This piece was originally published in the St. Louis Business Journal here.

 
 
There is a noted exodus out of St. Louis—and more specifically, downtown—that has the city running on fumes. 

There are a number of reasons for this and most of them aren’t worth getting into in great detail. But they include fear of the urban core by suburban and nearby rural residents, an historical unwillingness by the city and regional governments to invest in downtown, the residue of the Ferguson tragedy and riots following the Jason Shockley verdict, Covid, and the list goes on. 

Collectively, these events and issues have contributed to residents moving out and an exodus by businesses into the county. With each passing day, it increasingly feels like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

If you ask people on the coasts what they think of St. Louis, most of them just, well, don’t. It’s not really bad or good. It’s a seeming indifference to the point of ignorance. And due to our ho-hum Midwest humility, this is not the kind of place—and our leaders are not the kind of people—who want to bang on their chests and scream, “HEY, LOOK AT US! LOOK AT WHAT YOU’RE MISSING!” It’s just not part of the region’s cultural DNA.

Too often we hear about how great St. Louis once was, with the high water mark being the 1904 World’s Fair, instead of looking forward to reshaping the city’s future in ways that are in-step with the most progressive cities in the world.

If I had the proverbial keys to the car, one thing I would certainly do is heavily invest in a targeted, multifaceted effort to lure Hispanic entrepreneurs to St. Louis. 

Why? The answer lies in the data.

Hispanic (or Latino) Americans are the largest minority demographic in the United States, with a population of some 68 million and growing significantly faster than any other demographic in America. In 2024, Hispanic buying power in the U.S. reached roughly $2.3 trillion, and this year is projected to grow to $2.76 trillion, per the Office of Minority Health. Impressively, the Latino buying power in America is larger than the entire economies of Texas and New York, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Perhaps most striking is the remarkable scale of Hispanic entrepreneurship in the U.S., representing one of the fastest-growing segments of the American economy. There are some 5 million Latino-owned businesses across the U.S., generating more than $800 billion in annual revenue, according to Brookings. These businesses employ nearly 3 million workers, and Hispanic business owners represented 14.5 percent of business owners in 2022—a 13 percent increase from 2021. Plus, between 2018 – 23, the number of Latino-owned businesses increased 44 percent, while the number of white-owned businesses slightly declined. 

The opportunity is ripe and not many cities or regions are actively seeking to court Hispanic businesses and entrepreneurs. Sure, there are some efforts by cities like Chicago, New York and Dallas—cities that already have large Hispanic populations—but few regions have rolled out the red carpet to hard-working Hispanic entrepreneurs and said, “Come build something here!” 

And why not? 

We have an empty downtown with offices and apartments just begging to be used; an active investment community and the tools needed to help entrepreneurs flourish in St. Louis; and we have a foundation (albeit an underfunded one) in STL Para Ti—an online resource supporting Latinos in St. Louis by providing information about jobs, English classes, small business support, and events, that was developed by the St. Louis Mosaic Project.  

How might this work beyond a marketing campaign? Here’s a start: 

• Targeted tax incentives or grants for Hispanic-owned businesses;
• Bolstering Spanish-language business support services offered by Mosaic and the Hispanic Chambers of Commerce;
• Affordable commercial real estate programs;
• And university-centered mentorship networks connecting Hispanic entrepreneurs with St. Louis’s established business community.

Community building, and not merely business recruitment, will be important as well. Successful relocation isn’t just about business—it’s about community. How can cultural amenities, institutions, religious communities, schools and existing Hispanic residents support this effort? This all matters. 

Finally, like many Rustbelt cities, St. Louis has complex racial and cultural dynamics. The success of this initiative depends on framing Hispanic entrepreneurship not as a zero-sum proposition, but as a rising tide that lifts all boats in a region desperate for economic revitalization. This means proactive community engagement from day one: 

• Town halls in both city and county explaining how new businesses create jobs for all St. Louisans, generate tax revenue for struggling municipalities, and activate empty storefronts that currently breed blight;
• Articulating the reality that St. Louis has always been built by waves of entrepreneurial immigrants—Germans, Italians, Bosnians—and that Hispanic entrepreneurs represent the next chapter in that proud tradition, not a departure from it;
• Partnering with existing neighborhood associations, churches, and business groups early to build coalitions of support;
• Addressing concerns about cultural change head-on with facts: Diverse, growing cities attract investment and young talent; homogeneous, shrinking cities don’t; 
• And crucially, ensure this isn’t just a downtown initiative—spread opportunity across North City, South City, and inner-ring suburbs so that struggling neighborhoods throughout the region see tangible benefits. When people see their streets coming back to life, their property values stabilizing, and their neighbors finding work—resistance melts into support.

So there you have it. Why not finally move beyond our 1904 high-water mark, move into 2026, and think beyond what’s right in front of our face? 

We need to recognize the opportunity that’s just waiting to be embraced, and give Hispanic entrepreneurs a soft landing spot right here in St. Louis.