LOWELL – Last Thursday, August 7th, State Representative Tara. T. Hong hosted another Small Business Tour in the 18th Middlesex District.
Joining Rep Hong on the tour were Deeqo Jibril, Director of Small Business Development for the Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) and Diego Leonardo, Executive Director of the Latinx Center of Community Empowerment.
The tour focused on small businesses located in the Acre and Highlands neighborhoods of the 18th Middlesex District.
“I am grateful to Deeqo and her team for coming to our community and speaking with small business owners,” Hong said, “our goal is to bring the State to the storefront.”
Deeqo Jibril’s Small Business Development team included Jennat Jounaidi and Grace Thompson, who provided multilingual handouts highlighting EOED’s Business Front Door.
Launched in late July, Business Front Door is an online platform designed to support entrepreneurs with relevant resources for businesses looking to start, grow, or relocate to Massachusetts.
The tour began in the Cambodiatown section of the Highlands neighborhood, where the group visited Mony Var Insurance, Phnom Leap Deli, Pailin Market, and El Bunker Cafecitos & Juguitos.
Next, the group stopped by Nibbana Café where owner Romany Meas described how support from the City of Lowell and the State helped her expand and grow her business. Originally located on Cardinal O’Connell Parkway, Nibbana moved to Western Avenue Studios.
In the Acre, the group was joined by Melissa Rost of Community Teamwork’s Entrepreneurship Center, Nate Robertson of MassDevelopment, and Lyzzie Bo of the Taste the Acre Initiative.
Robertson recently passed the torch on the Taste the Acre project to Lyzzie Bo. Both Robertson and Bo highlighted the uniqueness of the Acre neighborhood for its cuisine showcasing “16 different countries across 31 restaurants”.
The group was joined by some of the business owners on the tour to conclude with a working lunch at Oshare Sushi & Bar, a recent addition to Market Street.
“My team and I took a lot of notes,” Hong said. “We’re not just here to listen, we’re also here to follow through. Today was a great opportunity to start the conversation about how the small business community, the City and the State can work together to help these businesses grow, thrive, create jobs, and drive the economy.”
More information about the Business Front Door can be found by visiting: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/business-front-door
