Black businesses are booming in N.J., with a caveat

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Chris Newsome started his own business in 2018 selling the Foozy novelty socks at a kiosk at the Cumberland Mall in Vineland.

“That was one of our first items,” he said. “We were just selling the Foozy socks and stuff like that for [about] 8 to 10 months.”

His store, Heart of Hustle Gift Shop, moved into its current space next to GameStop in 2019.

Several months later, the COVID-19 pandemic began. State officials implemented a temporary shutdown of non-essential businesses, including malls.

“We basically took a nosedive into the pandemic,” he said. “We didn’t know too much about a lot of how to survive into this. It was new for everybody.”

Right before the March 2020 shutdowns, Newsome had joined the Greater Vineland Chamber of Commerce. He says the chamber helped connect him with the financing needed to keep his business alive.

“They [assisted] us with trying to get the right game plan on getting the funding correctly,” Newsome said.

On top of funding, Newsome credits the community — where the chamber plays an active role — with helping his store weather the pandemic.

“We helped the community, they helped us by still shopping with us, still coming out and supporting the small business,” he said.

Business is going fairly well now, Newsome said. He recently opened a second location in Deptford.

Newsome added that other Black-owned business owners who he networks with are experiencing growth as well.

“We’re definitely bouncing back now that the restrictions is off and we actually can reach out to the community and the community can come back to reach out to us,” he said.