Providing Access to Quality Food on Madison’s East Side
Go-oh Grocery Occupies Former Food Desert
Driven by their vision of providing quality food to communities without access to it, Madison City Council President Samba Baldeh and his business partner, Jerreh Kujabi, identified food deserts in Madison and decided to open a grocery store in one of those locations.
“I’ve lived here for over two decades, did my schooling here, worked for the state of Wisconsin for four years, and have been on the Madison city council for six years,” says Baldeh, who currently represents state Assembly District 48. “I’m an advocate for equity, and food is essential to that.”
In 2020, Baldeh and Kujabi began meeting with Senior Consultant Amy Bruner Zimmerman at the Wisconsin SBDC at the UW-Madison School of Business. Zimmerman provided guidance on their business plan, helped develop the financial projections, provided support in navigating local grant programs, and assisted with navigating the SBA loan process.
“Amy is super duper resourceful and pleasant to work with,” Baldeh says. “Coming into the food domain was a challenge for me. I didn’t know how many customers to expect, how much they would spend, or how to build a business plan and make projections over five years. Amy was instrumental in helping us create our vision and in helping us understand the opportunities and challenges.”
In January 2024, Go-oh Grocery opened on East Washington Avenue, providing culturally appropriate foods like halal meats, as well as other grocery items.
“Our chances of succeeding the way we have would not have been a possibility without the SBDC,” Baldeh says. “It was helpful to understand the grocery business market and be able to pull projections and numbers together to have a good analysis of what would work and how.”
Go-oh Grocery received $230,000 in funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to build out the store space. The City of Madison provided $150,000 in funds that Baldeh and Kujabi used to buy the building. Additional loans funded construction and the purchase of freezers.
“We raised close to $600,000 in grant funding, which would have been impossible without SBDC support,” Baldeh says.
Zimmerman supported the store’s January 2024 launch and continues to guide Baldeh and Kujabi through their start-up operational phase.
Baldeh and Kujabi are both originally from Gambia, Africa, and are active members of Madison’s Gambian Association.
“We are business partners and friends,” says Baldeh of their individual roles. “My responsibility is research, policy, documentation, community engagement, and outreach. Jerreh handles bookkeeping, management of staff, supplies, etc., and we both work on filing taxes and importing foods.”
Baldeh and Kujabi hope to grow the business.
“My biggest motivator is that many Americans live in food deserts, and that’s not good for their health, so I want to work with city councils and cities and expand to areas considered food deserts,” Baldeh says. “I want to expand and close food deserts in the state of Wisconsin.”
Baldeh also sees opportunities for expansion into culturally diverse foods.
“I’ve been here for 20 years and still eat my native food,” Baldeh says. “I have an idea for importing food from around the world and creating a distribution center. I’m thinking of exploring international markets and writing a business plan for an international market export-import business.”
Baldeh has spoken with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture about producing dairy and meat in more diverse ways for different immigrant populations and has floated the idea of a processing plant with a variety of capabilities that could be an outlet for farmers. He also wants to partner with food pantries to provide a wider variety of proteins.
Baldeh found the SBDC when a constituent came to him for resources to support their small business and continues to refer entrepreneurs, particularly immigrants to Madison, who often reach out to him for resources, like help with their business plans.
“A good number of Madison and Wisconsin businesses have been started by immigrants,” Baldeh says.