Jess Henton is on a mission. So is Bridget Johnson.
The two women are black entrepreneurs who have staked and are trying to stake their claim again in Seattle’s restaurant scene.
Johnson is the owner of Central Cafe and Juice Bar on East Cherry Street near Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Now in her sixth year, her business is made up of neighborhood regulars who come by foot or bike. Students stop by on their way to and from school. And some are willing to drive miles to her cozy cafe for her delicious smoothies, coffee, or pastries.
Henton is part of Seattle’s soul food royalty. She is the daughter of Helen Coleman, owner of Ms. Helen’s Soul Bistro. For more than 30 years, Helen has made immigrants from the South feel at home and introduced them to Pacific Northwest flavors such as fried catfish, collard greens, steamed pork chops, braised cabbage, boiled cornbread, and oxtail. did.
Now, Mr. Henton and Ms. Johnson, affectionately known to many as Squirt, are experiencing the increased suffering that many small businesses experience, but it is even more complicated for Black-owned and women-owned small businesses. It often becomes.
Black-owned businesses have experienced significant growth in recent years, increasing by 14% from 2020, according to the U.S. Census. Among black-owned businesses, 37% are women-owned. Black women make up the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in this country, according to a Harvard Business Review study. But the study also cited four main challenges facing black women: access to capital, bias from traditional lenders, lack of support, and burnout. There are also private grants available to support black women’s businesses, but even those have recently come under attack for being discriminatory.
Henton and Johnson both live in the Central District and have seen the cost of commercial space there rise.
Johnson recently expanded to a second location in the Seattle Municipal Tower at 700 Fifth Avenue. The city had approached her about opening a spot downtown as part of her Restore Seattle program to bring businesses and people back after the pandemic.
“Because it’s a city building, we couldn’t bring in our own contractors. The bad thing is, they have their own list of contractors, and the project manager came up with a quote that was three to four times higher than we expected. She said the project, which was supposed to cost $125,000, ended up costing more than $400,000.
“They were trying to make me pay for it, but I wouldn’t pay,” Johnson said. Before striking out on her own, Johnson worked at Whole Foods as a prepared foods manager for 12 years.
She said she instead wrote a letter to the mayor’s office and was notified a few weeks later that many of the fees would be waived. The mayor’s office said the cost was covered by the Restoring Seattle program because the improvements will benefit Central Cafe and future tenants, she said. As of December, 76% of entrepreneurs participating in Seattle Restore are women.
If you build it, will they come?
Johnson’s new challenge is attracting downtown customers. Although Amazon has ordered its employees to return to work and the city requires employees to come to work at least two days a week, traffic downtown and in city towers is not what it was before the pandemic.
“I’m in a building, so I need more signage to let people know I’m here,” Johnson said.
Henton hopes that won’t happen when Helen’s Soul Bistro opens in Yesler Towers at 809 S. Washington St. later this year or early 2025. The building is currently under construction, and Henton will occupy 1,700 square feet on the first floor.
The restaurant first opened at 23rd Avenue and East Union Street in 1970 when his mother moved from Los Angeles to Seattle with her new husband. When Coleman opened what was then called Helen’s Diner, she was soon feeding celebrities such as Muhammad Ali, Richard Pryor, and professional athletes, as well as the rich and sometimes those who couldn’t afford it. He built a reputation for doing so.
“If you were hungry, she would feed you. She might tell you crazy, but that was another thing she was famous for. But… At the end of the day, she had a big heart and made sure to take care of people.”
Helen’s Diner closed in the mid-1980s. It reopened in 1987 as “Ms. Helen’s Soul Food.” It remained open until the building was damaged in the 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Henton returned to Los Angeles, where she stayed until 2012, when her mother called and said she wanted to open a restaurant again. But Seattle, especially the Central District, has changed.
“Community leaders saw the severe effects of gentrification in the area, and all Black businesses began closing or relocating to other parts of the city. I followed my mother to see if it could be done. They formed a committee and started holding meetings.”
Tom Bangasser attended several of those meetings. Henton credits the business owner with sparking interest in reviving Helen’s store at the time. As a partner with a family that lives on the former Midtown Center property, Mr. Bangasser pushed to reserve space in his CD for Black-owned businesses. As a result of a legal battle between the Bangassers, the property was sold to a developer.
Like Johnson, Henton was approached about bringing Helen back in 2021, but this time to a brick-and-mortar sit-down restaurant. Lake Union Partners, a citywide developer, offered Henton a 3,000-square-foot space at CD. Henton tried to imagine Helen in such a huge space, but ultimately decided the space would not be financially viable, so she decided to go with a more intimate 1970s-style space. He said he wanted to recreate a restaurant in a space with a unique atmosphere.
Challenges in doing business
For Henton, access to capital and support was an issue.
“Everyone was talking about, ‘We want you to come back. We want you to do this.’ It was like, ‘Wait a minute.’ But where is the money, where is the funding? Where are the programs that I can qualify for? Where are the support teams available to get things done?” Henton recalled.
She eventually found a partner at the Central Region Youth Association, which prepares meals for children after school and also takes Helen’s orders three days a week. (As someone with Louisiana roots, I have to say the gumbo is authentic. It was so delicious that I forgot I didn’t like okra until I finished the last drop of gumbo.)
Henton’s mission is to help Helen’s 88-year-old mother realize her dream by opening Helen’s Soul Bistro. The new 1,700-square-foot space is planned for the ground floor of Yesler Towers, currently under construction in the Yesler Terrace neighborhood. She said the developer is working with her to make her lease affordable. In addition, the Seattle Economic Development Authority offered her assistance. While she handles her permits and other requirements, she also works on the menu, which includes daily specials, her family’s cornbread and Mount St. Helens burgers.
If you remember the old Ms. Helens, you can expect that from the new Ms. Helens. There is no soul of nouveau riche — Rather, it’s real soul food.
“God told me not to try to put new wine in old wine skins,” said Henton, who worked for many years as a chef at a Los Angeles shelter. “I have to live, breathe, and sleep to the best of my ability. I’m going to do what I know best.”
