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.
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