Florida has more Black-owned businesses with employees compared to any other state in the country, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
In Tallahassee, Black businesses have a long history of contributing to the local economy by providing a range of commerce, including groceries, products and services. Decades ago, there was a robust concentration of Black-owned businesses in the Macon, Frenchtown and Griffin Heights neighborhoods.
Some eventually closed their doors, leaving behind memories of once was. Others have stood the test of time.
They made it, despite the often uphill battle unique to Black-owned businesses – in some cases even persevering through the Jim Crow era and ongoing racial tensions still seen today. There’s joy, many of them said, in knowing they still carry the torch of their parents, grandparents and relatives who became entrepreneurs.
“That impact on a local community was enormous,” said Darryl Jones, deputy director, Minority Women & Small Business Enterprise at the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality. “They were influencers. They were the principal stakeholders. And, because they were able to provide these jobs for their neighbors, their influence has been far reaching.”
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Those jobs, Jones said, provide for their local community and now Black-owned businesses are found in “every neighborhood, every business district found in our local community.”
“That impact has been immeasurable,” he said.
To honor these trailblazers to close out Black History Month, here’s a look at longtime Black-owned businesses in the capital city, which was developed in conjunction with the OEV and longtime residents and community leaders like Althemese Barnes.
Strong & Jones Funeral Home — Tallahassee’s oldest Black-owned business
In times of loss, Strong & Jones Funeral Home was there. Generations of families have turned to Tallahassee’s oldest Black-owned business to honor and pay their final respect to loved ones and friends.
It’s been a staple in Frenchtown and still is today. In 1945, the business officially opened but didn’t become incorporated until two years later when it became the Thomas Strong Funeral Home, then located at the southeast corner of West Carolina and Copeland streets.
According to the funeral home’s website, Strong and his wife, Mamie Johnson Simmons Strong, met a “young funeral director in business in Quincy, Florida, named Elbert W. Jones.”
Strong and Jones became friends and would sometime assist each other with funerals. In 1947, Strong’s sudden death left his wife to continue the business and she turned to Jones to serve as the funeral director. For a short stint, the business was named the Elbert W. Jones Funeral Home.
“Through prayer and personal community service, the business began to flourish. On September 1, 1947, Elbert W. Jones purchased half of the business, and the partnership of Mamie J. Strong and Jones, merged into one big happy family,” the website said.
Much has changed since it first opened, said Linn Ann Griffin, who co-owns the business with other family members and descendants of Thomas Strong. Jones was her dad.
“When we first opened up, we were like ambulance providers,” said Griffin, offering examples of pregnant mothers in labor being transported to the hospital, along with sick residents.
Griffin, 81, said the funeral home also gave rides to Black residents as the Civil Rights Movements began to swell in popularity and momentum. The business also gave rides so residents could vote.
For Strong & Jones, it was always about being there for people whenever they needed someone the most — no matter the moment.
“I’ve seen them grow up and you hope that you leave a memory in your mind and a positive memory of their loved one that they will cherish a memory for the rest of their lives,” Griffin said.
Economy Drug Store — 75 years and holding the line
Alexis McMillan is a second-generation pharmacist, following in her father’s footsteps as owner of Economy Drug Store.
In the mid-1940s, the drug store was owned by William Jimerson and located two doors down from where it currently resides, still on Macomb Street.
McMillan’s dad, Howard Roberts, purchased it in 1951 and ran the store with another pharmacist, Clarence Beverly; both of whom graduated from Howard University.
As a child, she remembers getting “two for penny” shortbread butter cookies and ice cream from the independent pharmacy. You could get a slice of sweet potato pie and a scoop of ice cream or a slice of lemon meringue pie.
It was a treat for your young sweet tooth. But, the store was much more and served as a hub and resource for Frenchtown families in need of medicine and other items. McMillan said it always seemed like her dad was at work, down at the drug store. Now, as owner, she understand his commitment more than ever.
“He was doing the work that he needed to do to make sure that he provided for his family and provided for the people in the community to have the best care that they could have,” she said.
It’s served Tallahassee well. And, even amid the rapid changes taking place in Frenchtown with new developments, she still sees a place for her Black-owned business.
“I want to see and maintain as best I can a business that can go into another generation,” said McMillan, who admits she’s stubbornly committed to staying in Frenchtown. “I’m like a person who doesn’t want to let go of the past, possibly doesn’t want to let go of the idea of a family-owned business. There are very few second- and third- and fourth-generation businesses with people who look like us.”
Sheffield Body Shop — More than 60 years of excellence
The origin story for Sheffield Body Shop began in Quincy, behind the home of Wesley Sheffield Sr. He opened the shop behind his house on Crawford Street.
While there’s still a Sheffield Body Shop in Quincy, now on Main Line Drive, the Tallahassee location opened in 1966 on Fourth Avenue but the shop moved around four times; yet remained in Frenchtown.
The moves happened when white customers were interested in renting the property, said Carlton Sheffield, who now owns the shop with his uncle, Roderick Sheffield. Even though his grandfather paid rent on time and was considered a good tenant, the shop was forced to move.
But, Wesley Sheffield Sr. eventually asked for a clause that would allow him to purchase the building and that was granted. Now the Fourth Avenue location remains in the Sheffield name and ownership.
For Roderick and Carlton Sheffield Jr., all aspects of the shop are personal. Roderick Sheffield remembers coming to the shop at the age of 3. He’s 60 years old now and said, “I’ve been here every since.”
“I was fascinated with how they look when they looked crashed then they rebuild it, like they’ve never been wrecked before,” Roderick Sheffield said.
Gilliam Brothers Barber Shop — 58 years of barbering and legacy
Barbershops are a cornerstone in the Black community, creating space for conversations that hit home and every aspect of life. The Gilliam Brothers Barbershop is chief among them.
It’s been a fixture in Frenchtown since 1966 and remains as one of the few Black-owned businesses in the historic neighborhood. It was opened by the Rev. Ervin Omega Gilliam Sr. and his oldest brother, Ventice Gilliam — hence the name Gilliam Brothers.
When Ervin Gilliam became ill, his son, Melvin, left a teaching career in South Florida to step in. Once his uncle passed, both elder brothers were gone and that opened the door for the next generation of brothers: Ervin’s two sons, Melvin and Omega Gilliam Jr., who died last year.
Now, Melvin keeps the shop going.
At 66, he’s seen a parade of men and boys come through the shop. A framed portrait hangs on the wall of a young Muhammad Ali when the heavyweight boxing champion came in for a cut. Other notable names join the clientele roster, including former Florida State football stars like Deion Sanders and Peter Boulware.
“It was the barber shop that everyone knew because my brother worked in the field house in Florida State. My brother was a security guard there,” said Gilliam, referring to Florida State’s practice area.
While he’s been a barber for years, Gilliam said his true passion is farming and he has land in Quincy, where he produces an array of fruits and vegetables, along with livestock.
“Barbering was just something that basically was to help my father out,” Gilliam said. “But then when I got into it, it’s been a pretty good business.”
Miracle Hill Nursing and Rehabilitation Center — 56 years and counting
To many, Miracle Hill Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center is a national treasure born out of a need to serve a vulnerable population.
Now it’s a major healthcare employer. With more than 140 employees, Miracle Hill is the largest employer located in Griffin Heights — a mostly Black neighborhood that border’s historic Frenchtown.
It opened in 1968 and has managed to maintain services all these years, despite recent financial turmoil that put a question mark on whether the 120-bed facility could survive.
In late 2023, Miracle Hill filed for bankruptcy protection following financial struggles that created a rift in the Florida State Primitive Baptist Church Convention, with some wanting to sell the property and others wanting it to remain under the Convention’s authority.
Miracle Hill is now an independent nonprofit that’s sponsored by the Florida State Primitive Baptist Convention, which appoints members to serve on the facility’s Board of Directors. In late 2022, the board hired Innovation Health Care Management Services to manage and operate the facility.
According to Dr. DeWayne Harvey, who now manages, the facility is near capacity after dozens of its residents vacated Miracle Hill due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said Miracle Hill remains an important part of Tallahassee’s healthcare system.
“It was born out of a need when facilities were segregated,” Harvey said. “African Americans could not be admitted anywhere else. They were either in the hospital for a short time. And, when they could no longer have hospital services, they went home and many people expired because they didn’t have the type of care that they needed.”
Miracle Hill founder Elder Moses Miles led the charge. In 1961, seven years before Miracle Hill opened, Miles was elected president of the Florida State Primitive Baptist Convention, a coalition of Primitive Baptist churches and pastors around the state.
The group endorsed his vision for a nursing home facility.
The doors opened in 1968 and created a place unlike anything that previously existed. Some of Tallahassee’s great Black trailblazers stayed here or spent their last days at Miracle Hill.
From Tallahassee’s first black Mayor James Ford to Sybil Mobley, the force behind Florida A&M’s School of Business and Industry’s inception and Miles, it leaves a long legacy that continues.
“Not only do we serve African Americans, but we serve all populations of people,” Harvey said. “Miracle Hill prides itself on being one of the only facilities that really does not turn people away based on the income that they have. Our mission is to take care of those who are aged indigent.”
Black-owned businesses of more than two decades
Here’s a running list of businesses owned by African Americans that have stood the test of time. Send us an email at news@tallahassee.com if your business should be added to the listing.
Capital Outlook Newspaper
- 49 Years — Established in 1975
- Business specialty: Weekly newspaper focused on news, politics and sports news geared toward the Black community.
Perk’s Bonding Agency & Academy LLC
- 46 years — Established in 1978
- Business specialty: Bail bond services
Florida Developers
- 44 Years — Established in 1980
- Business specialty: general contractor for commercial and residential construction.
- 41 years — Established 1983
- Business specialty: Soul food cuisine with three locations: Earley’s at the Capitol, Earley’s at the Department of Revenue in Southwood and Earley’s Kitchen on South Monroe Street that’s currently under construction for renovations, but is set to reopen soon with an “updated menu, comfortable seating and a modern style eating space.”
Larry K. White, LLC Attorneys at Law
- 40 Years — Established in 1984
- Business specialty: personal injury law
MLK Foundation, Inc.
- 39 Years — Established in 1985
- Business specialty: nonprofit honoring the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The foundation’s work in Tallahassee includes the sponsorship of several events in tribute to King, along with the annual Soul Santa events at Christmas.
Horizons Unlimited Preschool, Inc
- 36 Years — Established in 1988
- Business specialty: child care facility
Data Set Ready
- 35 Years — Established in 1989
- Business specialty: Telecommunications contractor that designs and installs IP video surveillance, access control, copper and fiber optic cabling, wireless and A/V systems.
Hinson Realty
- 35 Years — Established in 1989
- Business specialty: real estate agency
Spectra Engineering
- 35 Years — Established in 1989
- Business specialty: a full service engineering and consulting firm with offices in Tallahassee and Orlando. It specializes in engineering, environmental engineering, site planning and land surveying firms.
Danzy Bail Bonds
- 34 years — Established in 1990
North Florida Thyroid Center – Dr. Celeste Hart
- 33 Years — Established in 1991
- Business specialty: general endocrinology clinic that treats patients with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, lipid disorders, obesity, disorders of the thyroid function, thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer, metabolic bone disease, reproductive disorders, parathyroid disease and other disorders.
Ingram Accounting & Consulting
- 30 Years — Established in 1994
- Business specialty: Full service accounting firm offering financial services geared toward consumer and business clients. Services include tax preparation, financial planning and preparation, profit planning, advisory services, financial planning and accounting.
Sessaly Rose Transit
- 30 Years — Established in 1994
- Business specialty: transportation service
Shamrock Cleaners
- 29 years — Established in 1995
- Business specialty: A variety of services from dry cleaning, to wash-and-fold laundry, pick up and delivery, and wedding dress preservation.
Kenny T’s
- 28 Years — Established in 1996
- Business specialty: Branding, embroidery and printing for clothing apparel. On average rate, the business produces 15,000 shirts per week and has the ability to do 20,000 a week.
Gayla Parks Agency
- 27 Years — Established in 1997
- Business specialty: State Farm Insurance Agent
HNH Technologies
- 27 Years — Established in 1997
- Business specialty: The company offers voice and data structured cabling, network equipment installation, and service to support critical business functions. HNH is an approved vendor for Zaxby’s Corporation, according to its LinkedIn page.
- 27 years — Established in 1997
- Business specialty: soul food restaurant. For almost three decades, the restaurant has served classic Southern fare in downtown Tallahassee, starting with a cafe in the state Department of Revenue. In 1997, it opened in the current location, a building that was originally a part of Mahalia Jackson’s fried chicken franchise. Olean’s history, and the community’s, adorns the walls here — photos of FAMU sports stars, her friends and family, Bible verses, a poster featuring Martin Luther King Jr. and President Barack Obama.
H&S Services of North Florida
- 25 Years — Established in 1999
- Business specialty: Janitorial services.
Ambiance Hair Salon
- 24 years — established in 2000
- Business specialty: Hair care and healthy maintenance for all hair types.
Gary A. Roberts Associates, LLC
- 24 Years — Established in 2000
- Business specialty: Criminal defense and personal injury attorneys with clients in Florida and South Georgia. The firm’s website said, “We are excited to say that we have earned our reputation long before our well celebrated appearances on 48 Hours and Court TV.”
Pittman Law Group
- 23 Years — Established in 2001
- Business specialty: A boutique law firm with a focus on administrative law, government law, education law, redevelopment law, election law, special district law, real estate law, Sunshine Law, public records law, contract law, and intergovernmental rules and regulations, according to its website.
Grayson Accounting & Consulting
- 23 Years — Established in 2001
- Business specialty: an accounting firm
Live Communications
- 23 Years — Established in 2001
- Business specialty: Newspaper publishing and broadcasting services associated with Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
Bethel Towers
- 22 Years — Established in 2002
- Business specialty: Affordable housing geared toward senior citizens and is a ministry of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
Stiell Law Firm
- Years 22 — Established in 2002
- Business specialty: Founded by Attorney Phelicia D. Stiell, the law firm practices personal injury law and serves as a family law advocate.
Miracle Years Child Care Center
- 24 Years — Established in 2000
- Business specialty: child care center.
Miracle Village
- 21 Years — Established in 2003
- Business specialty: an assisted living center for senior citizens.
Health & Wellness Integrated Healthcare Center
- 21 Years — Established in 2003
- Business specialty: A family practice medical clinic devoted to serving the primary healthcare needs, along with mental health counseling.
Haggai Construction
- 21 Years — Established in 2003
- Business specialty: general contractor for commercial and residential construction management, roofing and consulting.
Morris Allen & Associates
- 21 Years — Established in 2003
- Business specialty: Civil engineering, information technology and management consulting
Cornucopia Wealth Management, LLC
- 20 Years — Established in 2004
- Business specialty: comprehensive wealth management firm specializing in retirement strategies.
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▶Should your business be on the list? Send us an email at news@tallahassee.com and we’ll add you to this listing.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.