One of North Lawndale’s newest storefronts is occupied by a beauty supply store. Boyce Enterprises Beauty Supply is the only Black-owned beauty supply store in the area. It’s part of the reinvesting in the community, specifically on 16th Street.

West Side native Vetress Boyce bucked the trend when she opened Boyce Enterprises Beauty Supply on 16th Street. She hopes it’s the start of a boom in business and reinvestment for the area.

“We’re already seeing the benefits of reinvesting in the community, we have a business going next door and our business is growing so quickly that we’re expanding to the space next to us,” said Boyce

Boyce, a student of the corporate world, has been a lifelong resident of the West Side of Chicago.

“We’re not going anywhere. I am from here. I raised my kids here. My grandkids live here and I have a business here. I am part of this community and I want it to thrive,” she said. “When we opened, we kept a running list of what people were asking to make sure we stocked things people wanted, it was how we survived.”

Boyce, no stranger to neighborhood politics, ran for alderperson in 2015 and wants to see the Lawndale community thrive as it did in the early 1960s when 16th street was a destination.

“We’ve made some small improvements,” she said. “We have trees and flowers planted for the first time on this street in over 40 years, and we’re bringing back a sense of pride in our community.”

That community spirit is alive on the 3700 block of West 16th street as the shop has quickly become a destination for many in the neighborhood. There is a constant stream of happy customers that come by to see the new space, all proud to shop a locally Black-owned business.

To learn more about Boyce Enterprise Beauty Supply, click here.

For more Stories From The 78, follow @tombarnas78 on Instagram and @storiesfromthe78 on TikTok.