Possible store that could be used (Photo from GoFundMe page)
Possible location for store on Warren Avenue (Photo from GoFundMe page)
In a city that is predominately black, it may be surprising to know that Detroit has no black-owned grocery stores.
Raphael Wright hopes to change that. He launches a GoFundMe campaign with a $90,000 target, reports Tom Perkins of Metro Times. He has raised more than $17,000 from 156 people in a month .
"Our goal is simple: Open a black-owned grocery store in Detroit with a mission to provide better food than we have at other stores in the city, and some economic betterment opportunities," says Wright, a member of the Food Lab Detroit business incubator.
The GoFundMe page says:
My company Urban Plug L3C is fighting Food Desertsd and Disinvestment in the hood with our latest venture. We are starting a grocery store to feed our people and to create an investment opportunity in the process. The goal is to open the store, build it into a successful business, then franchise throughout the hood. We will be uniting inner city residents so they can invest in our stores so they can starting owning something in our neighborhoods.
Perkins writes:
Wright, who is working with partner Theo Easter, is putting down $10,000 of his own money to boost the pot to $26,000. Beyond that he's working with Motor City Match to secure more funding and explore grants that might fit. Several locations are under consideration, including sites at 17455 E. Warren Ave. and 18210 Wyoming Rd.
