Wells Fargo "Open for Business" helps Hope’s Frybread’s success more of a sure thing
Confidence, that empowering feeling of knowing, isn’t something you can take to the bank, but it certainly pays dividends for entrepreneurs pursuing their dreams and planning for growth.
Hope Peshlakai knows her way around a kitchen. Give her a space to work her Navajo frybread magic and she is, as she says, “good to go.”
But that was about as far as Peshlakai’s confidence went when it came to opening and operating a restaurant. She and her husband, Aaron, had the ambition and passion to make a business from what she does best, but they were less sure about making the right business decisions. Hope says naivete nearly cost them dearly.
With the support of RAIL CDC, which provided coaching and other assistance, the Peshlakais navigated through and around business start-up pitfalls that could have caused financial devastation. Now Hope says she has a better handle on many more aspects of running the newly opened Hopes’ Frybread in downtown Mesa. She’s certain.
“For me, it was a whole confidence issue,” Peshlakai said. “I didn’t believe in myself. (The RAIL team) would come in and confirm and reaffirm that we’re on the right track, doing everything we need to be doing. And then, in the meantime, if we did have missteps, then it was, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve got this person who can help you with that.’ “
As a community development corporation operating within the Valley Metro light-rail corridor, RAIL (Retail, Arts, Innovation & Livability) provided services to the Peshlakais as part of the $420 million Wells Fargo Open for Business grant program. The three-year program re-invests profits from processing pandemic-related Paycheck Protection Program loans into capital, training and long-term stability for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals or operating in underserved communities.
Lisa Price, who chairs the LISC Phoenix Local Advisory Committee and is a Wells Fargo executive, said Open for Business in Phoenix is focused on technical assistance that small businesses need for recovery and growth. That service strongly aligns with the small-business-development work LISC Phoenix has done in the light-rail corridor for several years, she said.
“LISC Phoenix has such a broad network of partners that when I think about LISC, I think about them being the go-to resource to make connections within the community,” Price said. “They really are the one organization that has connections in every area, whether it be the public sector, the private sector, and they know who to reach out to and who to partner with and how to reach communities.”
RAIL CDC was born of community-driven efforts during light-rail construction through downtown Mesa to prevent displacement and to support small businesses. Its work during the pandemic is credited with helping numerous small businesses along the light-rail corridor in Mesa and Tempe survive economic devastation and prepare for recovery.
“Businesses like Hope’s Fry Bread contribute a unique atmosphere and culture to our community,” said Terry Benelli, LISC Phoenix Executive Director. “They are a welcoming place for residents and attract visitors, which in turn breeds success. When organizations like RAIL meet these new businesses where they are, engage them and help connect the dots they are building rich relationships that have significant positive impact in the community. It produces locally distinctive experiences that set apart one community from another and adds assets to our neighborhood's revitalization.”
After 10 years of selling frybread from a pop-up tent and through catering, the Peshlakais opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in October. Hope’s Frybread, 144 S. Mesa Drive, is the latest addition to a growing, culturally diverse restaurant hub in downtown Mesa.
Hope’s Frybread also contributes to the creative placemaking emphasis of RAIL and LISC Phoenix by designating space for local artists, particularly Native American artists.
Hope Peshlakai credits the RAIL team for the successful opening of the restaurant and for support that helps her think realistically about a future of additional restaurant locations in the Valley and in other states.
“Had it not been for them, this little reservation girl trying to start a business would have been like a fish out of water,” she said. “They definitely helped put me on the same playing field as the rest of the business owners around here. I feel like I have that confidence now that I can do this.”
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12.14.2022
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LISC StoriesCommunities on the Line
