RAEFORD, N.C. (WTVD) — A local candle business was featured on Good Morning America on Thursday morning.Durham native and military spouse D'Shawn Russell quit her job as an educator after 22 years and started Southern Elegance Candle Company. Now, business is booming.WATCH: Black-owned Raeford business sees sales skyrocket after George Floyd's death sparked social justice…
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A new gateway for Black business ownership is going up in Raleigh. City leaders and local investors broke ground Thursday Montague Plaza, an entrepreneurial hub and shopping center in the heart of southeast Raleigh. The plaza aiming to help ensure Raleigh's current growth spurt is an equitable one."Raleigh is growing so…
RALEIGH (WTVD) — Terry Mangum is just 20 years old and already a small business owner. He owns One of One Boutique in the heart of downtown– offering handcrafted shoes and clothes in addition to the more common, commercial pieces.Mangum opened the shop a mere month before the COVID-19 shutdown. His store was damaged during…
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The cabin fever set on by the COVID-19 pandemic has turned a lot of us to the great outdoors. State parks officials are pleased not only with the increase in visitors, but the increase in the diversity of visitors.So now park officials are working with a group that is also trying…
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Minority- and women-owned businesses in the Triangle are getting a financial boost.Lenovo and a non-profit group called Location Initiatives Support Corporation are joining forces to distribute $1 million in grant funding to support certain businesses.In the Triangle, 12 businesses that have already been selected have each been awarded grants worth $10,000.The…
APEX, N.C. (WTVD) — A brand-new black-owned business opens in Apex on Friday. The restaurant named Monifa's Southern Food will be opening and serving up Southern-style fare." Fried chicken, fried fish, fried pork chop, baked chicken; we have chopped BBQ collard greens," said owner Zane Marks.The restaurant is a soul-food lover's dream coming to southern…
Starting your own business can be a risky leap of faith, but the odds of success could improve with a network of support from other like-minded entrepreneurs.About three years ago in Smithfield, Mel Wright opened her own resale clothing store. She waited for the day it might finally turn a profit, but it never did.…
NORLINA, N.C. (WTVD) — Seven Springs Farm and Vineyard in Warren County, N.C. has only been open a little more than a year and already is making national headlines with visitors traveling from all over the country to visit.The nearly 150-acre farm was purchased by the Williams family in 1987."We purchased it with the plan…
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — Just days after headlines about chaotic violence at The Streets at Southpoint, one of the mall's few Black-owned businesses was informed that its license to operate at the mall was being canceled. Michael Phillips has six more days to shut down his popular specialty store, Sir Castle Tees.Phillips suspects the mall…
February is Black History Month, which means historic sites and other venues are taking the time to reflect on and celebrate Black leaders, artists and others who have made a difference in our community and often haven’t received the spotlight they deserve.Here’s a look at some of the best exhibits, tours, historic sites, events and…