Lajuana Miller had just started a new job at Procter & Gamble Co. in January 1978 when she walked out of the old Stouffer's Hotel and asked a bellman where “all the black people hung out downtown.”

Former Bengal Mike Martin is scouting sites for a possible downtown nightclub with support from Lajuana Miller. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        “He looked at me like I was crazy,” she remembers now. “Without renting a car, I couldn't find a place.”

        More than two decades later, the answer would be the same, says Ms. Miller, now vice president of small-business development at Downtown Cincinnati Inc.

        DCI has proposed a grant fund that could help minority-owned companies downtown, and wants to create an atmosphere where people of color can feel more comfortable.

        The goals are both social and economic. A city burned by race riots in April needs businesses that appeal to customers of all races, Ms. Miller said.

        And diversifying downtown will only solidify efforts to attract more residents and entertainment options that yield more tax revenue.

        Ms. Miller's modest two-year goal: a nightclub, and restaurants serving fried fish, fried chicken and barbecue.

        “Execution is the key, because the audience is there,” she said.

        Demographics support the argument. According to a report by MarketResearch.com, African-Americans are nearly twice as likely to live in central cities than the population as a whole.

        And consumer expenditures among African-American consumers grew by 40 percent between 1994 and 1999, compared to 24 percent for the overall population.

Not welcome?

        Advocates of more minority-owned companies downtown are fighting the impression that black entrepreneurs and customers are not welcome there. While a few places have gained favor among black audiences, many say they flock to suburban restaurants, bars and attractions.

        “With more exposure, it could be friendly,” says Marilyn White, owner of the Miz Maree boutique at 811 Elm St. “They have to know you're down here, and that takes exposure and time.”

        Change comes slowly, but more minority entrepreneurs are looking at downtown businesses.

        Skyline Chili is talking to Michael and Julie McNeil about becoming its first-ever minority franchisees, and the African-American couple hopes to make a decision about a chili parlor on Central Avenue later this year.

        “We're very interested in downtown,” says Julie McNeil. “We're just trying to make sure that it will make money.”

        “If it's a known quantity like a Skyline, and you provide a certain level of service, you'll be OK,” she adds. “It has to be something people are familiar with.”

        Ms. Miller of DCI acknowledges that downtown has not been friendly to small companies in general, and minority-owned companies in particular.

        She was coordinating the Ujima Cinci-Bration street festival downtown last summer, and a young person asked her the same question she asked the bellman in 1978: Where do black people go downtown for entertainment?

        She had the same answer.

        “I was ashamed,” she says.

The pioneers

        About two dozen minority-owned companies are operating downtown. Ms. Miller points to pockets on Elm Street near City Hall, and on Sixth Street near Main Street.

        Ms. White opened Miz Maree last July, and says most of her customers are African-American.

        Just down the street, Steve Bailey opened his S.J. Bailey Inc. employment agency in October 1999.

        He served about 1,000 people last year, most from downtown, Over-the-Rhine and the West End. About half are black, he said.

        “It's one of the best locations I could have,” Mr. Bailey says. “I have access to an unlimited number of people looking for work.”

        But he acknowledges that operating downtown is a tough challenge for any entrepreneur. The key issue, he says, is economic.

        “I think downtown is not friendly for any small business,” he says.

        Developers and small-business owners, both black and white, have complained for years about high property and rent costs keeping them out of downtown.

        The Union Baptist Church property at 619 Central Ave., a tower that holds 169 units of subsidized housing, is one example. The 7,000-square-foot vacant space on the first floor is the first option for the McNeils' potential Skyline franchise.

        But renovation costs mean that many small companies need some help to make a deal work, says Ramona Nelson, whose firm was hired by the church as property manager.

        “We're going to have to be innovative,” she says.

        That was the main purpose of DCI's proposed grant fund. With a tight budget at City Hall, chances are slim that it will be funded this year. But city leaders are looking for alternate funding sources.

        One of the high-profile new projects comes from Mike Martin, a former Cincinnati Bengal now scouting sites to open a downtown nightclub.

        He has looked at a former restaurant space on Walnut Street, across from the Aronoff Center for the Arts.

        Mr. Martin envisions several different rooms, each playing different types of music. He won't reveal investors, but says he is not deterred by the failure of other businesses downtown.

        “If it's something that people want to come to, they'll come downtown,” he said.

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