You may contribute to the fund in the following ways:

1. Drop off donations in collection jars at local businesses.

2. Drop off donations at Redesign’s office (2619 E. Franklin Ave., open 9-5 M-F). Or, mail it to us at Redesign–checks should be written to Seward Market Memorial Fund.  NOT Redesign.

3. Drop off/deposit donations at Wells Fargo at 2600 Franklin Avenue. This does not apply to all Wells Fargo branches, just our local branch.

Checks should be written to Seward Market Memorial Fund.

You may call Amy at Seward Redesign with any questions, 338-8729, x101.

The building Naveen opened up shop in is said to be cursed. “Lots of businesses have come and gone here,” he told me, “we want to stick around, though. Someone has to break the curse.” Inside, the restaurant looks far from condemned. The walls are covered in a mural of the Himalayans themselves, painted by the mother of a friend. Buddhist prayer flags adorn the walls. And no matter the time of day, it seems, you will be greeted by the smiling face of Naveen’s brother or Naveen himself.

For the most part, business is going well. The people who come in love it and return. “We make good food,” Naveen said. Everything is made fresh daily in the restaurant. He also serves fair trade beer and wine when he can and is hoping to begin sourcing locally-grown foods.
Naveen’s hope for the business is to be able to share his culture of food with the neighborhood—
he wants people to taste Naveen at the front counter of Himalayan Restaurant.the flavors he grew up with. So far, Seward seems to be enjoying traditional Nepalese cuisine and his doors are always open to those wishing to expand their palette horizons.

Wanting to interact more directly with people, Jenny began working for non-profits. She did the  ommunications and public relations for various organizations. When she had children, she began doing that work from home and eventually turned it into to her own consulting business. “I really enjoy working with small businesses and non-profits,” Jenny said, “because I feel like I can really make a difference.” Jenny understands the structures of both small businesses and non-profits and knows that every little bit helps.

For almost a year, Jenny has been working with the Seward Civic and Commerce Association on various projects, including the new logo, the brochure and the recently unveiled SCCA website. This new website, Jenny told me, will provide essential resources to businesses in the community. Currently, the site is home to an extensive Seward business directory, including interactive maps. The newsletter and meeting announcement for each month are also posted here along with general information about the organization and the SCCA Board.

It is Jenny’s goal to continue to expand the networking functions of the website. “This could be a go-to place,” she said, “There are lots of opportunities here for businesses to publicize themselves and connect with one another.” She currently has the capacity to highlight updates and promotions on the website from individual businesses who are interested in sharing with the rest of the community. In the future, Jenny and SCCA also hope to expand the on-line directory to include contact information, improved maps and more general information about each business in the neighborhood.
Jenny is also one of SCCA’s newest Board members. Her background and experience have already offered new insight to the work of the SCCA Board of Directors. In her business and as a member of the board, Jenny is working to strengthen the connections between businesses and the community as a whole.
Make sure to see the new SCCA website for yourself, visit www.sewardbusiness.org.

As many of you reading this may know, a business idea is almost exclusively born out of our own experience. The entrepreneurs among us are keen to noticing when our needs aren’t met or desires go unsatisfied. For Jon Novick, owner of Fast and Furless Vegan Emporium, this is a story about shoes.

As a vegan, Jon had grown accustomed to buying his food, clothes and other miscellaneous products in unconventional places, namely the internet. For the most part, this wasn’t much of a problem, except when it came to shoes. “Shoes are really hard to order online,” Jon told me, “by the time you actually get the right shoes in the right size and the right color, you have spent more money on shipping than you did on the shoes themselves.” While living in Los Angeles, Jon began to notice boutiques popping up that offered alternative products that you could see, feel and try on before purchasing. It was nice for him to finally get a pair of shoes in one afternoon instead of over the course of a few weeks.
When he moved home to Minnesota, Jon was determined to fill the void that still existed here. “If other cities have [these boutiques], we should too,” Jon said, “there are only a handful across the country and this would put Minneapolis on the map.” And with that, Fast and Furless Vegan Emporium was on the map—first in St. Paul and then in Seward, or what Jon refers to as “Veg Central.”
So what exactly is a vegan emporium? It is a place to shop where you are guaranteed that everything in the store is cruelty-free. Jon’s store appeals to the strong vegan and vegetarian communities in the neighborhood as well as those concerned with human labor issues and the environment. “Cruelty-free” is a term that encompasses all of the above: no animal cruelty, no human cruelty and no environmental cruelty.

The store on East Franklin Avenue is more than just a place to buy things. The space also houses the Animal Rights Coalition (ARC), a Minnesota group that has been active on behalf of animals for almost three decades. Dallas Rising, the ARC Program Director, leads both outreach and educational programs alongside Jon’s retail operation. One of her educational initiatives (among many) is Compassionate Kids, an age-appropriate program that helps children develop compassion and empathy while empowering them to take action for animals themselves. Dallas also coordinates humane farming outreach and regularly hosts national speakers and authors.
Most importantly, Dallas noted, ARC is here as a resource. Recently, a local business came to her for help removing mice from their building without harm. Dallas was able to direct that business to a safe product that would ensure the well-being of both the mice and the business. Any person or business, vegan or not, is encouraged to stop in and talk to Dallas if they are interested in making certain aspects or the entirety of their business more animal friendly.
“We have a very synergistic relationship,” Jon told me, “she does the education and I help people make changes.” ARC and Fast and Furless, the educator and the outfitter, are both essential resources for people looking to make changes both in their own lives and in the greater system that supports animal
cruelty.
For more info, check out fastandfurless.com and animalrightscoalition.com

Faysal Warfa and Jamaal Haasan at the Seward Market.

Seward Market is one of four general grocery stores along the Avenue specializing in products for East African cuisine. For five years, Seward Market has been providing meat, injera and general grocery items to the community. The store is constantly stocked with a diverse selection of inventory to meet everyone’s needs. And it seems that those needs are being met. The bell on the front door rings rhythmically
as customers enter and exit continually throughout the day. With their close proximity to the heart of Seward, including the Seward Towers West, 25th and Franklin is a great location for them.

With so many general grocery stores in the area, though, competition is tough. Faysal Warfa, the market’s current owner, is up to the challange. Faysal purchased Seward Market in July of 2007 after having lived in the country for only 11 years. He is originally from Somalia, but came to the United States via Kenya in 1996 and is now a resident in the Seward neighborhood. “There is a lot of competition in this area,” Faysal said, “but it doesn’t seem to affect us [negatively]. Business is good.” Faysal runs his store with the help of Jamal Hassan, the manager, and one other employee.
In light of Seward Market’s success, Faysal is planning new façade improvements for the building. He is hoping to install an awning and a new sign. He would also like to paint the entire building and add better lighting. to the sign and the area around the front of the store. These improvements will hopefully expand Seward Market’s visibilty on Franklin Avenue and attact new customers that had not noticed the store before.

Linda poses with a display of sample printed work.

For the past 20 years, Linda Coffin has been working out of one Seward home or another. Her work as a graphic designer for publications, though, could not continue to sustain her interest. “After a while,” Linda said, “it all started to look the same; I got bored.” In 2004, her quest for something more captivating
led Linda to Baltimore, where the annual conference for the Association of Personal Historians takes place. She fell in love with a new career: helping people document their personal history.

A personal history is something that any individual or group—family, church, community or even ethnic group—that has a story to tell can create. Because of Linda’s background, she focuses mainly on print outlets for facilitating the documentation of these stories. The scope of her work depends on what the client is looking for. She does interviews and transcribes, she takes letters or diaries and turns them into a narrative, she studies genealogical material and turns that into a narrative as well, and she even records the stories of family heirlooms. Whatever it is a client wants to document, Linda will use the information available to make it into a story.

Aside from the interesting methods of obtaining somewhat ancient information
(after our interview Linda was off to a cemetery to take pictures of headstones), the best part about her job is that the work is truly meaningful.

More often than not Linda’s clients are in tears when she presents them with their final product. For most, this is a chance to pass along the humanity of the people they love for future generations to enjoy.
This is a job Linda will never retire from. With age, she says, her skills will only improve. Plus, she told me, there is no need to retire from something that adds immeasurable value to your own life and the lives of others.

World Endeavors is easy to miss.  They are located on East Franklin Ave. between 30th and 31st Avenues. Their discreet signage, however, does not do justice to what goes on behind the front doors.  The brain-child of local Seward resident Tom Peden, this business sends students and adults on afforadable trips every year to study, intern and volunteer in over 20 countries on six continents.

As someone who has been personally enlightened by an experience abroad, Tom understands the value in creating opportunities for peopel to be more than tourists in a foreign country.  A former man of the corporate world, Tom left his job in 2003 to return to his true calling and began sending people around the world from the living room of his own home.  The business grew from one program operating out of one room to now dozens of programs, changing the lives of countless individuals.

http://wcco.com/business/waste.timber.recycling.2.891592.html