Five black-owned businesses are coming to downtown Macon thanks to this diversity initiative

When Darrin Ford was asked to give up a part of his prize money to help another small business get started downtown, he said yes.

“It was a no-brainer. I said ‘if giving up my prize money means we can have an additional winner to help get their business started, I’m for it,’” he said.

Ford was one of five winners of the Downtown Diversity Initiative, the result of a partnership between NewTown Macon and the Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages.

Winners received a prize package worth $6,500. About $5,000 of that will go toward advertising efforts. They were selected from 12 participants who pitched their business ideas after a series of workshops, according to a press release.

Josh Rogers, the president of NewTown, and Alex Habersham, the publisher of the Black Pages, teamed up to enter the Downtown Challenge, ran by the Community Foundation of Central Georgia. They won $50,000 to fund the two-part initiative.

“One (part) was to run a competition to award four incentive packages to African-American owners who could move or start businesses downtown. And the second part, which hasn’t happened yet, is to train existing business owners about how to attract and retain diverse clients,” Rogers said.

While the initial goal was to award up to four, Ford’s sacrifice allowed another business owner to be awarded.

When Nathalie Armand-Bradley, one of the winners, gave birth to an autistic and micro preemie son in 2008, she realized her living space wasn’t reflecting the person she aspired to be.

“That’s when I started really transitioning and transforming the space and really allowing it to be a place where it would enhance my well-being,” she said.

She created ModPunch, a company that does virtual and physical interior design.

She said the diversity program was amazing.

“I loved the opportunity we had to really be immersed with a plethora of resources and information and powerful people that could really help us bring our ideas to fruition,” she said.

About 18% of downtown businesses in Macon are owned by African-Americans, Rogers said at Thursday’s conference to announce the winners of the initiative.

Habersham said the program was started to mirror the Macon community when it comes to businesses and downtown consumers.

“We are doing this initiative to bring light to downtown and make people comfortable with coming downtown and letting people know that they’ve got a diversity of businesses,” he said.

Arrkeicha Danzie, a third winner, plans to open her business, Good Boy Goodies, an all-natural dog treat line, in a quaint spot downtown.

“If there’s anybody that wants to start a business, there’s so many resources out there to help you facilitate that. I would encourage anyone that has any kind of idea (or) dream to start a business,” she said.

The press conference was held on the first day of Black Philanthropy Month.

Here is the complete list of winners and their businesses:

• Beverly Pitts: Carbel Beauty Plus, a second location to Carbel’s Beauty Supply on Pio Nono
• Darrin Ford: A Brook Haven, a bar and lounge geared toward business professionals
• Nathalie Armand-Bradley: ModPunch, an interior design company
• Brandon Woodford: Wizdum Clothing, a retail space and clothing store
• Arrkeicha Danzie: Good Boy Goodies, an all-natural dog treat line

This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 3:52 PM.