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Photos by Jesse Chambers.
Brianna and Rod Cowans, co-owners of R&M Convenience Store in the Enon Ridge neighborhood, are rebranding the store as 3rd Street Market grocery. The Cowans recently won first place in The Big Pitch, REV Birmingham's business plan competition.
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Photos by Jesse Chambers.
Kate Hardy, owner of the gift shop Square One Goods, is shown at her pop-up store at The Alabama Theatre in December. Hardy was planning to open a permanent storefront in early 2018.
The Big Pitch, an annual “Shark Tank” style business-plan competition hosted by REV Birmingham, is “a glimpse into Birmingham’s future,” said REV CEO David Fleming.
And the “future is bright,” Fleming said.
“Our city is full of so many ambitious, intelligent, creative people,” he said.
The latest ambitious people to win The Big Pitch, which is sponsored by PNC Bank and was held at the Negro Southern League Museum in November, are the owners of a grocery store and a unique pop-up gift shop.
The first-place winner was R&M Convenience Store in the Enon Ridge neighborhood, owned by young couple Rodriquez and Brianna Cowans.
The Cowans won the $20,000 grand prize and $5,000 popular vote prize and are rebranding their convenience store as a grocery store called 3rd Street Market.
Second place and $10,000 went to Kate Hardy of Square One Goods, which features cards, stationery and gifts. Hardy said she plans to open a brick-and-mortar location downtown.
The Cowans and Hardy were among 10 finalists who made their pitches for start-up capital to a panel of five judges at the event, including Nick Willis, a PNC Bank regional president, and Zebbie Carney, owner of Eugene’s Hot Chicken and former Big Pitch finalist.
Birmingham natives, the Cowans grew up in Ensley and now live in Enon Ridge near the store, which is located at 1403 Third St. N.
Rodriquez Cowans formerly worked as a banker at Wells Fargo, and Brianna Cowans worked in retail with the Footlocker chain for eight years. They’ve owned the store since 2014 and opened officially in 2015.
Brianna Cowans’ grandparents owned the building, and her grandfather, Otis Robinson, formerly ran a convenience store there.
At press time, they hoped to complete the rebranding and hold a grand reopening sometime in February or March.
The couple is phasing out most convenience items and restocking with food and other necessities they say the neighborhood, which is considered a food desert, badly needs. Those items include fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen food and, eventually, fresh meat.
“We realized that people here have to go really far to get everyday necessities, and a lot of our customers don't have transportation,” Brianna Cowans said. “We’re excited to bring those everyday needs to the community.”
The couple wants to “bring life back” to the neighborhood, she said. “After all, we live here, too,” Rodriquez Cowans said.
Kate Hardy, a native of Scotland who’s lived in Birmingham for 10 years, hopes to open a permanent store downtown in early 2018. At Square One Goods, Hardy sells her own signature line, items from other local makers and some brands that are new to Birmingham.
“We try to stock items you can’t find on any of the big-box online retail sites,” she said.
She designs her own greetings cards, note cards, T-shirts and other items, most with what she calls “a Birmingham twist” and “unique sense of humor.”
“I love the creative side of the business, but I’m also no stranger to a good spreadsheet,” said Hardy, who has worked in retail for most of her life.
This attention to business basics made a good impression on the judges.
Hardy showed “she knows her audience and financial numbers inside and out,” Fleming said, adding her store “is going to be an extra bright spot” downtown, he said.
Hardy will also sell online but believes a brick-and-mortar location will be “a fantastic way” to help fulfill her passion for bringing more people downtown.
Both Hardy and the Cowans said making their pitches for the judges and 250 attendees wasn’t easy.
However, participants are assigned mentors and attend a one-day boot camp in which they get advice from industry experts, such as lawyers, accountants and marketing professionals, as well as PNC bankers, according to Hardy.
“By the time the pitch comes around, you feel very prepared, but it’s still very nerve-wracking, taking something you’ve put your heart and soul into and putting it out to a huge room of people and hoping they see the vision and believe in what you believe in,” she said.
The Cowans were nervous as well, but they were well-prepared, though their presentation was not tightly scripted, according to Rod Cowans.
“It was real life,” he said. “We just [were] telling what we do everyday.”
And their passion came through, according to Fleming. “The Cowans told a really compelling story about the positive change they hope to bring to Enon Ridge through their grocery store,” he said. “They moved both the judges and the audience with their vision and their heart.”
