Title

"City" piece on Greg Collymore who, with his partner, Elijah Akilo, has been try

Authors

Connie Pacillo

Source

Casco Bay Weekly

Date

7-15-1999

Pages

8

Abstract

"City" piece on Greg Collymore who, with his partner, Elijah Akilo, has been trying unsuccessfully for seven months to relocate his store, Strictly Culture, to the Maine Mall in South Portland. The store carries designer urban fashions and is now located in Portland. The partners closed a second store, the Tunnel in the Auburn Mall, when their lease expired, intending to consolidate both stores at the Maine Mall. That plan never materialized, Collymore said, even though Jerre Bryant, general manager of the Maine Mall, told him there was space available, because he later said they'd have to wait. Collymore and Akilo now say racism is a factor and note that none of the Mall's 130 businesses are owned by an African-American. But Bryant said allegations of racism are false and that the delays they are facing are the same as anyone else trying to rent space at the mall might encounter, especially if the business is locally-owned and relatively small.

Subjects

Maine Mall Shopping Center -- South Portland, Racism, Elijah Akilo, Gregory Collymore

https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/cbw_1999/28/

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