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Nisu Bakery & Cafe, Hancock
It made perfect sense to Irma Boyd to settle in the Keweenaw. She’s Finnish and so is 35% of the rest of the population. Then she realized no one in the area was serving authentic Finnish food – and that there was a dearth of cozy sit-down spots in downtown Hancock – so she got to work.
RJ’s Printing, Kalamazoo
Sean Hollins knows all too well the challenges of being a Black business owner – the search for funding, the wealth disparities, the lack of access to materials at a fair market rate. “Some of those challenges are still in front of me, but funding was the biggest,” he said.
Tastefull Vegan, Wyoming
Kalene McElveen grew up on the east side of Detroit in a food desert. “Our closest grocery store was a liquor store,” she says. There wasn’t access to fruits and vegetables – and her family eats a plant-based diet. Needless to say, she learned how to cook at a very young age, being inspired by her grandmothers, her mom and multiple YouTube videos.
