'We found our person': Shops at Sharp End manager has personal, professional experience

Tanisha Simpson moved 27 years ago from Meacham Park, a majority-Black St. Louis suburb, to Columbia.

Meacham Park neighbors Kirkwood and was founded in 1892 by real estate developer Elzey Eugene Meacham. It was an unincorporated part of St. Louis County until 1991, when it was annexed by Kirkwood.

Starting with a fairly even mix of residents, by the 1960s the community was a nearly all-Black enclave due to real estate redlining, other financial barriers and purposeful withholding of basic services, meaning residents there had little to no chance to make community improvements.

Simpson lived in Meacham Park before and after it was annexed by Kirkwood.

The community is roughly eight blocks wide and 12 blocks deep, Simpson said, and after annexation Kirkwood tore down roughly half of it, which made way for the Kirkwood Commons shopping mall.

"It moved a lot of the people I grew up with out of the area altogether," Simpson said. "... We had our own schools, stores, barber shops, beauty salons, taverns and all types of stuff. I remember my first beauty salon appointment was in Meacham Park and now it’s gone. That part of my history — I can’t go back to that place anymore."

A similar history in Columbia

It is a story familiar to many Columbia residents. The Sharp End was Columbia's Black business district along Walnut Street and was uprooted due to urban renewal programs of the 1960s.

So roughly eight months ago, Regional Economic Development Inc., Central Missouri Community Action, Missouri Women's Business Center and the Downtown Community Improvement District clubbed together to create a minority retail business incubator known as The Shops at Sharp End, 500 E. Walnut St., Suite 109, to both recognize and counteract this history.

With her decades of retail management experience and nearly identical story to Sharp End history, Simpson was the optimal candidate to be the new venture's retail manager.

"When (Simpson) told the story about Meacham Park in the interview, I was just like ‘Oh my gosh, we found our person.’ To have someone that knows what that feels like and then can counterbalance," said Darin Preis, Central Missouri Community Action executive director.

The story of the Sharp End "hit home and it took a part of my heart with it," Simpson said. "It was just very interesting that there was an area here in Columbia that (had) thrived like it did."

Getting vendor clients ready

This means since her hiring, Simpson is working to prepare The Shops at Sharp End vendor clients for the official public opening likely in mid-January. Clients conducted a dry run this week with board members of the various supportive organizations to work out any kinks ahead of the public opening next month.

There are roughly 20 clients Simpson is helping get ready, which is double the number of vendor clients Preis had expected.

Simpson was wanting to get away from corporate retail management when she saw the job listing for the Shops at Sharp End.

"I had been looking for something with a purpose. ... I just want to be of some help and some service. That has always been my calling, being of service to people and to be able to give back to the families here and help entrepreneurs grow," she said.

She is giving lessons on inventory management; basic register knowledge, as many clients may only have used services like Venmo previously; and general merchandising, or how items are displayed so they draw customers in and may lead to a sale.

Other lessons are happening with the assistance of Ray Hall, REDI minority business coordinator, and Jayme Prenger, Missouri Women's Business Center director. CMCA also has its financial opportunity center to help vendor clients with personal finance budgeting.

When The Shops at Sharp End does open, visitors can expect a wide variety of products, including clothing, hair care, wigs, books and even greeting cards.

"It is something local, and you’re supporting the local community and economy and giving people a chance to showcase their products," Simpson said.

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Because it is a retail business incubator with the intention that vendor clients eventually will create an online e-commerce presence or find their own brick-and-mortar space, it means products regularly will rotate depending on which vendor clients are going through The Shops at Sharp End program, Preis added.

Once the retail space opens, Simpsons already has ideas in the works for special events to draw people in.

"I'm (also) ready to start planning events around vendors and get more traffic through the doors," she said. "I'm looking forward to building strong relationships with participants and giving back to the community."

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Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: The Shops at Sharp End's new retail manager feels personal connection