NEW HAVEN, Conn. — At a glance, The Black Corner is your typical convenience store with snacks and sweets lining its shelves. However, the heart of the store is within its owners, Kenia Lowery and Michael Massey.
"We think the same, we want the same things, we want for our people to be better," Lowery told FOX61.
The couple wanted to use their store to uplift other Black business owners, designating shelf space for those who want to put their products on display.
They also rent a space to another Black business within their store, that sells accessories, toys, and more.
"We really wanted to make it something called The Black Corner, something for our people," Lowery added. We're stronger together."
The couple took over as the new owners of the store in June. Their vision for the store expanded when students returned to Troup School across the street.
They began serving free meals to children on Mondays, out of the kitchen space in the store, named 'Ms. Kay's Kitchen.' They also started collecting donations - from toys to clothing and shoes - for anyone in need.
Several tables in the back of the store covered in clothes now serve as an area where anyone in need can come pick out what they need.
"I can be the mama," Lowery said, pointing out her chain necklace of the word. "The role model this community needs."
Massey knows better than anyone how important that is. He grew up in the same neighborhood where he now owns a store.
"You didn't really have any good role models," Massey told FOX61. "Everything was drugs, guns. I think I was a bad kid. But mostly because that was the neighborhood, that's what you were supposed to do."
He spent more than a decade in jail, but two years after getting out, he's leading by example.
Massey tells children his story and shows them they can be whatever they want to be.
"I'm going to try my best to try to change as many as I can before they go down the path that I have," Massey said. "People look up to me. I swear they do, and it's crazy to me, me being me."
The couple has even more plans for the future. They want to transform the downstairs space in their store into a 'kid safety zone' with computers, games and more.
Their goal is to give the youth a safe place to go, where they'll have something to do.
If you're interested in giving back, The Black Corner collects donations at the store. They accept anything from ingredients for the free meals to clothing, toys, and more.
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at gmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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