Equator Coffees and Teas is the first-ever LGBT-owned business to be named a Small Business of the Year in the U.S.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced 54 small businesses, including lesbian-owned Equator, representing the 50 states and four U.S. territories, to receive the honor in a recent news release.
Equator life partners and co-founders Brooke McDonnell, president, and Helen Russell, CEO, will be honored in Washington, D.C. May 2 and will represent California during events celebrating Small Business Week, May 1-7, in the nation’s capital.
National events are planned to take place in Oakland and San Jose as well as other cities throughout the U.S.
“Only in this country could this happen where you can have a small business that is also LGBT-certified making history,” said Russell, 55. “We are blessed. [We are] so fortunate to be a part of being recognized and making history.”
McDonnell, 58, agreed.
“It’s pretty intoxicating. I think it’s taken a minute to sort of trickle through our consciousness, ‘Wow, this is making history,'” she said. “Wow! We are part of something larger. I think everybody craves that. Everybody wants to be connected to something larger.”
