Ribbon cutting ceremony held for grand opening of 5 small businesses in College Hill

CINCINNATI (WKRC) - On Small Business Saturday 2021, five local small businesses opened up shop inside their new storefronts for the first time.

It’s all because of a new program called OurShop -- a project Seth Walsh, executive director, and his team at the College Hill Community Urban Re-Development Corporation have been working on for five months.

“The College Hill Business District is six miles long, and for a long time, it was just the northern block that was thriving," said Walsh. "This is about the end of the southernmost business district, so to be able to bring the re-development all the way down here has been incredible."

The businesses are located along Hamilton Avenue. One storefront, which has been vacant since 2018, will house four small businesses. The other, just feet away, is home to a party store.

“We're looking forward to really experimenting with College Hill and seeing how College Hill feels, testing out some new products maybe, we'll see what might happen, and then, of course, continuing to grow with other business in the space,” said Naimah Sams, owner of Like Mom’s Only Vegan.

For the next six months, the owners will operate there rent-free with support from College Hill CURC.

“Incubators provide a really necessary service where you gain a business plan, and we want you to test your business plan outside of some of the safer areas where you’re going to get natural foot traffic being downtown," said Walsh. “This is a re-developing business district. There’s an inherent risk with that, but the risk, if you can figure that out, you can really thrive.”

The new business owners say they're grateful for the opportunity, and hope that they can pay it forward.

“For me, to be able to give my knowledge that I've learned, everything I do is self-taught," said DeAngela Gill, owner of DeeDee's Butter Bar. "So, to be able to give that knowledge to other people, it means the world to me."