New Marketplace In Monroeville Mall Features Local, Black-Owned Businesses

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Sometimes all you need in life to achieve success is a foot in the door and one local entrepreneur is leading the way.

In 2019, Alyse Fowlks decided she would use her dad's barbershop in Monroeville to host a pop-up event and give Black business owners a space to sell their goods and services.

"Everybody should have a chance to put their business out there," Fowlks said. "I had like four or five vendors. So, it was real small, but it worked out."

But things would soon work out more than she could have ever expected.

In November, she turned that one-time event into a full-time career, opening a new store at the Monroeville Mall called Colab, a small business marketplace.

"We have essential oils, we have candles, CBD, crochet, we have clothing lines," Fowlks said.

Vendors can lease a space there for a timeframe of their choosing. About 19 are there right now. Most are local and Black-owned.

Eighteen-year-old Antonio Pitts, a high school senior at Central Catholic, has a space there where he sells items from his sportswear line called God First.

"I had it prayed and blessed by Brother Charles, who is a brother at Central Catholic High School and this isn't just clothing. It's the armor of God. Anybody facing depression or spiritual attacks is now protected," Pitts explained about the meaning behind his brand.

Pitts said having this platform has helped him expand his business, which is a shared experience among other business owners at Colab.

Ashleigh Abrams, the owner of A&J Scents, said, "Initially this was something that was gonna be a hobby but once I was in a storefront, it took it to a different level because I was doing pop-ups with Alyse. But that's seasonal, this gave me constant sales," said Abrams.

Timothy Doner, the owner of Scoop TV, said his fashion line really gained some traction since being in the store.

"Now they know who I am. They might not buy nothing, but they see it and that's something that's gonna stick in their head forever," said Doner.

As for Fowlks, she told KDKA that her dream is to open a shopping mall of her very own with Black-owned businesses filling the storefronts, a dream she hopes to turn into a reality within the next five years.

Colab is open during normal mall hours. On the weekends, Colab features even more Black-owned businesses where as many as 19 extra vendors are present.