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| Kirsten Ussery and Erika Boyd, co-founders of Detroit Vegan Soul Restaurant |
Despite the city of Detroit's problems, including filing for bankruptcy in 2013 and ousting their mayor for corruption, many black-owned businesses there have not only survived but are actually thriving. Here are 8 amazing businesses that have managed to stay afloat:
#1 - Detroit Vegan Soul: Launched in 2012, this Black-owned restaurant owned by Kirsten Ussery and Erika Boyd (seen in the above picture) aims to make good, healthy food accessible to everyone, and to break the cycle of diet related diseases in the local Black community. Their menu is prepared without GMOs, additives, preservatives, refined flours, sugars, dairy, eggs or animal by products
#2 - Ali Sandifer: a design studio and workshop with a particular fondness for furniture. Their work is born from a simple belief that design, material, and craft must work together to achieve intelligence, beauty, and longevity. Their design process is sincere, approaching each challenge in search of a solution.
#3 - Bridgewater Interiors, LLC: a manufacturer of automotive interiors. Established in 1998, the company has more than 1,500 people at four locations in the United States. Their customers include General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and Honda. They are a certified minority business enterprise (MBE).
#4 - Piston Group: founded by Vinnie Johnson in 1995. They are an automotive supplier to large manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors. Their expertise is in product engineering and design, advanced assembly manufacturing, and product prototype testing.
#5 - Prestige Automotive: has been in business since 1993, selling new, used and pre-owned Mercedes Benz, Mercedes Sprinter Vans, Toyota, Scion, Ford, Cadillac, Chevy, Chrysler, Pontiac, Dodge, Mercury, Hyundai, Nissan, BMW, Infiniti, Lincoln, Jeep, Lexus, Saturn and Porsche. They have 5 dealership locations throughout Michigan.
#6 - Global Alliance Automotive: This company is a global automotive parts supplier. Their expertise is in sales support, quality and engineering services, and consulting. The company was established in 2001.
#7 - SET Enterprises Inc.: owned by Victor Edozien, President/CEO and has been in business for 25 years. The metal processing company does material processing such as blanking, roll forming and cut-to-length, per customer specifications. Their customers include Original Equipment Manufacturers, Metal Producers (Mills), and Metal Formers (Stampers/Fabricators).
#8 - Global Hue: Originally called Don Coleman Advertising, this Black-owned advertising firm started out specializing in African American public relations, but has now expanded to become a full-service advertising agency helping clients reach African American, Hispanic and Asian consumers.