Christopher Cunningham is a Bay-area entrepreneur behind the company, True Value Store and a water restoration business called Dry 24. Initially, Cunningham said he wanted to buy just one building.
However, he was told to buy the entire block at 9513 N Nebraska Ave. He now operates True Value Hardware and Dry 24 there, as per Spectrum News1.
“From the inside it looks really small but there’s actually 1.88 acres here,” he said. “Initially, I was just looking at buying the store. I got a chance to talk to Mr. Chelle, and he said, ‘You can buy the store, but you gotta actually buy the whole block.’”
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Today, Cunningham is a proud owner of five buildings on the block, a huge feat for any black business owner. As per the numbers from the Small Business Administration, Black business owners currently operate more than 3 million businesses.
“I think it’s important in the city of Tampa — Tampa is 24% Black — I think it’s important that there’s more Black businesses and that the corporate partners and the people that receive tax dollars, the private companies that benefit from the Black businesses, actually spend back,” he said, according to Spectrum News1.
The entrepreneur said his strategy is to invest in underserved communities, particularly in areas that have growth potential.
“I try to help underserved areas,” he said. “You see food deserts but there’s deserts when it comes to stores, deserts when it comes to home improvement. A lot of major companies aren’t willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into this area but this area has great bones.”
Cunningham has so far added a warehouse to his businesses.
“A lot of times, people just sit and complain about problems,” he said. “Then others pour gas on it, and then others decide to be the solution. And that’s what we want to do. I personally want to be the solution.”
