Several Philadelphia, PA, businesses have been passed down through generations, including Paul Beale’s Florist.
According to our sister site, Travel Noire, the florist shop, founded by Paul and Altermese Beale in 1971, has spent nearly five decades cultivating a loyal customer base.
For Paulette Beale Harris, the second-generation owner, carrying on the family’s legacy isn’t a responsibility she takes lightly. She emphasized that she doesn’t want her parents’ hard work and sacrifices to be “in vain.”
In honor of Black History Month, Visit Philadelphia has launched a four-part video series titled “Legacy & Love.” The series highlights Black-owned businesses that span generations and the families behind them, as well as businesses launched to honor loved ones, Travel Noire highlighted.
The videos, available on visitphilly.com, feature the stories of the Beale family, Lori Thomson and her mother, Vera Doyle from Vera Doyle Boutique, Yvonne Blake and her granddaughter Alana Rambera of Hakim’s Bookstore, and sisters Sharla and Sharaine Brown of Arterial Coffee.
“Building my legacy in Philadelphia means honoring the city’s rich history of Black entrepreneurship and paying homage to my mother,” said Lori Thomson, per Travel Noire. “The Legacy & Love series is a strong affirmation that Black stories are worth celebrating and a reminder that legacies are built on love and bold dreams.”
Data shows that only 5.4% of businesses operating within Philadelphia’s city limits are Black-owned, despite Black individuals making up 43% of the city’s population, according to Drexel University. However, these four businesses, among others, are helping to make a significant difference for the Philadelphia community.
Down North Pizza has a seven-member staff of formerly incarcerated individuals, AFROTECH™ previously reported.
After growing up witnessing their loved ones in confinement, childhood friends Kurt Evans and Muhammed Abdul-Hadi founded the North Philly staple in 2021 to reduce recidivism rates in the area.
“We’re changing the quality of life for our community by being the hand that feeds and teaching others to do the same,” Evans told “Good Morning America” in 2021, per AFROTECH™.
Evans has since embarked on a separate venture, opening a new restaurant called Black Dragon Takeout on Aug. 29, 2024, AFROTECH™ reported. The restaurant is inspired by the Chinese food he grew up eating in West Philadelphia and blends it with elements of Black American cuisine.
Similarly to Down North Pizza, Evans still employs formerly incarcerated individuals and hires people in halfway programs.
“The food industry has never had a problem hiring formerly incarcerated people,” Evans previously told Food & Wine, per AFROTECH™. “The problem is employers threatening to call parole officers and dehumanizing these guys.”
