DCED official’s tour highlights success of downtown WB small businesses

WILKES-BARRE — Barber Life Barbershop owner Donnell Battle on Tuesday was tending to a customer when he was visited by a group of dignitaries.

Battle was more than happy to see Mayor George Brown, Larry Newman, executive director at the Diamond City Partnership, and Department of Community and Economic Development Acting Deputy Secretary Mandy Book.

Also in the group were Mike Wood, Board Chair of the Diamond City Partnership and Special Assistant to the President at Wilkes University; Brian Doughton, District Director for Sen. Marty Flynn, D-Scranton; and Rep. Thom Welby, D-Scranton.

Book was in town to visit several downtown businesses to mark the celebration of Small Business Week, April 30 through May 6 — as proclaimed by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

Book’s tour included stops at Pour Coffee House, 3 North Main St., owned by Stacy and Drew Long, who also own Drip on Main Street in Pittston; Nucleus Raw Foods, an organic, raw, plant-based, gluten-free, soy-free café located in the Luzerne Bank building at 67-69 Public Square, owned by Kamri Ramirez and Danielle McGrogan; Istanbul Grill, a Mediterranean restaurant at 34 South Main St., owned by Elif and Enis Kacar, who will open Cafe Istanbul, a breakfast restaurant, next month; and Barber Life Barber Shop, located inside Provincial Towers on South Main Street, owned by Donnell Battle.

“This was a great walking tour,” Book said. “We got to see these business and how, like many small businesses across the Commonwealth, are growing. It shows us that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. We encourage consumers to shop local and support our small businesses.”

At the barber shop, Battle said he was “delighted” to see the officials stop by his business. Battle was in the middle of trimming up customer Bee Brown, but he took time to speak to the group.

In April 2022, Battle held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at his barber shop, when he teamed up with the city of Wilkes-Barre and the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce to participate in the Spark grant program to bring new businesses downtown.

At that ceremony, Battle said, “The Spark program changed my life so I can help to change others’ lives.”

On Tuesday, Battle said he hopes more small businesses will open in the downtown.

“Sure I would like to see more businesses come here,” Battle said. “We need to build up downtown’s business area.”

Battle said he is looking to hire another barber, a stylist, a braider, a massage therapist and nail tech. He would also like to see vendors display their items in his shop.

Newman said it’s always very rewarding to have people from outside our community come in to learn first hand about the strengths and diversity of our downtown’s small business community.

“This was a great opportunity for us to be able to have a number of small businesses talk about their experiences and to share the details of those businesses with Deputy Secretary Book,” Newman said. “It helps her and the folks in Harrisburg understand what is going on here and across the Commonwealth.”

Newman said he hopes there will be more visitors to downtown Wilkes-Barre so he and others can share our success stories with them.

“We’ve got dozens and dozens in our business district with compelling stories in what has not been the easiest couple of years,” Newman said. “Some of those businesses opened right before the pandemic hit and they made it through. “They pivoted and pivoted hard — their original business models were shaken to their core, But they did make it through and they identified new ways to meet and cultivate new customers. They have been extremely resilient.”

Deputy Secretary Book also noted that Boscov’s is located in the heart of the city’s downtown. Newman said Boscov’s, which this year plans to open store No. 50 in West Virginia, began as a small business venture.

“That’s where big businesses come from — they grow from small businesses,” Newman said. And Boscov’s is the perfect example of that.”

Gov. Shapiro’s 2023-2024 budget proposal calls for a $20 million infusion of capital into the Historically Disadvantaged Business Assistance Program, which supports minority-owned and woman-owned small businesses, to open new doors of opportunity for these businesses.

The Governor’s budget also calls for an $8.6 million increase for the Keystone Communities program to support improvements in Pennsylvania Main Streets, particularly in rural and less affluent communities. This influx will help boost small businesses by supporting vibrant and successful communities where Pennsylvanians and visitors want to live, shop, eat, and more.