Gays, Lesbians, Business Owners Celebrate St. Pete Pride
By Laurent Clow
Men dressed as nuns led the parade.
The Sisters of Virtuous Indulgence careened down the street on in-line skates, throwing condoms to spectators and blessing them with messages of safe sex. A white convertible limousine followed, its occupants tossing beads and beach balls into the waiting hands of the people on the side of the road. And behind the limo were hundreds of people on every kind of transportation imaginable: bikes, cars, parade floats and ponies. All carried rainbow flags and banners that proudly proclaimed their sexuality.
A soundtrack of cheers followed the St. Pete Pride Promenade as it snaked its way through the Historic Kenwood neighborhood to its ultimate destination: a street festival stretching along Central Avenue. As parade-goers lined up along the street to raise a 2,000-foot-long rainbow flag, vendors at the festival offered everything from bank accounts to barbecued chicken. While messages of diversity and signs promoting gay marriage dominated the afternoon, vendors had business on their mind. And with an estimated 18,000 people at the festival, business was good.
More than 14 million people in the United States who identify themselves as gay, lesbian or bisexual had an estimated buying power of $485 billion in 2003, according to Witeck-Combs, a public relations and marketing company that specializes in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered consumer marketing. The LGBT community isn't just spending money, though. There are an estimated 800,000 gay-owned businesses in the country, said Justin Nelson, co-founder of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. Nelson called the estimate low. In the last six months, five gay-owned businesses have opened in St. Petersburg's Grand Central District, located along Central Avenue between Interstate 275 and 34th Street. Those businesses, ranging from coffee shops to florists, were out in force during the Pride Festival. The owners weren't just proclaiming their sexuality; they were trying to make money.
In for the Long Haul
Brian Longstreth, co-chair of St. Pete Pride, said the June 26 festival gave businesses in the Grand Central District a chance to reach thousands of people.
"(Pride) brings about 20,000 people to the district," he said. "One of the nice things we saw this year was that a lot of the business owners saw the opportunity to showcase their business."
The number of gay-owned businesses has doubled in the last year, according to Longstreth. There are between eight and 10 businesses in Grand Central that identify themselves as gay-owned. There are no firm numbers because "for some people, it's not an issue," he said. Some businesses identify themselves as gay-owned or gay friendly, while others do not use any classification.
Longstreth, who owns Your Neighborhood Realty at 2240 Central Ave., said the area has experienced major growth within the last few years.
"Go back five years and you're probably looking at 10 (total) businesses that were actually operating," he said. "Now you've got lots of operating businesses, lots of people that are not just looking for quick money…but are in it for the long haul."
Longstreth said he identifies his business as gay friendly because, while he is gay, his two brothers and sister-in-law who work with him are straight.
"I think gay people, for the most part, do prefer to shop with someone that is gay or gay friendly," he said. "I don't think there's a huge distinction. They just want to be treated with respect."
Longstreth attributes the increase in gay-owned businesses to interest in the Grand Central District as well as the growing number of gay and lesbian homeowners in Historic Kenwood, a neighborhood north of Central Avenue.
Grinders Coffee and Art Bar, located at 2444 Central Ave., is one of those businesses.
Andrea Pawlisz and her partner, Dawn Bielawski, opened Grinders on April 30. Such slogans as "Life is too short to drink bad coffee" can be found on the walls. Chairs and cushioned stools are stationed around the modestly sized shop, and works by local artists hang on the walls. Pawlisz and Bielawski moved from Detroit a year and a half ago to Kenwood. Pawlisz, an artist and graphic designer, said she always wanted to open an art gallery, while Bielawski, a nurse, wanted to open a café.
"We wanted to be realistic about what we could sell," she said. "The business community, especially in Grand Central, was hoping we'd open a coffee bar."
Pawlisz said she doesn't try to promote her shop as a gay-owned business, nor does she try to attract gay customers.
"I don't hide it to get somebody's business," she said. "That's not cool."
She's had to chase only one person out of the shop, she said, and that was because the person was "being obnoxious." Pawlisz said she has some customers who know she's a lesbian and don't agree with her sexuality but still come in for coffee.
"If I make great coffee, that has no bearing on who I'm sleeping with," she said.
Pawlisz said business during the Pride festival was "awesome."
"The money was huge," she said. "You can't put a value on residual business."
She credits the success of the shop to a supportive business environment and the residents of Kenwood.
"It's all of us, and if we don't help each other out, it's not going to happen," she said. "In the first year (of business), it's sink or swim. And already, we're floating on top."
Becoming Visible
Dave Perkins, one of the organizers of the St. Pete Pride street festival, doesn't think there has been an increase of gay-owned businesses in St. Petersburg. He just thinks more business owners are open about being gay.
"Setting up the festival, we found out some of the oldest companies (in St. Petersburg) are either gay-owned or gay friendly," he said.
Perkins and his partner, Robin Ash, co-own Spirit Graphic, 2414 Central Ave. According to Perkins, gay-owned businesses are moving in to the Grand Central district not because of a growing gay population, but because of the business community.
"It's a very diversified community," he said. "That's what St. Petersburg is all about."
Perkins and Ash promote "the business as a business" and don't stress the fact they are gay.
"We don't push the issue and we don't hide the issue," he said.
About 50 percent of the 220 vendors at the street festival were gay-owned, he said. The rest were gay friendly. While gay and lesbian consumers used to be seen as a niche market, Perkins believes they are now a "visible group of people willing to buy quality products from quality vendors."
Henry Haddock and Nick Rea, owners of Vintage Vase Florist at 2501 Central Ave., said their client base is "roughly 30 percent gay."
"Depending on the type of business you have, you don't want to limit or exclude customers," Haddock said. He and Rea said that while they advertise their shop in such gay publications as the Alternative Yellow Pages and the Gazette, they also advertise in the Bayside News and the Weekly Planet.
Vintage Vase is situated inside a renovated gas station originally built in the 1940s. The shop recalls its gas station origins with an Art Deco-style countertop and tables made of circular sheets of glass and truck tires. In addition to the usual floral arrangements, Rea and Haddock also offer wedding planning services. Since opening on Jan. 31, Haddock said business is "steady and building."
"In the floral industry, you have holidays that are the saving grace of the business," he said. "You go into any business knowing it takes a while to get established."
The gay and lesbian population is overlooked in terms of economics and spending power, Pawlisz said.
"It's the next untapped market," she said. "I look at myself, 30 years old, without kids, I own my own home…the city would be wise to look at that."
C. Michael Brill, president of the Tampa Bay Business Guild, agreed.
"We've always been here," he said. "But we weren't always visible."
Brill, who is gay, is an investment banker with Raymond James & Associates. While the LGBT community is "already…an economic force," he said the bottom line is money.
"Whether it's gay money, straight money, black money or Hispanic money," he said, "it all looks green to me."
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