Man becomes youngest Black business owner in Royal Oak

‘We want to make sure that we’re catering to everybody,' says owner

ROYAL OAK, Mich. – Welcome to Le Don Collection -- it’s the newest store in Downtown Royal Oak on South Washington Avenue, “We’re art, fashion, sneakers.”

And Saturday, the owner Le Don will open up his second clothing store to the public. His first one is in Southfield and the new one is in Royal Oak. He said he’s beating the odds.

“It’s a scary thing to open up a business in times like this,” said Le Don.

But he did it anyways, “I figured that getting a store front in Royal Oak, where it predominately caters to other races than us, I want to showcase that I can compete,” said Le Don.

He’s competing in his late 20s, “Being one of the youngest Black men in Royal Oak and being Nigerian is different. It’s a different feeling,” said Le Don.

Local 4 asked Le’Don why he chose to open up now?

“My late great friend DJ Slick B, he’s always told me if I was going to open up a store, it had to be in Royal Oak and so when I thought where to open up my store, Royal Oak just felt like the right place," Le Don said. “We want to make sure that we’re catering to everybody and in the day in age where we’re screaming Black Lives Matter, we want to make sure that we’re leading by example by being inclusive as well.”

He said his next possible location will be in Downtown Detroit.

More information can be found on the Le Don Collection’s official website here.

READ: Gov. Whitmer declares ‘Downtown Day’ to help Michigan businesses struggling during pandemic