsas.
“We do everyday haircuts, hair color, balayage, highlights. We are part of our community. We do a lot of participation in community events such as fundraising, Mead Road Mardi Gras, the wine crawl, porch fest. Everything that happens in the community we try our best to be a part of that and take part,” Washington previously told Decaturish.
Pateritsas has worked in the salon in 2010 while she was in cosmetology school.
“I felt like I had loyalty to the community and also received that in return,” she said. “I really enjoyed the relationships that I built and the clientele that I had built for myself so I had personal interest there to start. Then Cartez was ready to open a salon of his own.”
Tiffany Pateritsas and her husband Cartez Washington own Wildheart Salon in Oakhurst. Photo provided to Decaturish
Washington has been looking for a space to open a salon so he quit his job to pursue the opportunity to open a salon with his wife.
“It has more potential than what was there and we saw it but the previous owner wasn’t willing to put forth the effort to make it be what it could be so we took over,” Washington said.
Wildheart Salon is currently open with COVID-19 safety measures in place. The salon is located at 350 Mead Road #C and is open Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The salon is closed on Sunday and Monday.
Handmade Goods
Wench Crafts Fine Handmade Goods
Hardware Store
Health and Beauty
Olive Branch Wellness Boutique
Creole Secret Therapeutic Aromatherapy
Heating and Cooling
Integrity Air and Home Inspection Services
Mayott Heating and Air Conditioning
Home Design
Media and Photography
Nonprofits
Partnership for Southern Equity
Personal Stylist
Pest Control
Plumbing
Professional Services
Restaurants and Catering
Amanda’s BarbeeQue and Catering Services L.L.C
Anna’s BBQ has been serving home-style barbecue in Kirkwood since 2013.
Owner Anna Phelps described the restaurant as a hole in the wall place with a vintage style and is old and rugged. She said she likes the old, rugged feel.
“Our food is Southern so the style is old and rugged and Southern,” she said.
Phelps said she got the flavors and the barbecue rub from her grandparents. Henry and Annie Louis Buice barbecued chicken, beef, ribs and other Southern food in a pit in their yard, Decaturish previously reported.
The menu includes chicken, pork, beef, turkey ribs, smoked turkey legs, cube steak, grilled salmon and barbecued spaghetti.
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Phelps said she grew up in Kirkwood just down the street from the restaurant. She also said she grew up eating barbecue so it was a natural choice for her restaurant.
“Just knowing I came from that area, I wanted to do something,” Phelps said.
The small, quaint restaurant is family-oriented and attracts visitors from across metro Atlanta.
“Everybody that comes there probably knows everybody by now,” Phelps said. “I get a lot of business from the neighborhood and the connecting neighborhoods like Oakhurst, Edgewood, East Atlanta and Decatur.”
Anna’s BBQ is located at 1976 Hosea Williams Drive NE. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Le Petit Marche is a restaurant located in downtown Kirkwood that serves breakfast and lunch every day. Owner Marchet Sparks opened Le Petit Marche in 2008 originally as a market with a small sandwich counter.
Sparks was inspired and motivated on a trip to France in 2004 when she saw all of the le petit marches, which means little market, and is coincidently her name, Sparks said.
“I kind of got a kick out of seeing my name all over France and decided if ever, I would love to open a little market mostly for the neighborhood so it would be a little community corner store with baguettes, cheeses, local honeys, local coffees and even skincare,” Sparks said.
Her original plan was to repeat what she saw in France but about three months after opening in 2008 the economy crashed and she had to shift from a market concept to preparing more food since that’s what people responded to.
“They appreciated my little sandwiches and soups coming out of my seven by seven-foot kitchenette at our original location that was equipped with the best top of the line appliances like warming grills and fry daddies from Target,” Sparks said. “I literally did not have real cooking equipment but that didn’t stop us. That didn’t stop the community from supporting us.”
Sparks’ parents were heavily involved from the very beginning as well. She described Le Petit Marche as a mom and pop shop.
“You’d come into the place and you would see my mom. My mom made all the soups. She did all the baking. You’d come in and you’d see my dad busing tables, washing dishes, pulling up with a truckload full of groceries,” Sparks said. “It was a team effort by the Sparks family.”
Le Petit Marche is now a full-fledged restaurant that seats 75 people and has a patio, Sparks said.
The biggest compliment Sparks get is that people feel welcome and feel a warm presence of family and community.
She described the restaurant as homey, “very much like you’re at grandmas’ house, very much like you’re part of the family.”
“It has a very comforting and sincere feel. It’s very authentic and real. People really gravitate towards that,” Sparks said.
Le Petit Marche is currently open for take out with online ordering. The restaurant is located at 1984 Hosea Williams Drive NE, Suite A and is open Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Purple Corkscrew Wine Shop & Tasting Room
Services for Kids and Parents
Pea Pod Nutrition and Lactation Support
Therapy and Assessment Services
Clarity Counseling and Wellness
Myers Assessment and Therapeutic Services
Tours
Unexpected Atlanta Tours & Stories
Vacuums
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