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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 28, 2005)
Page B7 Minority & Small Business Week September 28. 2005 i Minority Business Growth Stands Out 1 ' J New ownerships exceed average photo by E rika -L eigh G oodwin TT he ■ P ortland O bserver Equinox employee Felicia Sledge serves wine at the restaurant's bar, located in the Mississippi neighborhood. Neighborhood Attracts Proprietors continued from B4 planets realign themselves ev ery trimester. Equinox mixes up the menu and brings in a variety of the finest seasonal fruits, veg etables and spices reflecting the season. A third partner in the restau rant is executive chef Desmond Luesley. “ H e’s a nice guy and he of fered to help us come up with some ideas and fell in love with the concept,” Stulz said. Luesley was on a hiatus from the culinary world after 15years in the business at the time. He had worked at the world renown M axine’s in Paris and spent three years working as Hugh Heffner’s private travel chef. Luesley originally com m it ted to be Equinox’s chef for six months, but worked so well with George and Stulz he be came a partner shortly there after. Equinox goes above and be yond by providing full health benefits for its employees, a rare find in the food service industry, which explains the restaurant’s low turnover rate. “ Part of it is to offer af fordable high-quality food and a w elcom ing space, we also have w orked in the service industry in our lives and none of us have really liked what we saw with regards to ad m inistration and ow nership,” said Stulz. “And so part o f our m ission is not ju st business, but to be a place w here our staff feels at hom e, feels in vested and a sense o f ow ner ship-sw eat equity. I think the general satisfaction is obvi ous to our custom ers.” Stulz describes the menu as “ a co m in g to g e th e r o f w orldly flavors that m eet on the same plate— eclectic, in ternational, and equatorial” . Equinox uses only fresh squeezed organic ju ices in its cocktails and prepares its en trees with horm one free lo cally raised m eat. If one o r ders a seafood dish, it is safe to assum e the fish is wild. D espite spending m ore to provide its custom ers with the freshest and finest in gredi ents, Equinox m anages to of fer reasonable prices for its exotic cuisine w ith entrees that range from $8-17 on the regular m enu and nightly spe cials m ange to stay w ithin the $17-22 range. The NoPo hot spot will be featured in N ovem ber’s Sun set M agazine and has recently been contacted by G ourm et M agazine who will be taking a closer look at the restau rants popular wild m ushroom w ontons. E q u in o x a lso b rin g s its e q u a to ria l fla ir to special events and private parties. The new fall menu, cock tail m enu and wine list were unveiled at E quinox’s two- year anniversary celebration last Saturday, during the au tum nal equinox, o f course. For reservations, phone 503-460-3333. For special e v e n ts p la n n in g , c o n ta c t Stulz at 503-680-1 165. M inority groups and women are increasing their business ow nership at a much higher rate than the national average, according the U.S. Census Bu reau. W hile the num ber o f busi nesses overall increased by 10 percent between 1997 and 2002, the grow th for m inority- and wom en-ow ned businesses was far higher., ranging from 45 percent for black-owned business to 20 percent for firms owned by women. There were 1.2 m illion busi n e sse s o w n ed by A frican Am ericans in 2002, generat ing receipts of more than $92 billion. Thirty-eight percent of black-ow ned firm s operated in the health care and other service industries. Hispanic-owned businesses totaled 1.6 million firms in 2002, up 31 percent from 1997 and with receipts of $226 billion. About 40 percent of Hispanic- owned firms were in adm inis trative and support services and waste management: health care; and other service indus tries. A nother 13 percent were in construction. T h ere w ere 1.1 m illio n A sian-ow ned businesses in 2002, up 24 percent from 1997 and with receipts o f $343 bil lion. A bout 28 p ercen t efl A sian-ow ned firm s were in health care and other services, with another 14 percent eac^i in professional services and retail trade. W om en-ow ned businesses totaled6.5 million firms in 2002, up 20 percent from 1997 and with receipts totaling $950 bil lion. O ver h alf o f womerf- ow ned firm s were in servicer- related industries, including health care and professional services. Loans to m inorities have irv | creased by 27 percent, c o n f pared to the sam e period if 2004, and loans to women ha\£ shown an increase o f alm ost 50 percent, follow ed closely by loans to A frican-A m erici business ow ners, which a up 46 percent. Small Business A dm inistra tion loans to start-up co m p a nies have increased by 76 p e r cent over last year. “M inority and women en trepreneurs are leading the way in business grow th anffl are making im portant contri butions to our nation’s ecd- nom ic strength,” said SBA A d m in is tra to r H e c to r V. Barreto. A FLORIST'S STORY. 'O R HOW TO NIP POWER LEAKS IN THE BUD. When Lake Oswego florist Stephanie Knoph called PGE about unusually high bills, business services rep Jan Bliss popped up at "Beautiful Blossoms"faster than a tulip in April. After a quick walk-through, Jon suggested replacing halogen bulbs with energy efficient models, cutting the breaker to a storage area, and adjusting her thermostat so the heater and cooler don't conflict. Suddenly, Stephanie's profits bloomed along with a long and fruitful relationship with Jan. If your small business would like to cultivate something similar, call us at 1-800-542-8818. Jan Bliss PGE Business Services Representative State Opens Business Advocacy Office continued from B4 store state support for the Ivocacy commissions so they n continue to carry out their issions and provide a unified »ice for minority and women regonians in state govern- ent. Senate Bill 316 requires all ite agencies to report their »ntract aw ard s to the avernor’s Advocate for Mi- irity and Women Businesses, hich will enable the state for e first time to track where ite contacts are being awarded d how often they are awarded M in o rity , W om en and nerging Small Businesses, iis inform ation will improve e state's targeting efforts to sist m inority, women and lerging small businesses in ntracting. Senate Bill 173 will expand O re g o n ’s E m erg in g Sm all Business Program (the state's race and gender neutral certi fication program ). W ith this expansion, ODOT will now be able to increase the num ber of projects that they can set aside for participation by certified em erging small businesses. The expansion also nearly doubles the num ber of years that a business can now par ticipate in the program as a certified business from 7 to 12 years and increases the gross receipt limit of businesses that can participate in the program . For more information on eli gibility criteria for certifica tion as a m inority, woman or emerging small business, visit: e g o v .o r e g o n .g o v / D C B S / OM W ESB/ or call 503 947- 7976. Advertise with diversity in u l?l | J o r t k m b ( D h s e m c r C ull 5O3-288-(X)3f ads@portlandoHscr\ e i.c o m i