January 2006

A prognosticating peek at travel’s new world order

On the town: At Ginger’s bar, where specialties include the Typhoon Legend, a mix of pink champagne, plum juice, and ginger purée

Urban: Heat Seeking
Where will travel’s cool kids be heading next? Read on

Manhattanites fleeing the steep rents downtown have been rehabbing Harlem’s gritty reputation. New developments are reaching critical mass, cementing the neighborhood’s status as the one to check out. Ginger, an organic Chinese restaurant from the owner of the East Village spot Butter, is just unveiling in Harlem’s first "green" building (1400 Fifth Ave.; 212-423-1111; entrées, $8–$19). Carol’s Daughter, a bath and beauty emporium, launched in late 2005, with an opening that attracted Jay Z and Jada Pinkett Smith (24 W. 125th St.; 212-828-6757). Hotels are coming too: A Courtyard Marriott debuts in late 2006, and Starwood is said to be looking near the Apollo Theater for a W Hotel site.

 

Source: Conde Nast Traveler

In Brooklyn, A Growing Business Rooted in a Dream

By Umi Grigsby

"I was born to be an entrepreneur, just like my father and his father before him," says Richelieu W. Dennis.

The 34-year-old Brooklyn businessman has taken his family legacy, along with a strong appreciation for his native West African culture and traditions, and translated them into the lucrative Sundial Group of Companies.

Grossing well "over 1 million dollars annually," the Sundial umbrella - a 100% Black-owned manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer of traditional personal care products, flavors and fragrances - includes Sundial Fragrances & Flavors, Inc., the Nubian Heritage personal care products brand, and the Nubian Heritage Marchés in Brooklyn, Queens, and Harlem.

In addition, there is Nicholas, an Afrocentric store featuring urban and traditional clothing, and Madawa, a botanical store still in the process of being set up.

The Nubian Heritage project began with a dream in 1992, when then street vendor Richelieu Dennis, along with business partner and childhood friend from Liberia, Nyema Tubman, recognized the dearth of quality beauty products for African Americans. Dennis, who had graduated the year before from Boston’s Babson College with degrees in Finance, Investments and Entrepreneurial Studies, began experimenting with his own recipes using natural ingredients to create the first iteration of Nubian Heritage products.

At the time, he also recognized that in addition to the absence of product there was also limited access to realistic knowledge of African history and artifacts with a fashionable black aesthetic.

"For instance, when you’re trying to find home décor pieces,” he explains, you can’t walk into Bloomingdales and find pieces that speak to you and the culture. The selection and quality is limited".

So, in part, he founded Sundial Fragrances & Flavors, Inc., out of this frustration combined with the near impossibility to find a mainstream retailer willing to take a gamble on his homemade products.

His entrepreneurial spirit drove his need to fill that void in the community and vice versa, he says.

"I wanted to provide a lifestyle center for the community, a place where we can come to get our wellness, beauty, and entertainment products."

The first Nubian Heritage Marche was born in Brooklyn in February 2001, followed by the marche in Queens in February 2002, and culminating, most recently, with the addition that excites him the most: a third New York location in Harlem that opened in 2004.

Housed in the historical National Black Theater building, the Harlem marché is the flagship location for Nubian Heritage. The marche has hosted attractions that have included Harlem Book Fair events, a slumber party with the author Deborah Gregory and a book signing with the author Zane.

As it is the case with the two other locations in Brooklyn and Queens, the market is an Afrocentric mélange of a Barnes and Noble, a Tower Music, an Urban Outfitters, and a Bath & Body Works. With its hardwood floors, minimalist design and urban feel, Nubian Heritage stores offer an impressive range of merchandise ranging from books, music, and clothing to collectible art, hair and body products. It also opens up its space regularly to serve as a "watering hole" for community events.

The Harlem store also features a SheaSpa, a full-service spa and salon focusing on natural African products, Boma Coffee & Tea Co., an African-themed café serving coffee and delicacies imported from the African continent, Nubian Garden’s Florist and Dee’s Art Gallery

Highly ambitious and multifaceted, the business project seems to be the fruition of Dennis’ determination to be a successful businessman and his early vision of what he thought he would do with his life. Forging a philosophical link between the predominantly African American communities they serve and the cultural traditions of Africa, Dennis has found a way to combine his business background, with his own experiences growing up in Liberia to create a unique business model.

"The Nubian Heritage Philosophy is not any different from the philosophy that most African Americans share in raising families…The people that work in our businesses take ownership of our business." The success of the company is create a family that extends from within the company out to the community

Sia Pickett, the "Village Leader" or manager of the Harlem marché, explains that the company is a tribe of people, providing links to the community. When asked how she finds her employees, she explains that they come from within the neighborhood, and that once hired, these "tribe members" then invite their friends and families into the markets. These extended family members then feel the need to support the market by default the family. Dennis echoes this perspective. "Most of the staff has come from inside referrals because the business has grown; and some people just walk off the street into the store. They all want to be a part of what they see as an important movement". The staff is an important part of spreading the message. "Our people grew up and live in the communities we serve," he adds, "so they have a vested interest in developing their neighborhoods."

Whether its masked professionalism or sincere customer service, all the stores are abuzz with friendly staffs. With the tribe in place, says Dennis, everyone is entrusted with responsibility and is equipped with the tools needed to handle their specific task. "We provide our people with the leadership expertise and guidance to handle issues on a case by case basis."

According to Tiffany Carter, Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, there are quarterly Tribe Meetings where all employees from the manufacturing plant, all stores and administration) gather to review results, discuss new strategies, and plan for the future. In this manner, a proprietary sense is nurtured and encouraged in all employees from the village leaders to the tribe members, a message that is passed down from the tribe leader himself

Dennis, tribe leader and CEO, is driven by his commitment to his extended family members. "The driving question is always are the needs of our customers being met?" With that in mind, all of the stores are specifically tailored to the unique needs of the neighborhood they serve. "We try to keep decision-making as close to the customer as possible. Everything from product staffing to lay-out is influenced by the community. We are not a cookie-cutter retailer. We are a market-specific retailer." According to Rich, the stores are all unique because of the differences in the consumers they "minister to."

"The Brooklyn consumer base is largely of Caribbean descent. In Harlem, there
is a heavier African American population. In Queens there is a high

West Indian influence, also," he says. Dennis attributes the high product turnover and accomplishments of the retailers to this attention to detail.

Seeking to explore markets with the most need, Dennis says his business is hoping to expand their villages out of New York to cities including Washington, Atlanta and Chicago. The Nubian Heritage Villages will continue to be a fusion of contemporary and traditional, providing products for the mind, body, spirit and home, attempting to carve out a central, unifying location in the villages they inhabit.

 Source: Blackvoice/AOL

A sparkling selection photo: courtesy of Harlem Vintage

Harlem Vintage 2235 Frederick Douglass Boulevard Harlem 212.866.9463

Wines to Welcome
A new shop gives lesser-known vintners their due

It’s hardly a shocker the wine industry is synonymous with wealthy white males, yet there’s nothing like a statistic to bring it home: According to the San Francisco Chronicle, of the 900 wineries in California, only seven are owned by African Americans. “I think history and tradition has a lot to do with it,” says Lee Campbell, manager of the recently opened wine shop, Harlem Vintage. "Grape wine is something that comes from Europe . . . There’s certainly a class issue of it being a luxury item."

The brainchild of local resident Eric Woods and his partner Jai Jai Greenfield, Harlem Vintage’s mission not only aspires to change that statistic by promoting vintners of color, but to provide a sorely-needed convenience to the neighborhood. "I go into some of my customers’ homes, and you’d be floored by the fact that these people have to go 50 blocks south for a decent bottle," says Campbell. "It’s ridiculous."

Despite some misconceptions, choices at the shop aren’t limited to African American winemakers like Vision Cellars and Time Warner CEO Dick Parsons, although Greenfield says they do try to move beyond the Berringer to smaller vineyards that are "off the radar." They’re also aiming to educate patrons with free tastings and steer them toward more interesting but less-familiar options—hence a quality Gewurztraminer placed closer to the entrance than a bland Pinot Grigio. Designed to evoke "the style of the Harlem Renaissance," Greenfield says, Harlem Vintage resembles a comfy living room with warm wooden floors and candlelit shelves. Many talents of the 1920s first performed in this type of setting.

Apparently, even residents grappling with the changing neighborhood and the hike in real estate prices have welcomed the store’s presence. Harlem Vintage’s impressive clientele-focused approach may also be part of the draw. "I tend to ask the consumer what they think about this bottle, see if they like it," says Greenfield. "If not, I’m not carrying it. Simple as that."

Source: Liquid City, Village Voice 

__________________

Chateau Harlem
What’s remarkable about a wine store in Harlem is that it wasn’t remarkable.

BY JULIA VITULLO-MARTIN
Thursday, March 10, 2005 12:01 a.m.

NEW YORK–It’s a testimonial to just how far Harlem has come back economically that when an upscale wine store, Harlem Vintage, opened on Frederick Douglass Boulevard last November the buzz centered on the quality of the wines rather than the store’s very existence. This was Harlem’s first wine store in living memory (a second has since opened a few blocks south), but that historic fact paled beside the Burgundies that were being served as gracefully as if this were the Four Seasons.

The opening of a wine store as well as many other successful businesses in Central Harlem is of profound interest to those of us who have watched the neighborhood decay economically for decades–despite its assets. Harlem is sited in Northern Manhattan, high above the Hudson on one side and the Harlem River on the other. It has some of the finest housing stock in the city, is well-served by both public transportation and parks, and has received billions of government dollars from GOP and Democratic administrations since the Kennedy years. It is not only the nation’s most famous black neighborhood but was dubbed by Nelson Mandela "the black capital of the world." Yet for much of the 20th century it ranked as the poorest area of Manhattan.

This fear seems so old-fashioned today, as excellent restaurants, florists, delis and services spring up all over Harlem–including a charming boutique, Harlemade, devoted to goods produced in the neighborhood. Harlem’s new entrepreneurs are providing a template for blacks in other cities. Harlem Vintage’s co-owner, Eric Woods, who lives a few blocks from his store, says, "Our client base is predominantly Harlem. Those who live in the neighborhood want to support local businesses." His co-owner, Jai Jai Greenfield, notes that while the store stocks many familiar European wines it specializes in artisanal winemakers, including black-owned vineyards. "Here’s the message we send," she says. "We’re supporting black-owned winemakers and we hope they support us–not because we’re African-Americans but because we’ve created a wonderful wine experience for our customers."

This is revolutionary talk. As Nathan Glazer and Daniel Moynihan pointed out in their 1963 book, "Beyond the Melting Pot," American blacks had long failed to develop an entrepreneurial class–a severe judgment in their otherwise optimistic analysis of the future of ethnic groups: In particular, "the business-minded" among urban blacks had not gotten a "foothold by serving their own, as so many ethnic groups had done before them." They predicted that black urban neighborhoods would never be strong unless they could develop their own business class. Even Jane Jacobs, in her "Death and Life of Great American Cities," argued that Harlem never had been a "vigorous" neighborhood, and never would be until it got a "good, healthy mixture of work stirred alongside and among its stretches of dwellings."

These censures held for many years, despite a ready market. Studies in the ’90s showed that some 70% of Harlem residents left the neighborhood to shop. Didn’t that demonstrate that Harlemites would happily shop at home if given a chance? But violent crime was a huge barrier to business. Even the good stores in Harlem, like a famous sweet-potato pie shop people traveled far to patronize, greeted customers with steel barriers.

No longer. Harlem today is the jewel in New York’s crime-fighting crown. While violent crime has decreased 67% citywide since 1993, it has dropped 72% in Central Harlem. And burglary, down 73% citywide, has fallen 82% in Central Harlem. Willie Suggs, one of Harlem’s most successful real-estate brokers, told me, "Homeowners organized and we fought back. We all had the precinct captain’s phone number pasted on our refrigerator doors." The worst year, from a realtor’s perspective, was 1977–when a whole townhouse could be bought for $5,000.

Now townhouses sell in the millions, but city government has programs to ensure that development includes middle-income households–who in turn provide an economic base for new business. New York’s Housing Development Corporation made a $6 million loan to help finance the handsome 123-unit Harriet Tubman Gardens co-op across from Harlem Vintage. (JPMorgan Chase provided a $12 million construction loan.) The site had been vacant for 15 years. It also financed a middle-income condominium, 1400 on Fifth, whose Princeton-educated developer, Carlton Brown, buys corporate gifts at Harlem Vintage. "I like the Harlem name," he says. The store’s name, says Mr. Woods, "conjures up ideas of the Harlem Renaissance but also the new Harlem–vibrant economically and cutting edge culturally." And it’s certainly better on the palate than Baldwin’s pride of bitterness.
Julia Vitullo-Martin is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.

Source: Wall Street Journal