Detroit Metro Airport’s SOAR Small Business Program Grows

Detroit Free Press
Oct. 17, 2024
Michelle Martin

Travelers arriving at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport are now just steps away from two of the region’s most unique small businesses.

Detroit-based jewelry company Rebel Nell and Ferndale-based Quix Chocolate are the first businesses to participate in the airport’s pilot program, Small Business Operators Arriving Ready (SOAR). The stores operate out of two newly constructed spaces in the Warren Cleage Evans Terminal.

DTW, Michigan’s largest airport, is one of the world’s leading air transportation hubs. More than 31 million passengers traveled through the airport in 2023. SOAR gives Rebel Nell and Quix Chocolate an opportunity to showcase their products to thousands of domestic and international travelers every day.

The concept was created by Renata C. Evans, the First Lady of Wayne County, who is a former small-business owner. She wanted to ensure the airport provided small-business owners the tools and retail space to thrive. After several years of planning, the program launched this summer and is expected to expand in the future.

“With the addition of Rebel Nell and Quix Chocolate, DTW customers have more options in the Evans Terminal,” said Wayne County Airport Authority CEO Chad Newton. “We are pleased to welcome these businesses as we empower entrepreneurs to take their companies to even greater heights.”

Rebel Nell is a jewelry company that provides employment, equitable opportunity and wraparound support for women with barriers to traditional employment. This includes those who have experienced homelessness, returning citizens, refugees seeking asylum and awaiting citizenship, the LGBTQIA+ community, women living with mental illness, and women with physical disabilities.

Rebel Nell is a mission-driven company that makes unique jewelry and gifts from meaningful material from Detroit such as fallen graffiti, Joe Louis Arena, Belle Isle, Comerica Park and Michigan Central Station just to name a few. The store gets its name from former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, known for her devotion to women’s rights and civil rights activism, who went by the nickname “Little Nell” when she was younger.

Rebel Nell co-founder and CEO Amy Peterson, who started the business in 2013, has aspired to have a store in Metro Airport for years.

“We are honored and excited to be a part of the SOAR Small Business Program,” Peterson said. “I am grateful to the airport for giving a chance to small businesses. I have dreamed of having a store in the airport. Now everyone who passes through the Evans Terminal can take home a piece of Detroit, literally.”

Quix Chocolate, which was founded as a family business in Lanklaar, Belgium, in 1947, has become a must-visit shop in Ferndale. Now fans and those new to Quix can stop by to purchase one of the store’s chocolate creations on their way to their gate.

“We are thrilled to open a venue at the airport where we can provide travelers with fine Belgian chocolate and confections made in Michigan,” said David Ogloza, Quix Chocolate’s president and owner. “Quix is a great addition to the current offerings at the airport. Customers across the U.S. and worldwide can purchase a unique gift or a delicious treat to consume during their travels.”

Quix Chocolate produces approximately 40 traditional flavors of Belgian chocolates that use original recipes. Seasonal flavors for fall include Bananas Foster, apple-caramel ganache and pumpkin-caramel. In addition to sweet treats shaped as airplanes, hedgehogs and mushrooms, travelers can also buy chocolate bars and fruit dipped in chocolate.

Both businesses are located near gate D12 in the Evans Terminal.

“We’re grateful to Mrs. Renata Evans for bringing us this idea and for helping to develop the program,” Newton said. “Small businesses are at the heart of Michigan’s economy, and SOAR [Small Business Program] is one more way that DTW is investing in our local communities.”