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Community Spotlight: Rainbow Flags on Main Street: Attracting LGBTQIA Businesses and Customers
October is LGBT+ History Month, one of the many annual national events that provide an opportunity for Main Street businesses, gay-owned and otherwise, to celebrate the diversity of their communities. The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Ally (LGBTQIA) community is often on the forefront of revitalizing neighborhoods and commercial districts. Pride festivals and other events, as well as national and local media and LGBTQIA organizations, are ideal vehicles for promoting a Main Street as a gay-friendly destination eager for visitors and investment. Keep reading to learn from Main Street communities that welcome LGBTQIA businesses and customers and find out strategies to attract LGBTQIA entrepreneurs and visitors downtown.
With an estimated population of 11 million, LGBTQIA Americans have a combined estimated annual buying power of $900 billion. The worldwide figure is $3.7 trillion. The percentage of LGBTQIA people ranges from 2.7 percent in North Dakota to 9.8 percent in the District of Columbia. The high disposable income of DINK couples (Dual Income, No Kids) allows many LGBTQIA partners to dine out, attend theater, shop, and travel more than average Americans.
Flying Rainbow Flags
Businesses commonly display rainbow flags in front of their establishments to demonstrate that they are either gay-owned or operated or welcome LGBTQIA patrons. Main Streets seeking to diversify their business mix can actively promote their districts as being gay-friendly, in order to attract LGBTQIA entrepreneurs and customers. This can take the form of adding gay pride events to annual promotional event calendars, advertising the Main Street organization in local and regional LGBTQIA media, recruiting LGBTQIA board members and volunteers, and supporting organizations like PFLAG (formerly Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). Gay-friendly businesses (those that welcome and embrace LGBTQIA customers) benefit from word of mouth referrals and social media exposure.
Washington, DC’s annual Capital Pride parade draws as many as 150,000 people. Photo by Pleasant Mann, Courtesy Shaw Main Streets.
Florists and hairdressers used to be stereotypical LGBTQIA-owned and operated businesses—two business types where gay people found acceptance by the community at large. Gay bars, nightclubs and bathhouses, often in less desirable neighborhoods, were among the few places where the LGBTQIA community could safely gather. But today, as gay rights have become more established, LGBTQIA entrepreneurs are more comfortable being out and owning businesses of all types, and non-LGBTQIA businesses actively seek customers that identify as gay.
Change can be Difficult: Barriers to Equality
Anti-LGBTQIA discrimination can be an issue, especially in smaller, more conservative and rural communities. While same sex marriage is now legal throughout the US, many jurisdictions do not offer legal protections to their LGBTQIA residents. As diversity and equity issues are explored and systemic biases are challenged, more businesses and consumers will feel comfortable expressing their gender identity and sexual orientation.
Legal challenges, such as the “gay wedding cake” case that reached the US Supreme Court, have highlighted the resistance on some business owners’ part to serving LGBTQIA customers. While that case upheld the right of a Colorado bakery not to bake a cake for a gay couple’s wedding reception, many business owners are solicitous of such business, seeing it as an opportunity to expand their customer base.
Attracting LGBTQIA People in Cities
Washington, DC’s Shaw neighborhood, voted three consecutive years as being the city’s Best Gayborhood by the local LGBTQIA newspaper, has been home to some of the nation’s capital’s largest gay businesses, including nightclubs and bars. But as acceptance of LGBTQIA people has grown, such businesses have become more inclusive. Nellie’s Sports Bar, which opened in 2007 and was voted the Best New Business that year in an annual poll, initially projected that their customers would be 70 percent LGBTQIA and 30 percent non- LGBTQIA. But the bar’s offerings, including weekly drag bingo events, became so popular with the community at large that it was attracting 60 percent non-LGBTQIA clientele. Nellie’s has since become an annual citywide award-winner in a variety of categories.
LGBTQIA Shaw residents also own businesses, ranging from a large art gallery and event space to one of the city’s favorite Thai restaurants. Non-LGBTQIA-owned businesses of all types actively seek LGBTQIA customers.
But this was not always the case. In the mid-2000s, Shaw Main Streets and the community successfully defeated an effort by neighborhood churches to prevent a gay-owned bar from opening. No further challenges to LGBTQIA businesses opening in the neighborhood have materialized subsequently.
Most major US cities actively promote their LGBTQIA attractions though their convention and visitor bureaus. Some places have branded themselves as LGBTQIA destinations. Key West, FL (pop. 24,600), was the first US city to actively market itself to gay tourists and the first US city to elect a gay mayor. IGLTA, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association, has over 2,500 North American tourism business members and promotes the social and economic impact of LGBTQIA travel. GayCities.com features over 160 US destinations for LGBTQIA travelers.
LGBTQIA-Friendly Districts in Non-urban Areas
Less urban Main Street communities have also embraced LGBTQIA businesses and consumers. Rehoboth, DE (pop. 1,500), known as the MidAtlantic’s Key West, is a popular beach vacation destination for LGBTQIA residents of the Washington to Philadelphia corridor, with some 200 bars, nightclubs, hotels, restaurants and other businesses welcoming gay guests. Approximately 50,000 people descend on Rehoboth Beach every summer. In the early 1990s, some longtime residents were concerned that LGBTQIA newcomers were threatening the city’s family environment. A ban on non-restaurant bars was imposed following an LGBTQIA bar being denied a liquor license. CAMP (Create a More Positive) Rehoboth, an LGBTQIA non-profit, conducted extensive outreach that helped heal divisions and build a more diverse and inclusive community.
Ferndale, MI (pop. 20,000) is well-known as the most LGBTQIA-friendly neighborhood in the greater Detroit area, home to many LGBTQIA organizations, businesses and residents, who made it the first city in Michigan to elect an openly gay mayor in 2007. Ferndale’s walkable downtown is home to a variety of businesses that are owned by or support the LGBTQIA community, as easily evidenced by the many rainbow flags flying throughout. Ferndale Pride, listed on the After Ellen website as a “Small City Pride That is Worth the Trip,” draws more than 25,000 attendees to Downtown Ferndale.
“Small rural communities also have the potential to attract more diverse audiences,” according to Valecia Crisafulli, former staff member at the National Main Street Center and now board president of Madison Main Street in Madison, IN (pop. 12,000). Madison has seen an increase in its gay population over the past few years, with many single professionals and couples buying homes, opening businesses, and socializing in the National Historic Landmark District.
Crisafulli credits a recent arrival from California for starting Madison’s Rainbow River Club, a new social group that gathers monthly in different downtown locations. “Larry was very inclusive in his outreach to gay and straight people in the area, as well as all age groups,” Crisafulli noted. “And in return, Main Street businesses have lined up to host the River Club events. Businesses see the potential for new customers. The partnership is a natural one, and it’s working.”
Madison businesses, many of which are focused on the arts and vintage audience, are a draw for LGBTQIA customers, and several new gay-owned businesses have opened in recent years, including retailers offering home decor, high-end furniture and antiques, and women’s apparel.
“The community needs to signal that it is a welcoming district,” Crisafulli said. “Many of our businesses proudly display ‘We Are an Inclusive Community’ and ‘Everyone Is Welcome Here’ signs. Our businesses owners actively support Rainbow River Club and PFLAG events, and that is a powerful signal for residents, as well as visitors to the community.”
Complete this assessment here to determine if your business district is LGBTQIA-friendly.
Our Research team shares the results of the Spring 2024 Small Business Survey, with insights related to small scale manufacturing in Main Street districts, opportunities to best support entrepreneurs, and more.
This specialized learning experience, sponsored by U.S. Bank, combines interactive classroom sessions and a hands-on course project to equip local leaders with insights, strategies, and a a distribution-ready small business guide to foster entrepreneurship, support small business owners, and retain local businesses. Registration closes on Friday, August 30.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sat down with Kristin Smith, owner and founder of The Wrigley Appalachian Eatery in Corbin, Kentucky.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt talks with Joshua and Jared Ravenscraft, co-founders of New Frontier, a sustainable apparel brand in Morehead, Kentucky.
Shop crawls are a great way to introduce people to your small businesses. Fredericksburg Main Street loves to host shop crawls, and this spring, they tried a new model: the flower crawl.
If the economic vitality of your downtown is on your mind, Main Street America Institute’s Supporting Small Businesses on Main Street course for you! This specialized learning experience, sponsored by U.S. Bank, will give you new insights, tools, and strategies to foster entrepreneurship, support small business owners, and retain local businesses. Registration closes on Friday, August 30.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt chats with Ross Chanowski, owner and founder of NuMarket. NuMarket is a leader in crowdfunding solutions for small businesses with a focus on food services.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt talks with Ebenezer Akakpo, a designer and jeweler who owns Akakpo Design Group and Maine Culture in Westbrook, Maine.
American Express and Main Street America announced the 500 small business owners who have been awarded $10,000 through the Backing Small Businesses grant program.
In this conversation, Matt explores the story of Elements: Books Coffee Beer, nestled in the heart of Biddeford, Maine, with co-owners Katie Pinard and Michael Macomber.
We are asking small business owners across the country to share their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges they're facing as summer approaches.
In this special episode of Main Street Business Insights, recorded in front of a live audience during the Main Street Now Conference, Matt sat down with Alycia Levels-Moore, owner and founder of ASL Creative Firm and POLARIS, an event and co-working hub, based in Birmingham, Alabama.
Urban Impact Inc., harnesses strategic investments and collaborative efforts to foster a vibrant and sustainable future, from visionary adaptive reuse ventures to transformative development grants for small businesses and property owners in Birmingham, Alabama's historic 4th Avenue Black Business District.
In the last episode of season two of Main Street Business Insights, tune in as host Matt Wagner breaks down how to understand and synthesize local market data.
Sterling Main Street launched a brick and mortar retail incubator spaces. Executive Director Janna Groharing shares lessons they learned about organization, fundraising, and outreach.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Glen Ellis, owner of Sycamore Education, Dominion Catalyst Services, and Milady Coffeehouse in Fremont, Nebraska.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Jaime Courtney, President of Shoalwater Seafood, Derek King, Oyster Farm Director of Shoalwater Seafood, and Shane Thomas, Tribal Council Vice Chair of the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe.
Sarah Cole, owner of Abadir’s in Greensboro, Ala., was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Abadir’s is a pop-up eatery specializing in seasonal and wholesome baked goods influenced by Egyptian traditions and flavors combined with inspiration from true Southern cuisine.
In this episode of the Main Street Business Insights podcast, Matt sits down with Casey Woods, Executive Director of Emporia Main Street in Emporia, Kansas.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Nicole Fleetwood and McKinzie Hodges, co-owners of Scratch Made Bakery in Amarillo, Texas.
Tylisya Gober, owner of Barbie Behavior Boutique in Oak Park, Mich., was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Barbie Behavior is a women’s clothing boutique specializing in celebrity-inspired attire.
Tiffany Fixter, owner of Brewability in Englewood, Colorado, was a 2023 Backing Small Businesses grantee. Brewability is an inclusive brewery and pizzeria that employs adults with disabilities to brew craft beer.
We’re excited to announce that Main Street America will continue to offer virtual and on-demand small business training in 2024 through an evolved program, the Small Biz Digital Trainers program.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Tiffany Fixter, owner of Brewability, an inclusive craft brewery and pizzeria that employs adults with disabilities based in Englewood,
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Jennifer Jones, co-owner of Good Times Coal Fired Pizza and Pub in Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Bobby Boone, founder and Chief Strategist of &Access. Based in New Orleans, La., &Access creates data-driven and design-centric retail real estate solutions for historically excluded entrepreneurs and under-invested neighborhoods.
Tasha Sams, Manager of Education Programs, shares highlights of phase one of the Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (E3) in Rural Main Streets Program and the biggest takeaways from the workshop experiences.
In this video, learn more about the Williams’ family story, how the business is helping to revive downtown Helena, and the impact they’re having on a national level.
In this episode of Main Street Business Insights, Matt sits down with Derrick Braziel, owner of Pata Roja Taqueria and co-founder of MORTAR, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Small Business Saturday is an important opportunity to show your support for local businesses. We asked business owners across the network what your support means to them.
Matt sits down with Jamie and Jerry Baker, co-owners and founders of Trendy Teachers, a teaching boutique and educational toy store located in downtown Rome, Georgia.
Middlesboro Main Street in Middlesboro, Ky., Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago, Ill., and Sugar Creek Business Association in Charlotte, N.C., have each been awarded $100,000 through The Hartford Small Business Accelerator Grant Program in partnership with Main Street America.
Matt sat down with Anette Soto Landeros, co-owner of Casa Azul Coffee and President and CEO of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Fort Worth, Texas.
Matt Wagner sat down with Danny Reynolds, president and owner of Stephenson's, an independently owned high-end fashion retailer in downtown Elkhart, Indiana.
Matt Wagner sat down with The Barbershop Conversation podcast team, co-hosts Kenneth Bentley and Davion Hampton along with executive producer Emory Green Jr., in Goldsboro, Florida.
This three-week live, online course will prepare local leaders to more effectively work with small business owners in their districts and create an environment that is supportive of entrepreneurship.
Meet the 2023 recipients for the Backing Small Businesses grant program, presented by American Express, to provide financial support to small business owners to address critical needs and make a positive impact in their local communities.
In partnership with Grow with Google, our digital coaches will work with businesses in their home states, with a focus on those that operate in small towns and rural communities.
Check out a deep dive into the results of our Spring 2023 Small Business Survey, plus insights to help inform the work of local leaders supporting entrepreneurs on Main Street.
Matt Wagner wrote an article for the OECD blog on how can small business owners can combine digital tools with the power of place to find sustainable success.
Inspired by a session at the 2022 Main Street Now Conference, Main Street Ottumwa has launched the Business Builder Academy, an entrepreneurship course to help aspiring business owners start their ventures.
Whether you are a seasoned American Express Small Business Saturday Neighborhood Champion or an entrepreneur joining this national movement for the first time, we’ve gathered a roundup of resources to support your “shop local” marketing efforts.
We spoke to three women who were awarded Inclusive Backing grants to learn more about their passions, their businesses, and their advice for other women.
From social media scavenger hunts to downtown passports, the Main Street network has used countless innovative ways to encourage their communities to Shop Small®—and had plenty of fun doing it.
#EquityRising, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation's new job training program, seeks to combat rising cost of living by helping residents train for careers that will allow them to stay in their neighborhood.
We spoke to three Black business owners who were awarded Backing Small Businesses grants from Main Street America and American Express to better understand their challenges, successes, and the kinds of support that have helped them the most.
Main Street Skowhegan opened their new Skowhegan Center for Entrepreneurship, a downtown space for co-working, meeting, entrepreneurial support, trainings, and education.
Main Street Charles City organizes their annual 'WonderFall' event, a business decorating contest designed to have some fun with the autumnal season as well as provide a reminder of the importance of curb appeal in attracting the public’s attention.
Leverage NC, a partnership between North Carolina Main Street and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, hosted a four-part webinar series titled Better Community Planning & Economic Development led by Ed McMahon, Chair Emeritus of Main Street America and a leading national authority on land use policy and economic development.
Main Street Arkansas has brewed a new engaging way for tourists and residents alike to explore local Arkansas commercial districts: the Main Street Arkansas Coffee Trail.
We spoke with two Black entrepreneurs in UrbanMain commercial districts: L. May Creations in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago and The Four Way in south Memphis, Tennessee.
We heard from organizations across the nation about the incredible impact their markets have had on community engagement, entrepreneur and small business support, and keeping their district vibrant.
The global pandemic gave us all a glimpse of a further dispersed future – a time when you don’t sit in a classroom at school, watch movies in a theater, or even go to the grocery store. Where do Main Streets fit in that model?
This May marked the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. We explored the impact and legacy of this tragic event.
BDOs are place-based organizations that help small businesses and entrepreneurs to flourish. They have been on the frontline of support for the country’s hardest-hit entrepreneurs throughout the pandemic and have been working to enable thriving commercial corridors throughout the crisis.
Matthew Wagner, Ph.D., Chief Program Officer at Main Street America, was featured on Breaking Down Barriers: a podcast from Startup Space highlighting stories of community leaders who break down barriers to entry for underserved and unrepresented entrepreneurs.
We heard from 289 business owners in 35 states plus the District of Columbia in our new text message-based survey of small business owners across the network.
The Batavia Boardwalk Shops are freestanding, purpose-built structures acting as seasonal pop-up locations for entrepreneurs, offered in tandem with a business incubator program.
For Black History Month, we want to recognize and celebrate the Black business owners and entrepreneurs who have overcome challenges and obstacles in launching and running their own businesses, thanks to resilience, creativity, and hard work.
As a vital place factor within an entrepreneurship ecosystem, pop-up programs allow for emerging businesses to test their product, gain consumer feedback, and promote their brand at an extremely low cost. In essence, allowing for a ‘fail-fast’ product development cycle.
In early December, as the COVID-19 crisis intersected with a peak moment in the holiday shopping season, we surveyed small business owners and Main Street programs to learn more about how they were managing.
New research by Main Street America suggests greater returns on our missions and resources can be had by transitioning to more deliberate economic vitality work centered on cultivating new business development from within our own communities and neighborhoods.
Fredericksburg Virginia Main Street (FVMS) is taking storefront activation to a new level with their new initiative, the Scan & Love Project, which tells the stories of business owners through personal and engaging videos.
Small Business Saturday® is more than a day to shop. It’s a nationwide movement that shines a spotlight on the importance of supporting small businesses in communities across America.
The Berkley Downtown Development Authority (DDA) proudly debuted its Downtown Berkley Shopping Bag for a Cause through a partnership between Better Life Bags.
Supporting new and existing small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who run them, represents a vital aspect of the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhood business districts.
The Equitable Economic Development Fellowship is a two-year, one million-dollar effort funded by the Surdna Foundation and the Open Society Foundations to help equity, transparency, sustainability and community engagement become driving forces in local economic development efforts.
The Jefferson Rotary Club partnered with Jefferson Matters: Main Street to offer mini-grants for building facades and storefront signage to two dozen businesses for up to $500 each.
The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with Retailworks, Inc., a commercial interior design, display and branding firm headquartered in Milwaukee, to launch Wisconsin’s Main Street Makeover Contest.
Too often, as we’re strolling our favorite Main Street, we pass empty or dark shop windows that make us want to hurry home a little bit faster. Imagine instead, a charming streetscape adorned with vibrant, lively window displays, showcasing retailers’ favorite products and seasonal gift ideas.
Small Business Saturday promo pic from Downtown Goldsboro, North Carolina, showing all the folks who took the pledge support a small business in their community.
We’ve put together a practical list of some of the things that local store owners can do right now to help them capitalize on this increasing trend in local searches.
From authentic comfort food to farm-to-fork fresh and everything in between, these restaurants, bars, and cafes are key to the thriving social, business, and residential life in the historic commercial districts in Main Street Iowa communities.
Located in southeast Kansas, Independence (pop.8,799) is home to Fab Lab ICC, which is on track to be the world’s leading innovator in combining entrepreneurial mindset education with a fab lab maker space.
Being the only person in the know can be fun, exhilarating even. Except when you are the one person out of 600+ in a room and you know bad news is coming.
Fritz the dog has made his way into the hearts of the residents of LaBelle, Florida, and helped our Main Street Community find a way to make what we do more noticeable.
Altavista On Track, the local Main Street organization, is working to cultivate and sustain local entrepreneurs with an educational business launch competition, Pop-Up Altavista 2.0.
The first rule of conducting business is “make it simple.” The easier it is to pay for merchandise, get entertainment or obtain a service, the more likely it is that people will take advantage of those options.
Main Street communities across the country are no stranger to seeking creative strategies to solve their most nagging issues – vacant buildings, marketing downtown, bolstering retail to name a few.
To understand the role that immigrant business owners play in Boston’s small business ecosystem, you need only to walk through any Boston Main Streets district.
A lot of signs are necessary to make a downtown work well, but not every community knows what a good sign system looks like, or how instrumental it can be to the creation of a successful downtown.
Main Street Iowa, a program of the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s Iowa Downtown Resource Center, created a one-of-a-kind three-year program to provide help for performance venues located in Main Street districts.