Maftuna Rakhimova serves its customers Quiche Pie, Baklava and Turkish coffee while Emily George offers its flower stream, predetermined leather coat and cocktail clothing their grandmothers were wearing.
While the products they sell on the lower state route vary significantly, Rakhimova and George have something in common. Both are part of a growing number of female business owners in ERIE, especially downtown.
Women own 30% of ERIE businesses and the percentage continues to increase, according to officials at the Gannon University’s small business development center. They said the number of businesses owned by women is even higher in the city center, with about 40%, and also increasing. Additional businesses are run by women, even if they are not the only owners.
“Having more businesses owned by women in city city center that is ready for women to lead and participate in the revitalization of the city,” Emily Fetcko, CEO of ERIE Downtown partnership, said. “If women want to open their new business, expand their existing business, or move their business to the center being here.
Kinds what kind of businesses are women opening up in Erie?
“In the city center is seeing a strong show of restaurants and cafes owned by women,” Fetcko said. “I think women, in general, really know how to illustrate hospitality and create spaces for genuine connections.”
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But food and drinks are not everything they bring to the center of the city of Erie.
Bakery of Rakhimova at 5 and Boutique George’s, The Dollhouse in Pointe Fourie, are on a list of businesses owned by women or women led by women involving restaurants and cafes, but also art and flower galleries, photography, child care , salons and much more, according to partnership Gannon SBDC and ERIE downtown.
Why are women opening businesses in ERIE?
Coronavirus pandemia played much in the growth of businesses owned by women.
Covid-19 disproportionately touched women in the workforce, with many people leaving traditional work because of the responsibilities of custody or dismissal, said Gannon’s SBDC director Maggie Horne and Bill Dietz, SBDC City of Erie Business Consultant. Entrepreneurship became a valuable alternative for women, Gannon officials said.
Fetcko said that during the pandemia, it was mostly women who took a step back from work to take care of children at home.
“Many women restore advantages and had ambitions that included being entrepreneurs,” she said.
Women who run businesses in ERIE are varied, according to Fetcko and Horne.
“For many, they are involved in other sectors that work for both corporations and non -profit,” Fetcko said. “They have been engineers, teachers, non -profit leaders and many are also mothers. Others have been in their current industry for decades.”
Rakhimova, 29, is a mother of girls aged 3 and 1. She worked as an engineer in the airspace industry until she was fired and did not know what to do.
“I’ve always had a dream to open a cafe,” she said.
This evolved into a bakery with fresh daily offers that opened February 1, 2024. Rakhimova said she was born in Uzbekistan but was Persian and wanted to bring something different from Erye.
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Gannon officials said women’s business owners represent a wide range of experiences, ages and motivations. Millenniums saved by technology, socially conscious and entrepreneurial are an important force in the beginning of new businesses that match their values such as inclusion and innovation, often embracing side -time hurry in full -time venture. Then there are experienced professionals who leave Corporate America to start their own business, usually in professional services/counseling.
George, 40, is the mother of a 12-year-old boy. She studied the design and trading of fashion in college and worked on corporate retail. She said she fell in love with vintage boutiques and wanted to create a unique shopping experience for the ERIE community that promotes durability by selling second -hand fashion.
Many of the vintage items she sells originally came from boutique downtown, and George said she wanted to restore the nostalgia of the city center shopping experience.
Why are women going downtown?
SBDC officials said that in addition to their organization, there are others who offer professional development programs and sources that make it easier for women to receive entrepreneurial skills. They said there has also been a recent focus on downtown development and infrastructure improvements, making downtown an exciting place to do business.
“Amazing is amazing,” George said. “We support and cooperate with each other.”
She said her downtown space is connected to several others, including the Glass Growers gallery, and she has collaborated on events such as Boutique Nights with the owner of the Emily Ernes.
George did not start her business downtown. The puppet house opened in 2013 and then moved from 1804 W. Eight St. In the Hill district near West 26th and Peach Streets. It opened in 423 State St., where he saw an opportunity for her business to grow and thrive in November 2021.
“In the city center there is a community that is diverse, where existing inheritance businesses are near new entrepreneurial enterprises,” Fetcko said. “There is an interesting dynamic that develops when neighbors can learn from one another and support other businesses. We are definitely seeing more at the center of a business culture in the city center.
“We are also seeing the best quality owners working with their tenants to make them successful. They realize that their tenant’s success is their success. Quality businesses that are welcoming and have a Appeal for pedestrians add value to the block and entire neighborhoods. “
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Rakhimova was not particularly looking to find in the city center, but then saw that space in 502 State St., previously occupied by a Starbucks, was available.
She said she wants her employees to see her not only as a boss but also as an example for young women.
Why are businesses owned by women a good thing?
Creating jobs and economic growth are significant benefits of any business opening in ERIE.
The growth of businesses in downtown ERIE enhances the city’s economic, social and cultural structure, Gannon officials said. It runs innovation and strengthens communities.
Fetcko said it also leads to investments in buildings, some of which have long been empty.
“But perhaps more specifically, more women -owned businesses allow the growing economic movement among women,” she said. “They tend to hire more women and turn the community in ways that are often invisible, but they definitely feel. Creating a more diverse business landscape creates more opportunities for women throughout ERIE.”
Massing Dana can be reached at dmasing@mesnews.com.