An unincorporated Nevada town is gaining national recognition for the economic success of its Black residents.
Enterprise, in the southwest part of the Las Vegas valley, recently finished second in the country in a study that ranked cities based on where Black Americans fare best economically.
The study, conducted by financial website SmartAsset, compared data from 133 of the country’s largest cities, examining factors like median household income, homeownership rate, education level and labor force participation rate.
Black Americans in Enterprise have an average salary of $84,023 and a home ownership rate of 56.28 percent, while 36.5 percent have a bachelor’s degree and the labor force participation rate is 73.4 percent. Nationwide, only Murfreesboro, Tennessee ranked higher across all factors.
Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft attributed the economic success of Black Americans in Enterprise to exactly that: enterprise.
“(Enterprise) is probably where there’s more new economic development than anywhere else,” Naft said. “If you want to be in a new home, chances are you can find it in Enterprise. If you want to start a business from the ground up, Enterprise is where you want to be… Enterprise is developing faster than anywhere else, (so) there are people from all different backgrounds choosing to live there.”
Naft is quick to say he considers all of Clark County, not just Enterprise, a place where Black Americans and individuals from other minority groups can attain financial success.
“Clark County tries to be a place where minorities can succeed,” he said. “In all 19 townships, you can see that diversity is considered an asset … countywide, there really is an emphasis on lifting up all communities, but especially minority communities.”
Naft singles out Marie Ray Scott as one of Enterprise’s most economically successful Black residents. Scott, who owns multiple food and beverage stores in Harry Reid International Airport, was honored by Naft at this week’s Board of Clark County Commissioners meeting with the first Shining Light Award.
“You have been an incredible inspiration to so many in this community who need strong entrepreneurs and businessmen and women to look up to and admire and we thank you for serving that role here for us,” Naft told Scott at the meeting.
‘Cooked with soul, with love’
One successful Black-owned business in Enterprise is the Soul Food Café, at the intersection of Warm Springs Road and Rainbow Blvd. In addition to creating jobs for Black residents and setting an example of successful Black entrepreneurship for others in the community to emulate, the restaurant preserves African American culture by serving soul food, which originated in Black communities in the southern U.S.
“It’s a comfort-type of food with generations of homemade recipes,” co-owner Shila Sheikhan-Watson says. “It’s cooked with soul, with love.”
Sheikhan-Watson says she and her husband, Teddy Watson, selected Enterprise as a location for their business in 2012 after determining it would be a more feasible place to launch, compared to the Strip or Summerlin.
“The Strip would have been great, because we’d be providing our soul food to tourists, but the prices were unbelievable,” she said. “Summerlin was another option but we didn’t find a good fit for our café, so we looked in the southwest area … and felt it was the best area for us.”
She agrees that Enterprise is an appealing area for Black Americans looking to improve their economic situation.
“The southwest area is a great area for African Americans,” she says. “It’s more affordable here. There are newer homes. There are a lot of jobs. (Moving here) could be a great fresh start for someone moving from another city or from another part of Las Vegas … When we first started here, there was nothing here. It seemed like the middle of nowhere. And now we have come so far. It’s a growing part of the city that’s doing well and growing rapidly.”
Contact Justin Razavi at jrazavi@reviewjournal.com. Follow @justin_razavi on Twitter.
