The Palengke presents Valentine’s Night Market, FREE
Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024, 4-8 p.m., Seattle Restored Downtown
JPMorgan Chase announced a $200,000 investment in the innovative retail program Seattle Restored. The funding will go directly to Seattle Good Business Network and be focused primarily on deepening support for long-term leases and providing more technical assistance to small and growing businesses, with a focus on supporting Black, Indigenous, women, and other entrepreneurs of color. Visitors are invited to celebrate at a special Valentine’s Night Market presented by Palengke Market, Wednesday, February 14, from 4-8 p.m. 1501 5th Ave. The event will highlight fifteen small businesses showcasing a variety of products from amazing Filipino eats to candles to jewelry.
“JPMorgan Chase is excited to support the Seattle Good Business Network and the City of Seattle and believe our investment will be impactful on multiple levels. Our grant will encourage more visitors to downtown Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods, and it will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs, particularly Black, Indigenous, and people of color to access new markets through the program’s affordable space and technical assistance. Small businesses create jobs and help communities thrive. They are the catalyst for change and the foundation for a positive and resilient future. We hope that our involvement will encourage other civic partners to join in this effort,” said Kerri Schroeder, JPMorgan Chase Pacific Northwest Regional Chair and Region Manager.
Seattle Restored, a partnership between the Seattle Office of Economic Development, Seattle Good Business Network, and Shunpike, is dedicated to helping small business owners and artists access resources to help start or accelerate their business venture. The program matches small business owners and artists with vacant commercial storefronts to host pop-up shops and art installations. These shops and installations benefit neighborhoods, small businesses, artists, and property owners by creating vibrant and engaging streetscapes that encourage the public to visit Downtown Seattle and other commercial corridors to support local businesses and artists – particularly Black, Indigenous, and other entrepreneurs and artists of color. Seattle Restored is fulfilling Mayor Harrell’s Downtown Activation Plan by creating a unique Downtown retail experience and making Downtown a top destination for Seattleites and visitors year-round.
“We are grateful for JPMorgan Chase’s investment in Seattle Restored, which will enable us to provide opportunity to more entrepreneurs and makers, who in turn will bring vibrancy and diversity to our downtown and commercial districts. We hope other Seattle-based institutions will be inspired by Chase’s commitment to equitable and place-based economic development and will join in this collective effort to revitalize our city,” said Erin Adams, Executive Director, Seattle Good Business Network.
Seattle Restored began as a pilot program in early 2022 to help fill vacant Downtown storefronts and support small business owners and creative entrepreneurs in the pop-up to long-term-lease continuum. This commercial affordability strategy aims to minimize the up-front investment and risk business owners take to test their product in the market, learn at a lower cost, and offer a longer runway to success. To date, ten businesses who were Seattle Restored participants negotiated or are in the process of negotiating a long-term lease after their initial pop-up.
“This investment by JPMorgan Chase reflects an endorsement of the ingenuity of local entrepreneurs, and a shared commitment to the work we are doing to revitalize Downtown and create a more inclusive and equitable economy. Through Seattle Restored, our streetscapes are filled with new businesses and art from entrepreneurs, artists, and small businesses who otherwise may not have been able to find or afford a commercial home in our urban core. Thank you to JPMorgan Chase – partnerships like this bolster our Seattle Restored program and allow for more stories of participating businesses transforming from pop-ups to permanent brick and mortars in our Downtown neighborhoods,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell.
“Seattle Restored gave us the opportunity to have a brick-and-mortar presence without the overhead costs typically associated with renting commercial property. This allowed us to reach new and different customers, to test out space configurations, and to dream about having a storefront of our own, which is something we hadn’t previously thought possible. After participating in Seattle Restored, we have a clearer vision for our business’s future and growth goals,” said Natassja Schulz-Uraine, Rescue Vintage.