Angel Gregorio is turning her dreams into reality with the grand opening of Black And Forth. Originally, she opened up a specialty spice shop in the Langdon neighborhood; however, instead of stopping there, Angel turned it into much more- inviting other local women business owners to join her and transform a 7500 square foot lot retail community for local Black businesses! It’s inspiring to see how one person’s vision can create so many amazing opportunities for others– 2201 Channing St NE was given new purpose!
Gregorio was eager and thrilled to bring her idea of a spice shop in the lot into fruition on Friday. Over the course of the next few weeks, four additional businesses specializing in hair styling, nails, waxing and braiding services will be leasing commercial space from Gregorio’s location – all within renovated shipping containers!
Nail’d It is one such business that had been operating out an individual apartment for six years until this point. As noted by NBC4 reporting at time of story release: “We have a lot of conversation about affordable housing but not enough around making commercial space available with affordability especially for Black women.” This led Gregario to think: “Since no one else is talking about it – I’m just going to go ahead and do it [myself]”.
In December 2021, Gregorio made history by being the first applicant of D.C.’s Commercial Property Acquisition Fund and with government assistance attained a commercial property for more than $1 million – in support of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s ambitious goal to increase minority-owned businesses to 33% by 2028. Through this fund 12 small business owners have received over $4 million dollars so far, inspiring others looking to make their dreams come true through entrepreneurialism; applications are still open!
With the aim of creating long-term generational wealth for D.C.’s Black and brown entrepreneurs, At Large Council member Kenyan McDuffie had a vision to invest in Gregorio’s business – and that came to life at Friday’s ribbon cutting ceremony. Mayor Bowser was present alongside several other city officials celebrating this monumental occasion with Gregorio as Spice Suite & Black And Forth opened their doors.
Gregorio achieved a remarkable feat – she successfully developed her property in under one year, defying the odds for businesses hoping to do so in neighborhoods with limited commercial development. She expressed that without substantial financial resources it was nearly impossible not to rush through the process; however even knowing this fact did not fully prepare Gregorio from confronting several roadblocks including complex city permitting and construction requirements which had been previously unknown to her despite owning another retail space elsewhere within D.C.. Fortunately with help on navigating these issues by Deputy Mayor of Planning & Economic Development John Falcicchio, Gregario’s incredible goal became reality as evidenced at her grand opening celebration!
Gregorio’s vision for Black and Forth continues to take shape, as she has implemented a new application process with one-on-one courses at the Commercial Property Acquisition Fund. Furthermore, her plans to launch a farmers market in spring 2021 have locals excited; until then folks can visit the Spice Suite located on Langdon where they’ll find spices, honey and seeds familiar from Gregorio’s former retail space along 4th Street NW – plus regular guest pop ups.
Gregorio is determined to make a difference in D.C.’s community by providing a space people can come together and create something greater than themselves; A Black-owned, woman-run strip mall that will be more than just an economic engine – it will become the catalyst for social change. Gregorio wants her model of care and support within communities to be replicated across cities all over, so through generous consultations and collaboration, she hopes everyone can benefit from what this project has accomplished.