MILWAUKEE — As the Sherman Phoenix celebrates five years, it is hard to overstate how successful it has been as a launchpad for Black businesses in the City of Milwaukee.
“Since 2018, 49 black-owned businesses have called the Sherman Phoenix home,” Dr. Stacia Thompson, Executive Director of the Sherman Phoenix Foundation said.
The building was shuttered in 2016 during the Sherman Park uprising. Now, the former bank has turned into a community investment. Thompson says the incubator space is helping to restore Milwaukee to its rich history of Black business.
“At one point, Milwaukee had the most Black-owned businesses per capita in the United States,” she said. “We are making a rebirth of Black businesses and what it means to be in business.”
“That’s that turtle,” Marcia Taylor said, with a bag of flavored popcorn in hand.
Taylor’s a product of the Sherman Phoenix. As one of the early tenants, her popcorn business, Lush Gourmet Popcorn took off. For five years, in a 300-square-foot corner of the building, she shelled out thousands of bags of popcorn. Now, she’s added a zero to her square footage, opening up her own brick-and-mortar at 920 E. Locust Street.
“We have 3,000 square feet now,” Taylor said. “[The Sherman Phoenix] really helped us build our confidence and what we are able to do. It was pivotal and critical for us to keep growing in our journey.”
Her time at the Sherman Phoenix was like a business crash course.
“You’re a business for yourself but not by yourself,” Taylor said. “It gives you some support, a footprint, and just the intangibles. If I had questions, there were other business owners, like Honeybee Sage, that we can pick things off of and really understand or get clarity on things that were challenging.”
As Taylor speaks about her time in the Sherman Phoenix, she points to another alum; Angela Mallett, owner of Honeybee Sage Wellness at 1819 N MLK Drive. Mallett just celebrated her first year at her brick & mortar.
“We hate to see them leave,” Thompson said. “But we love to see them go. It’s part of our grow-and-go model. Come here and get cultivated, grow and then go. Then, cultivate another new business that’s coming in.”
The Sherman Phoenix Foundation is hoping to raise $2 million dollars by the end of next year to make improvements to the building, adding new spaces to the lower level to allow for more businesses to open, in addition to other capital projects around the building.
Because while the first five years were by and large a success, it’s only the beginning.
“Out of the ashes, the phoenix rises,” Thompson said. “We’ve been able to turn tragedy into triumph and just show what happens when community-minded people come together for the same vision and mission and what we can do when we work together and not in silos.”
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
