Latino, Hispanic businesses look to grow in Norwich, region. What do they need to succeed?

NORWICH— Jannette Velez, owner of Pura Elegancia in Norwich, hopes a particular business owners’ event in the city happens again and keeps growing.

“For me, it's about the community,” Velez said.

A business fair hosted by Latinos for Education Advocacy And Diversity at Foundry 66 last week saw well over 100 attendees, including people from outside the city. The event was meant to encourage Latino, Hispanic and other diverse business owners to access resources and network with groups in the city and around the state, such as the Norwich Community Development Corporation, the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce, the Connecticut office of the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Spanish American Merchant’s Association.

“It’s a matter of getting to know each other and using everyone’s resources,” Maria Matos, the program manager of the Latinos for Education Advocacy and Diversity, said.

Clodomiro Falcon, small business specialist for the Spanish American Merchant’s Association, said local business owners are seeing an information gap.

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“Many of our Hispanic people, they know how to, for example, bake, cook, or do landscaping or construction, but there are many gaps in the information on local, state, and federal, and that’s what we’re here for,” Falcon said, of last week's fair.

Matos said the business fair wasn’t just for one group, but for anyone who could add diversity to the region’s business community, or as Matos said “bridges, to bring everybody together,” especially considering the losses businesses faced during the pandemic.

One of the attendees, William Abreu, had started a business during the pandemic, DGV Restaurant. However, that restaurant ended up closing, with one of the challenges having been trying to keep people employed.

Despite this, he still wants to continue in the restaurant business.

“We want to continue, and see if in the future we can open again,” Abreu said.

In terms of the importance of supporting diverse businesses, Abreu said awareness of the culture can be valuable.

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One of Abreu’s friends, Eddi Peralta, owner of Pemac Construction in Oakdale, called the resources and information "a light at the end of the tunnel." Abreu translated for Peralta, who spoke in Spanish.

Velez said that she also wants to be in a position to help others in the business community. She hopes people “can start representing and make this community grow and show that we’re out here.”

“There’s a lot of people out there that want to have their own business or want to be surrounded by people who are like-minded," Velez said.

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Abreu had some words of encouragement for people who might be facing challenges.

“For those out there, don’t be afraid to keep strong and make the right decision,” he said.

For those who didn’t attend last week's fair, Matos is planning on another, similar event in New London, and possibly getting a permanent space for Latinos for Education Advocacy and Diversity in the area.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Latino, Hispanic businesses look to grow in Norwich and Connecticut