Faces of Small Business in the Star City: A Portrait Project

by

The story below is from our May/June 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you! 

Local photographers share their picks for inspiring entrepreneurs through portraits. 

There was a time when Roanoke was known for its sprawling railroad yards and industrial factories. These days, though, it’s become a place where small businesses thrive. To celebrate that, The Roanoker invited five local photographers to share a special portrait of an entrepreneur who inspires them … and then to tell us what makes those folks special. Here’s what they shared…

The Restaurateur & Cultural Connector: Miguel Liendo

Ask Taylor Reschka why he chose to feature Miguel Liendo as his subject, and he doesn’t have to ponder long: “There’s not a person on this planet, I think, who’s more determined to be happy,” says the photographer and podcaster. “And when you’re thinking positive, positive things comes out of it.”

Reschka first met Liendo during a shoot for the restaurateur’s downtown pizzeria, Leonore, and he immediately fell for the Venezuelan’s infectious personality. “He’s representing his culture, his food,” Reschka says. “He’s so excited to share.”

Liendo is the perfect evangelist for Venezuelan cuisine, which he gradually introduced into his menu to accompany the more familiar Italian fare. He says he gets a thrill out of seeing folks try his favorite dishes from home, like arepa – a stuffed pocket-style sandwich made of cornmeal flour. “If you don’t eat arepa, you’re not Venezuelan,” Liendo says with a laugh.

But if you find yourself captured by Liendo’s joyful energy, make no mistake: the entrepreneur has known loss.

Liendo was the last in his family to make his way to the United States — he was preceded by his mother and siblings, all who work locally in the food industry. Miguel was living in Colombia, he says, when he learned that his mother’s cancer had metastasized, and he made a swift decision to relocate to Roanoke.

“I came just to be with her for as long as she was still with us,” he remembers. “And I was lucky; it was two years we had together.”

By the end of those two years, Liendo knew he was here to stay. “I loved living here,” he says simply. “The people are so nice, and it was a perfect place to raise kids.”

But perhaps the biggest surprise was his pivot to becoming a restaurant owner.

“Trust me, I never thought I’d get into the restaurant business,” laughs Liendo, who got his start helping his siblings Grace Niday and Ruben Liendo manage Grace’s Place in Grandin. “But I fell in love with the business; I fell in love with the food; I fell in love making it.”

Leonore – named for Miguel’s late mother — has steadily grown its base of arepa-fans since it opened on Campbell Avenue in 2012, and last year, Liendo launched a second location in Salem. “I believe Roanoke is a great place to start anything,” he says. “People are just supportive.”

To find out more about Leonore, go to leonorerestaurant.com.

The Jewelry Designer & Style Maven: Roxy Broom

Liendo isn’t the only entrepreneur who’s travelled far to build a thriving small business in Roanoke. Roxy Broom – owner and jewelry-maker at Roxanne Kelly Designs, and general manager at The Bird Cage Boutique, a women’s clothing store founded by her mother – grew up in northwest England before relocating to Roanoke as a child.

“When my mum started [the family business], she definitely wanted all of the American dream,” remembers Broom. “It’s not as easy to own a business in England, and being here in America allowed us to do that. It’s just been great.”

Photographer Rachel Rivas McKee says she chose Broom as her subject for her willingness to listen closely to her clientele. “They really build relationships with their customers,” she says of Broom and her mother, Bird Cage owner Gwenda Kellett. “They have some people who come in no matter what … who stay loyal because of that personal connection.”

Broom is quick to agree: “We had a client who shopped with me for a couple years prior to COVID. She came in the first week we reopened, and she said, ‘I’m going to come in every week, and I’m going to make sure you’re still here.’ And I’m not joking – she still does it!”

And those moments of community support are “a huge reminder of why we do what we do,” she says, “because people really do want to shop local and find that personal connection.”

To find out more about The Bird Cage Boutique, go to thebirdcageboutiques.com.

The Salon Owner & Community Builder: Monica Slate

When photographer Jennifer Hayward first met Monica Slate – owner of A New Slate salon on Church Avenue – she sensed an immediate connection: “From our first conversation, I knew that we’d create beautiful photos together,” she says.

So when the City of Roanoke put out a call to local artists for portraits of community changemakers, Hayward jumped at the chance to feature the friend she’d grown to admire. She posed Slate in a field of lush flowers, wearing ethereal white angel wings, as a nod to her subject’s vulnerability, authenticity and her commitment to building a community of self-acceptance through her “goddess gatherings” and events at the salon. “She’s grown into an entrepreneur and a person who’s been able to open her doors to the community of women in our area and provide a safe space for them – an inspiring space,” says Hayward.

And that’s exactly what Slate hopes to achieve — whether folks are sitting in the salon chair or donning flower crowns for “A Night of Yaya.”

“Sometimes people have hard days,” she says. “They just need to feel safe and relaxed, and that’s what I want to give them.”

To find out more about A New Slate, go to anewslatesalon.com.

The Aerialist and Social Entrepreneur: Lynsey Wyatt

If you’re going to leverage your business as a space to build community, perhaps the greatest challenge is ensuring that the community is inclusive and welcoming. That challenge was a driving motivator for Lynsey Wyatt when she founded her aerial arts and acrobatics studio, Cirqulation, on Kirk Avenue in downtown Roanoke.

“One of the things I was frustrated with, both in my industry and just in general in the world, was not feeling like there was an affirming space where I could feel free to express myself and find community,” she says.

So she decided to build that space for others — both in her studio and through her wider engagements in the community.

“She’s gone on to really champion different underrepresented populations in Roanoke through her work, and I really appreciate that,” says photographer Aaron Spicer, who points to Wyatt’s aerial arts program for LGBTQ+ youth as one example.

And this year, Wyatt also helped launch The Creative’s Social Hour — a collaborative effort with local dance group Mental Health in Motion — to help artists connect. Each month, the gathering features a different artist or performer, with others invited out for networking and support.

Through it all, Wyatt says Roanoke has been a space where she could build her business around her own values … and find others who resonated with them: “I feel like there is opportunity here to experiment and to set culture forth that, in its way, is kind of radical,” she says.

To find out more about Cirqulation and the Creative’s Social Hour, go to cirqulation.com.

The Jet-Setting Boutique Owner: Diane Speaks

When photographer Chris Tribble was approached with planning the perfect small-business portrait, he knew exactly who he wanted to feature: Diane Speaks, owner of She’s International Boutique. Because to Tribble, Speaks is more than just a successful shop owner … she’s a philanthropist, community influencer and someone who helps others achieve. “She pushes people beyond their limits,” he says.

Tribble should know, because that’s exactly what she did for him. When Speaks learned about his travel photography, she saw a chance to feature his work in gallery-style arrangements at her store.

“The universe brought Diane to me to say, ‘Hey, you’re doing this now,’” says Tribble, who also works as system administrator for Virginia Western Community College. “She inspired me not just to do the gallery but to build a website to [sell] the prints.”

Speaks’ story is an inspiring one to many Roanokers. The former flight attendant fell into her current role after years of spotting great fashion finds during her travels abroad. She opened a small boutique of international goods as “a plan B,” she says, and before she knew it, she was a successful entrepreneur.

Still, it’s her ability to give back that truly drives her: “I love doing community service and exposing young people to the arts, the Taubman Museum of Art and to Mill Mountain Theatre … That’s what keeps me going,” she says. And she says she loves helping creatives like Tribble bring their dreams to life.

To honor Speaks’ past, present and high-flying future, Tribble dreamed up a special portrait session at Star Flight Training, then invited her to wear favorite finds from the boutique. He topped off the look with a flight attendant’s jacket and a wheeled suitcase in tow. In short, it’s an image of a woman who’s spent her life going places … and helping others go places, too.

“That’s her legacy: the lives that she’s touched and folks who will be inspired to live out their dreams,” says Tribble. “And when I’m successful with this – and I’m going to speak that into existence – I hope I’ll be able to turn around and do the same.”

To find out more about She’s International, go to shesinternationalboutique.com.

The story above is from our May/June 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!