Southern Hospitality: Small Business Grants Boost Memphis Businesses Impacted by Pandemic

LISC Memphis is helping Tennessee businesses recover from the effects of COVID-19 on the hospitality industry, which was particularly hard hit. With funding from GoFundMe.org, LISC recently awarded $5,000 grants to two small businesses: one dedicated to sharing Thai street food with the community, the other devoted to showcasing the historical contributions that African Americans have made to the area. The funding is designed to provide the owners with the flexibility to infuse capital where it is most needed so that they can recuperate and thrive.

Attendees from the National Fire Chiefs Convention visit the historic I AM A MAN PLAZA in downtown Memphis during a caravan excursion with A Tour of Possibilities.

“We are proud to support Soi Number 9, an award-winning restaurant and catering company, and A Tour of Possibilities, an innovative enterprise that celebrates our unique and ethnically rich city, which has emerged thanks in large part to African American achievement throughout the 200+-year history of this city,” said Kathy Cowan, Executive Director, LISC Memphis. “The grants align perfectly with LISC’s economic development strategy to elevate minority-owned small businesses.”

Over the past two years, LISC and its partners provided $240 million in relief grants to some 16,000 enterprises nationwide, the vast majority of them operated by people of color and women—the very entrepreneurs most deeply impacted by the economic fallout of COVID-19.  

As they say in the South, we “put on our sittin’ britches” and visited with the owners of both Soi Number 9 and A Tour of Possibilities, Inc. (ATOP) to learn more about how their respective businesses are restoring in the wake of the global crisis. 

SOI NUMBER 9

Soi Number 9 works to make authentic Thai street food accessible and affordable to folks in the Mid-South. Spouses Tim and Mai Vimonnimit invested in a mobile food business in 2017 after visiting the food truck meccas of Seattle and Austin. Tim, who is a trained Executive Chef, grew up in Thailand and started cooking with his mom at age six; Mai focuses on the operations side of the business. 

Tim, Mai and their daughter, Millie, smile for the camera at their permanent location on the UTHSC campus.

Two years after launching a food truck, Soi Number 9 opened a permanent space at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center’s (UTHSC) food court. But just a year later, the business was forced to temporarily shutter its space at the food court because of the pandemic. The business had to rely solely on food truck sales while events and community gatherings dwindled. A few of their vendors closed permanently. They experienced staffing issues plus food shortages in Thai staples like jasmine rice and coconut milk. The pandemic made the family painfully aware of the delicate supply chain and how closely it impacts their ability to operate.  

Tim and Mai are using a portion of the grant funds to upgrade their kitchen and catering equipment, both for the UTHSC location (which has reopened) and the truck. The couple states that the pandemic tested them, but proved that they have the flexibility and strength to make it through a big crisis.    

A TOUR OF POSSIBILITIES (ATOP)

A Tour of Possibilities (ATOP), an African-American heritage tour service and Certified Minority Business Enterprise (CMBE), celebrates its 8th anniversary in August. The group provides guests with a unique introduction to the Memphis area by exploring the African American influence on local business, music, sports, politics, religion and more. ATOP takes visitors on enlightening, eye-opening journeys through a lens different from other tour services. Among the popular tour spots: LeMoyne-Owen College, a local Historically Black College and University, and Elmwood Cemetery (est. 1852), a final resting place for African Americans who lived, loved, and worked in the area. 

ATOP owner Carolyn Michael-Banks shares the richness of Mid-South history with a Memphis couple during a recent “staycation”.

ATOP cancelled all tours with the onset of the pandemic. The business was hit hard, experiencing a devastating 80% drop in customers, 69% drop in sales and a 137% drop in profits in less than a year (May 2020-March 2021). As challenging as the pandemic has been, the owner of ATOP, Carolyn Michael-Banks, persevered and creatively pivoted. Michael-Banks started offering contactless tours and a virtual excursion. She even created a Caravan option where guests follow a guide in their own vehicles while connected to the ATOP van using virtual video/audio technology.

The grant from LISC and GoFundMe.org will enable increased digital engagement and messaging through a continued partnership with a local public relations and marketing firm that has helped the business develop a consistent online presence. Michael-Banks is grateful for the funds to renew the contract. She already reports more visits to the ATOP website, and its ranking on Google has improved.

ATOP recently became a supplier with Blacks in Travel and Tourism (BTT), an organization designed to create new initiatives to ensure Black operators have equal opportunities to participate and profit in the global industry. The business outlook is positive, and Michael-Banks is preparing for an increase in customers by focusing on recruiting the best team members and maintaining purpose-driven experiences for guests.