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A local startup, the Soulcial Scene, is developing a shuttle service to social events at black-owned bars and restaurants in Detroit, including happy hours, reports editor Brenna Houck of Eater Detroit.
“Our goal is to use black-owned business growth as a tool to provide resources and job opportunities for black families, which we believe is the key to community transformation,” says founder Damion Ellis, a former finance executive with General Motors.
The startup plans rides to events from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays during the first week of every month.
The Facebook page says:
The Soulcial Scene, comprised of young black professionals, was created to promote and support local black-owned restaurants by creating a social Happy Hour experience shuttling residents and professionals to black business locations. To make a larger impact, the group plans to launch in the downtown and midtown areas to capitalize on the large office populations. Participants will be able to purchase tickets or subscribe to a membership to experience the monthly social event.
The Soulcial Scene’s goal and mission is not simply to create another social event but to provide an avenue for growth opportunities for black-owned businesses to survive and thrive in metropolitan cities such as Detroit. Since black business owners hire black employees at a 64% hiring rate versus 10% for non-black business owners (Euquant.com), the long-term goal is to also increase black employment. Detroit will be the pilot city but the group has future plans to launch in Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
We estimate a startup cost of $15,000 which will pay for renting shuttles, marketing materials and administrative items. We expect to use revenues generated by fees collected from business owners to sustain the shuttle service after the initial startup costs are raised.
