A man who was incarcerated for 11 years recently opened the first Black-owned business in Brooklyn Heights, New York City.
According to Black Enterprise, Cloudy Donut Co., a vegan donut company founded by Derrick Faulcon, launched its first shop in Baltimore, Maryland in 2020.
After a year of success, a second Baltimore location was opened.
While selling vegan treats, the brand aims to "reverse gentrify" by opening shops in predominately white areas. Its mission prompted the founder to open a third location and make history in Brooklyn Heights, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Brooklyn and New York City.
“[Being the first] means a great deal to us, and we’re proud of it, but it’s just the first step,” Zewiditu Ruffin, the company’s Brooklyn Heights shop operator, told VegNews of the history-making opening.
“Reverse gentrification is this ideology that we bring out Black-owned businesses into predominantly white, affluent neighborhoods in order to bring visibility, diversity, and awareness,” Ruffin added.
Before opening the first Black-owned business in Brooklyn heights, Faulcon sought entrepreneurship after spending 11 years in jail, with two of those in solitary confinement.
“I spent 11 years total of my life in prison,” Faulcon shared in a TikTok video. “Two years in solitary confinement. I came home and started my own business.”
“My goal was, how can I create a luxury product in an affluent white space and now bridge the gap between that crowd and our crowd? It’s a generational wealth play,” he continued. “It’s like now, how can we put ourselves in a position where instead of keep complaining to these white folks let’s just start owning some sh-t. Let’s start going to their communities. Getting money from them. Giving them quality products. Bridging the gap. Creating those relationships. Building and architecting a life for ourselves and then giving back to the people behind it.”
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