‘Elite Eleven’: Black-owned Annapolis businesses honored for longtime service
In the 1970s, Howard and Betty Fuller took an opportunity to buy a small package store on Bestgate Road in Annapolis.
Shoppers could get anything there — canned goods, beer and wine, cleaning supplies and more. State workers would frequent the store’s lunch area for sandwiches and salads, too, said Ife Thompson, the Fullers’ granddaughter.
Nearly three decades later in 2003, the Fullers’ small white store was dilapidated and needed a rebuild. The couple set out to secure a loan but ran into difficulty getting funding, Betty Fuller said.
Although local banks declined to give the Fullers a loan, Harbor Bank, a Black-owned bank in Baltimore, loaned the couple money within 48 hours, Fuller recalled.
Today, the Fullers own the whole strip at 710 Bestgate Road, which includes H&B Fuller Wine & Spirits, Capital Cleaners and a 7-Eleven store.
The Fullers’ story was one of many shared Tuesday evening at the Michael E. Busch Library in Annapolis, where 11 Black-owned Annapolis businesses were recognized for their resilience and contributions to the community.
The celebration capped off the library’s four-part Black History Month series honoring the history and heritage of Annapolis’ Black community, with panels that delved into the city’s African American preservation and tourism, the arts community and future visions for the city from younger residents’ perspectives.
Tuesday’s honorees included the Fullers, George H. Phelps of Phelps Protection Systems, Inc., Rev. John T. Chambers of Chambers & Sons Barbershop, Frank B. Chambers, Sr. Brick & Stone Masonry, Elizabeth Carr Smith and son Joe Smith of J. Smith Bus Company, Adell Walker of Charline Marie Beauty Salon, John Hunt of Hunt’s Movers, Norvaine T. Sharps, Sr. of NTS Property Rentals, John and Joe Hicks of Hicks Upholstery and William “Bill” Reese of William Reese Funeral Home.
Representatives of each business were given a clock and citations from the city. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Carroll H Hynson Jr. and his daughter Michelle Green accept the award for Carroll H Hynson, Sr. Real Estate, Bail Bonds. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Lacey Latney leads the room in the singing of Lift Every Voice. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Trameika Simms sings Encourage Yourself. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Lacey Latney leads the room in the singing of Lift Every Voice. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of John Hunt accepts the award for his business Hunt’s Movers from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
N.T. Sharps, who would later accept the award for his father Norvaine Sharps business NTS Property Rentals, watches the event. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of George H Phelps Jr. accepts the award for his business Phelps Protection Services Inc. from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of Adell Walker accepts the award for her business Charline Marie Beauty Salon from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of Frank B Chambers Sr. accepts the award for his business Frank B Chambers Sr. Brick & Stone Masonry from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of John Hicks and son Joe Hicks accepts the award for their business Hick’s Upholstery from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of Rev. John T. Chambers accepts the award for his business Chambers & Sons Barbershop from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of Howard and Betty Fuller accepts the award for their business H&B Wine & Spirits from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E. Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles gives remarks. The city of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of William “Bill” Reese accepts the award for the William Reese Funeral Home. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
Representatives of each business were given a clock and citations from the city. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
William Rowel, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, gives remarks. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The family of Norvaine T Sharps accepts the award for his business NTS Property Rentals from city officials. The City of Annapolis honored 11 Black-owned businesses, who had served the community for 50 years or more, during a State of Black Annapolis event at the Michael E Busch Annapolis Library. (Paul W. Gillespie/Staff photo)
The businesses, coined as the “Elite Eleven” by Ward 3 Alderwoman Rhonda Pindell Charles, have each served the city for 50 years or more, adding up to a total of 682 years in business.
“There have been good times and not so good times, but they’ve stayed the course,” Pindell Charles said.
To commemorate the celebration, each honoree received a clock as a “testament to their existence,” she said, along with City Council citations for the families. Spirits were lifted further with Lacey Latney’s performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” with the room joining in chorus.
Though not every business remains in operation today, their legacy over the years was recognized at the celebration with photos from the archives, one of which was Pindell Charles’ own husband and son at Chambers & Sons Barbershop.
Family members of the original business owners still hold onto lessons learned from their parents and grandparents.
Charline Walker Catlin, a namesake of her mother Adell Walker’s beauty salon with her sister, Marie, said her mother left her with a strong belief in owning property, rather than rent.
The Charline Marie Beauty Salon, the first shop of which opened in 1949, faced similar challenges to the Fullers when seeking loans from local banks, Catlin said.
Walker owned four different shops over the years, the last of which closed in 2015.
“She never complained about discrimination or racism being directed at her personally. That did not happen,” Catlin said. “My mother was a businesswoman and the community of Annapolis, white and Black, respected her that way.”
Annapolis Mayor Gavin Buckley, who co-owns several restaurants in the city, commended Black business owners for taking a step of courage to open.
Buckley expressed love for the business community, saying he wanted to ensure it looked like the city’s population.
“I hope that we’re all moving this city in the right direction,” he said. “The leadership that’s in the room today, you should all give yourselves a round of applause because you have made Annapolis a better place to live, and you brought some awesome businesses here that I love.”
