by Elizabeth Turnbull
Efrem Fesaha had an ambitious dream — to bring a unique coffee experience to Seattle, one of the coffee capitals of the world. And now, in 2022, he’s been recognized for it, receiving the title of both Washington Small-Business Person of the Year and Pacific Northwest Small-Business Person of the Year.
Continue reading South End Coffee Entrepreneur Wins WA Small-Business Person of the Yearby Amanda Ong
This Saturday, Nov. 27, is the annual Chinatown-International District (CID) Small Business Saturday Food Walk. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., you can visit a variety of small CID businesses to find offerings from retail to food, with each participating with a selection of treats for only $6. The CID Food Walk features items for dozens of CID businesses — from egg rolls and hum bao at ChuMinh Tofu Vegan Deli to cream puffs at Beard Papa’s and discounted merchandise at the Wing Luke Museum.
The Small Business Saturday Food Walk is an event held by the Chinatown-International District Business Improvement Association (CIDBIA), a nonprofit organization based in the CID that does work in public safety, sanitation, marketing, communications, neighborhood events, and advocacy. It is one of 10 Business Improvement Associations throughout the city. During the event, the CIDBIA will be hosting a table at Hing Hay Park where you can ask questions, find recommendations, and receive a bag of small goodies.
“It’s a really good opportunity to just highlight collectively the entire neighborhood, and call out to all the great things that we have besides just a certain cuisine of food,” said Connie Au-Yeung, communications and marketing manager at CIDBIA, in an interview with the South Seattle Emerald. “There’s drinks, and there’s different pastries and retail items, and a really great variety within Chinatown, Japantown, Little Saigon.”
Continue reading CID Saturday Food Walk Features Small Businesses and Delicious Eatsby Elizabeth Turnbull
At the entrance of Pike Place Market, next to Ellenos Greek Yogurt and across from where the fish are thrown, one woman and her family pour organic fruits, vegetables, and joy into the lives of Seattleites and tourists who visit the Black-owned business rōJō Juice.
“Customers say that the music that we play, the energy that we give literally like … gets them out of bed,” Rhonda Faison, the owner of rōJō Juice, told the Emerald. “… and whether they buy a juice or not they just love to be around rōJō and the energy.”
Continue reading Black-Owned rōJō Juice Pours Out Organic Juices and Loveby Jax Kiel
Intentionalist is built on one simple idea: where we spend our money matters. We make it easy to find, learn about, and support small businesses and the diverse people behind them through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop. #SpendLikeItMatters
Latino Heritage Month is underway, and we are celebrating the best way we know how: by visiting small businesses owned by members of the diverse Latino and Hispanic communities throughout Seattle.
Wondering why Latino Heritage Month begins in the middle of the month? Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Additionally, Mexican Independence Day is Sept. 16 and Independence Day in Chile is Sept. 18.
Check out these three eateries — Cuban, Mexican, and Salvadoran — to start off your Latino Heritage Month celebration and be sure to visit Intentionalist’s Latinx Heritage Month landing page to check out a variety of fun promotions that include prizes from Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Seahawks.
Continue reading Intentionalist: Celebrating Latino-Owned Eateriesby Mark Van Streefkerk
The South Park Multicultural Latino Market, a recurring weekend pop-up hosted by the South Park Merchants Association (SPMA), will host a special celebration of Mexican Independence Day and Hispanic American Heritage Month on Saturday, Sept. 18, at the South Park Plaza. Fiestas Patrias will feature DJs spinning salsa, cumbia, merengue, banda, and quebradita sonidero music, and vendors will sell authentic Mexican and Latino foods like tacos, empanadas, elotes, specialty non-alcoholic drinks, as well as clothing, jewelry, and collectibles. The celebration starts at 1 p.m. and goes until 5 p.m. or later. RSVP and find out more at the Fiesta Patrias Facebook event page.
Mexican Independence Day took place on Sept. 16, but other Central and South American countries celebrate their independence days around the same time, kicking off Hispanic American Heritage Month from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. Fiestas Patrias is an inclusive Independence Day celebration for South Park’s diverse Latino community and everyone is welcome.
Continue reading South Park’s Multicultural Latino Market Celebrates Mexican Independence Day Saturdaycurated by Emerald Staff
On Saturday, Sept. 4, the National Asian Pacific Center of Aging (NAPCA), a national nonprofit that “preserves and promotes the dignity, well-being, and quality of life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and diverse older adults,” launched an online anonymous form to help report incidents of violence against older members of the AAPI community. Their “in-language online report form” will be available in 29 AAPI languages, and the data collected will be used, they say, to gauge incidents of anti-Asian violence nationwide to help inform policy makers and community leaders.
From NAPCA: “According to a nationwide survey of AAPI adults conducted by NAPCA and its community partners (COMPASS Study, March 2021), 3 in 5 surveyed had experienced discrimination during the height of the pandemic. Yet due to factors such as language barriers and a cultural reluctance to report crimes, data on the scope and reach of violence have been inconsistent and imprecise.
“NAPCA has independently tracked 94 reported incidents of violence against AAPI adults ages 50 and older since February 2020, with 16 deaths and three people critically injured. The number of attacks against Asians is widely believed to be underreported due to cultural reluctance with many older adults being limited English proficient and anxious about involving law enforcement.
Continue reading NEWS GLEAMS: Report Anti-Asian Violence Online, Rethinking Waste, & More“With this anonymous in-language form, we are urging community members to come forward and report the violence they have been either victim or witness to, detailing their accounts in order to better grasp what has been unfolding.” Joon Bang, president and CEO of NAPCA
by Mark Van Streefkerk
South End ice cream fans have good cause to celebrate — Creamy Cone Cafe officially opened in Rainier Beach on Memorial Day weekend. The Black-owned, family-run ice cream cafe at 9433 Rainier Avenue South features root beer floats, sundaes, in-house-made waffle cones, coffee drinks, and 12 rotating ice cream flavors from local creameries.
Decked out in playful neon colors, including a small selection of outdoor seating, Creamy Cone Cafe brings sweet treats to a community that was in need of another ice cream shop, especially as the summer heats up. Creamy Cone Cafe is one of two ice cream destinations in Rainier Beach, in addition to Filipino American-owned Laina’s Ice Cream in The Stonehouse Cafe on Lake Washington.
For owner and South End resident Ashanti Mayfield, her sister Alexis Jones, and their families, ice cream is a regular part of family time and celebrations. But getting to an ice cream shop can be a bit of a drive for people in the Rainier Beach neighborhood. Ashanti and her family would frequent Full Tilt Ice Cream in Columbia City or Cold Stone Creamery in Tukwila. “Between those two, those were our cheer-up moments — going to get ice cream and just having a family outing together,” Ashanti said. “As far as ice cream goes, the South End needed [a shop].”
Continue reading Creamy Cone Cafe Brings Local Ice Cream to Rainier Beachby Chetanya Robinson
(This article was previously published at International Examiner and has been reprinted with permission.)
The City of Seattle declared April 21 Khoa Pham Day, in honor of his work as a small business owner, activist, and community leader dedicated to caring for Little Saigon and beyond.
Pham passed away at the end of March of a heart attack, said his sister Yenvy Pham. He was 35 years old.
After he graduated from college around 2008, Pham helped his family manage the Pho Bac restaurant business. “Khoa served as the chief financial officer of the Pho Bac Cooperation and was instrumental in the growth of the business in the past 13 years,” wrote Pham’s family in a tribute for his memorial service.
Pham’s family and friends remember him as a passionate advocate for the neighborhood, its people and businesses. A person who put others first, and a warm presence who loved bringing people together.
“He was always in the neighborhood, he was always doing things, he was always hanging out, and naturally was always there to help when things came up,” said his sister Yenvy.
Continue reading Remembering Khoa Pham, Little Saigon Business Owner and Community Championby Jax Kiel
Intentionalist is built on one simple idea: where we spend our money matters. We make it easy to find, learn about, and support small businesses and the diverse people behind them through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop. #SpendLikeItMatters
This April marks Intentionalist’s three year anniversary. Long before our small business database hit 3,000 listings and back when our social media following was primarily friends and family, there were some special small business owners who believed in our vision. They were excited about our mission to make it easier for all of us to support local businesses at the heart of our communities through everyday decisions about where we eat, drink, and shop.
Our founder, Laura Clise, brought Intentionalist online in April 2018 with the support of a handful of diverse small businesses in the Seattle area who shared her belief that where we spend our money matters. These business owners have been generous with their time and resources from the earliest days of Intentionalist. As we celebrate three years of being intentional, spending like it matters, and building community, we recognize that we are where we are today because of the diverse people behind the small businesses we love.
The following Seattle eateries have been inspiring and supporting us from day one. For our third birthday, Intentionalist is excited to celebrate these businesses that have been supporting us from the start.
Continue reading Intentionalist: Small Business, Big Supportby Elizabeth Turnbull
As of last week, the Port of Seattle is encouraging business owners, particularly women and entrepreneurs of color and business owners in South King County, to apply to the PortGen Accelerator, a business development program aimed at helping small businesses work toward future contracting opportunities.
Continue reading Port of Seattle Business Accelerator Centers Women- and Minority-Owned Businesses
