New app helping Black-owned businesses form community, reach new clientele
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A new app called Blapp is not only creating a community among Black-owned businesses, but it's helping them reach new clientele.
In fact, it even provided a boost to a staple in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, that was just targeted by a hateful bias attack.
Frantz Metellus still remembers how it felt to see racial slurs spray-painted across his restaurant.
Eyewitness News was there in March as he looked for answers as to why Rustik Tavern, a prominent restaurant and community fixture for 16 years, could earn the ire of anyone.
"We're a community amenity, that's what we consider ourselves, that's why Rustik was open," Metellus said.
Just a couple months later, business is back to normal thanks in part to a swift community response and the Blapp app.
"Blapp works, and it's a platform where regular people can go on and find black-owned businesses," Metellus said.
Jon Laster is a comedian-turned-app developer who took all the emotional turmoil he felt in 2020 after George Floyd's murder and transformed that feeling into a way to help others.
"We see these things happen and we go out, we march, we yell, we scream, but those aren't sustainable changes," Laster said. "Blapp is helping these businesses by simplifying people's desire to help."
And statistics show that desire clearly. From 2022 to 2023, the U.S. Census showed that the total number of Black-owned businesses in America increased by more than 20,000.
Annual receipts rose by $40 billion and they added 100,000 new employees.
"Not only is the demand there, but if you make it easier, imagine what the real potential is, it's off the charts," Laster said.
So what's next for Blapp? Laster says adding more businesses from across the country, increasing funding and growing to promote businesses and services.
With Blapp, businesses often overlooked are getting the chance to draw new eyes one tap at a time.
"The people who come in contact with Blapp say the same thing...'please keep going, it's working, this is what we need, you're allowing people to find us in a super swift and easy manner,'" Laster said.
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