via Pixabay
Compton, California just got its first Black-owned grocery store thanks to Kia Patterson! This hands-on, community-oriented boss employs family and works alongside her employees.
In a video that went viral, the former Smart and Final employee describes her journey to owning Compton’s first Black-owned grocery store….
….which included coming up with a business plan and opening the Compton Grocery Outlet in 2017.
“I made the decision to own a Grocery Outlet so that I could have the freedom to be able to do what I want to do and not be pigeon-holed to anything. Now I have the ability to set my own destiny.” A destiny that has warmly opened its arms to her community!
The Grocery Outlet is a California-based company — its chain of stores are independently owned and operated by people like Patterson. For her, their attitude was right up her alley.
As she told The Los Angeles Sentinel, “They really care. A lot of other companies are primarily about money and profit. You’re able to work with your family. I have my cousins working here with me, my brother, my niece, and nephew.”
But Patterson is doing more than selling groceries. She’s partnered with the Magic Johnson Foundation to raise money for Compton schools and the El Camino Compton Center to launch a food pantry for college students.
Let's applaud Kia Patterson for her entrepreneurial spirit, serving her community, and making history!