COMMUNITY PROFILE SUPPORTING SOUTHWEST DENVER’S SMALL AND FAMILYOWNED BUSINESSES BY FRANK DEANGELI SOUTHWEST DENVER — the area between Colfax Avenue, Florida Avenue, Santa Fe Drive, and Sheridan Boulevard — has long been home to hundreds of small businesses, a number of which are owned and operated by immigrant families residing in the area. After being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, many that weathered the storm have struggled to regain footing. In an effort to provide relief to these establishments, the West Denver Small Business Coalition (WDSBC) created the West Denver Marketplaces program in December 2022. Established in June 2020, the coalition represents an effort by several local leaders to support and advocate for the area’s small businesses, and the Marketplaces program was formulated to do just that. In 2021, WDSBC conducted a survey of 217 businesses in the area. Of these, 78% said their business was doing “ok” or was “struggling some,” and 52% said their business was doing worse as a result of COVID-19. Many respondents listed access to grants/funding and an improved digital presence as some of their greatest needs. The West Denver Marketplaces program seeks to address these needs directly. The program is twofold: help these businesses navigate an arduous grant and loan application process, and assist them in marketing to a broader audience. Describing the grant and loan applications for small enterprises, Anyssa Juarez, planning manager for Denver Housing Authority said, “The biggest issue is access. Southwest Denver is known for being highly multicultural, and a lot of [applications] are only available in English. [Applicants] may not be able to figure out how to get onto an online portal, and if it’s in a different language, forget it.” Juarez also said that this difficulty can be compounded, when the few employees a business may have are focused on running the business — up to 12 hours a day, often seven days per week. Organizations like NEWSED and Mile High United Way are among those partners lending a hand in these hard-to-navigate grant and loan applications. IRMA CENDEJAS, BLOOMING IDEAS: COURTESY OF WEST DENVER MARKETPLACE DANIELA QUEZADA, ESTETICA DEL SOL: COURTESY OF WEST DENVER MARKETPLACE 6 DENVER VOICE October 2023
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