Black Biz Tally Marketplace opening in Railroad Square to support Black-owned businesses
One woman is elevating Railroad Square Art District’s “10-acre haven for the creatives,” by introducing a whole new wave of entrepreneurs, businesspeople and visionaries with the launch of her concept Black Biz Tally.
“I’m just so excited. I want the Black Biz Tally Marketplace to truly feel like a community space,” former Florida A&M professor and owner Venise Toussaint said in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat. “It is ours. I want us to have pride in it. I want us to support local, Black-owned businesses and build sustainable, generational wealth for our communities.”
Black Biz Tally owner Venise Toussaint.
Black Biz Tally is both a digital marketplace with the free app available to download on the Apple Store and Google Play, as well as a physical marketplace located on 620-2 Railroad Square. It sits directly behind the anchor restaurant Flamingoz A Taste of Miami in the middle of the district.
Both are designed to be one-stop shops helping people access and support Black-owned businesses. Toussaint’s motto: “support our own first” with hopes of building wealth, economic empowerment and create more sustainable communities.
As we near the end of August which is recognized as National Black Business Month, the marketplace is celebrating the launch of its 6,500 square foot shopping space from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23.
The brick-and-mortar business center will feature dozens of businesses that will rotate frequently as only a few of the companies serve as permanent vendors, others will serve as pop-up vendors.
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A vendor and shoppers talking at the Black Biz Tally event, “Black Business Shower & App Launch,” hosted February 2025.
Booths and rotating businesses
“I knew that there were a sizable amount of Black-owned businesses but there was no convenient place to find them, you had to scour through social media,” Toussaint said. “I thought it would be cool to have some sort of visual directory to make it convenient for people like me who are looking for ways to support Black-owned businesses but just don’t know where to find them or don’t even know that they exist.”
For $25 to $45 a day vendors can set up their booths. While it operates primarily on weekends, vendors will have access to sell at the district’s monthly First Friday gathering.
“My goal is to keep my prices affordable so that folks can come in, they can sell their products and grow their brands and when it gets big enough, perhaps they’re able to use that as a launch pad to have their own storefront,” she said. “I don’t want something where my prices are so high that it defeats the purpose of serving the community, an underserved community.”
Mobile app helps shoppers, vendors
Toussaint refers to this space as her labor of love, years in the making.
Signing the lease in March at a spot she feels is central to a variety of shoppers, she spent the last few months renovating, painting and processing permits to secure the commercial building with her own funds.
The mobile app launched during Black History Month, February 2025 with over 300 local, Black-owned businesses offered and organized in a variety of categories. Whatever you’re looking for you’re bound to find it, from realtors to doctors, therapists, event planners, restaurants, churches and more. But there’s also a fun mix of decorative pens, silky bonnets or full glam Crocs.
The Black Biz Tally App available for download on the Apple Store and Google Play.
Black Biz Tally will operate as a full-service platform to business owners providing them with classes and workshops to improve their businesses. The app will feature promotion opportunities to advertise.
Toussaint said, “I’ve had people reach out via Facebook or email thanking us for creating the app because it has allowed a new customer base to be able to find them.
She says this has been the greatest reward along with community members assuring her that “Tallahassee needed something like this.”
People shopping for custom bags.
A place for former Flea Market vendors
For Tee’s Good Scents owner Tenisha Baker the storefront is a dream come true. Baker was one of the former vendors at the Flea Market Tallahassee, now shuttered after 41 years of operation.
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“I’ve been looking for a space that I can kind of call home,” she said.
Before the flea market’s demise Baker says she was already looking for more stable spaces to setup. She mentioned troubles with operating outdoors, the hassle of having to reset each day and only being limited to vending at the flea market or she’d risk losing her booth.
“I just wanted to have a space that felt more dedicated to businesses growing and have more of a presence in the community,” she said. “I wanted to find a place where I can get more days to be able to vend.”
Black Biz Tally vendor Tee’s Good Scents, a perfume oil, body butters and fragrance brand.
Baker spoke with other vendors about finding a new spot or creating one but the conversations never came into fruition, Black Biz Tally was a beacon of light.
The entrepreneur specializing in perfume oils, body butters and fragrances says she reached out to Toussaint to see if she knew of any spaces to relocate this is when she found out about the opportunity to vend in the storefront.
Baker calls this a “full circle” moment.
The move has already proven to be successful, with the help of the marketplace’s promotional videos and access to an influx of customers. Baker says the promo video posted on the center’s Facebook page of her introducing herself to local shoppers has given her over 1,000 views, a number she is very pleased with.
Over on Apalachee Parkway, Nouncy Johns vendor for Black Biz Tally and owner of EMG Design and Printing says “this gives me a chance to be able to kind of hang out with the community while still doing business.”
Johns says he was looking for way to expand his full-service print shop but was on the fence about opening another storefront when the new opportunity was presented.
A vendor and shoppers talking at the Black Biz Tally event, “Black Business Shower & App Launch,” hosted February 2025.
“Every time I’m out there I’m meeting new clients or old clients who probably just put me at the back of their mind. Being relevant is key,” he said.
He believes this is a neutral space for new and experienced businesses to market themselves.
If you go
Black Biz Tally Marketplace on 620-2 Railroad Square.
What: Black Biz Tally Marketplace
When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; every first Friday 3 p.m.-9 p.m.
Where: 620-2 Railroad Square
Kyla A Sanford covers dining and entertainment for the Tallahassee Democrat. New restaurant opening up, special deals, or events coming up? Let me know at ksanford@tallahassee.com. You can also email your suggestions for a future TLH Eats restaurant profile.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Black Biz Tally opening to support Black-owned businesses
