Built on the Westside: Building Something Bigger

Success in business is often measured by sales, revenue, and ROI.

But spend a few minutes talking with small business owners on Atlanta’s historic Westside and you’ll hear a different definition of success.

You’ll hear about neighbors. About mentorship. About creating opportunities for others. About finding ways to give back to the community that helped them grow.

For Crystal Thomas of Tropical Express, Louis Deas of Try Deas and Other Treats, and LaRayia Gaston of LaRayia’s Bodega, business isn’t just about building something for themselves. It’s about investing in a place they care about and helping others thrive alongside them.

Putting Down Roots

When Crystal Thomas’ original storefront at the Goat Farm on Atlanta’s Westside was torn down, she wasn’t looking for a new neighborhood.

She was looking for a way to stay in the area she’d already come to know and love.

Years earlier, Crystal had started selling plants on the side of the road after a friend encouraged her to turn her growing collection into a business. What began as a side project eventually became Tropical Express, a storefront and community gathering place that continues to grow today.

Along the way, Westside Future Fund discovered Tropical Express while touring the neighborhood and when Crystal later needed a new location, that connection helped her remain on the Westside.

“I basically built my structure on the Westside and I just wanted to stay close to it,” she said.

Today, Tropical Express operates out of the Westside Future Fund property 970 Jefferson, just steps away from the organization’s offices in the historic Westside. But for Crystal, the most meaningful part of the journey isn’t the storefront itself.

It’s the people.

“The proudest accomplishment I have is… having a team,” she said.

After spending years running the business largely on her own, Crystal now employs and mentors others, helping future entrepreneurs build confidence and experience of their own.

“Being able to mentor future entrepreneurs while also paying them has been really exciting.”

As the Westside continues to grow, Crystal hopes longtime residents are part of that growth.

“I want the people who are from the Westside to be proud of where they are from and be able to also share in the growth of it,” she said.

For Crystal, success has never belonged to Tropical Express alone.

“Our accolades and awards have been not only wins for us, but wins for the community,” Crystal shared proudly.

Culture, Community, and Conversation

Those are the core values on which Louis Deas, owner of Try Deas and Other Treats, built the foundation of his business.

A Home on the Westside homeowner and Morehouse graduate, Louis credits the neighborhood with helping shape both his personal and professional journey.

When trying to pinpoint the magic of the historic Westside, Louis mused, “You get your unhoused neighbor alongside a really dope renter and alongside a resident who’s been here for over 50 years alongside a brand new transplant. All of that is in the same square block and it’s just a vibe.”

That sense of connection he found on the historic Westside inspired him to build a business focused on shared values rather than specific tastes, aiming to foster neighborly interaction and community building.

This year, Try Deas and Other Treats expanded onto the Atlanta Beltline and into the airport — major milestones for a company that started with a simple idea.

But Louis believes entrepreneurship is about more than growth.

“You can do well and do good at the same time,” he said.

That philosophy has been reinforced by mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, and organizations like Westside Future Fund, who gave Try Deas their first corporate order. Louis has also been deeply inspired by the historical influence of Atlanta leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Andrew Young, and Maynard Jackson.

“The Westside is historically a transformative place,” he said.

For Louis, building a business is one way to continue that legacy.

Leading With Purpose

For LaRayia Gaston, business has always been connected to service.

Long before opening LaRayia’s Bodega in Atlanta, she was doing community-focused work in Los Angeles and New York, creating programs centered on food access and healthy meals.

“I grew up in the church but I felt like my work — my real church — was doing work in the community and that was my tithing,” she said.

That perspective is what drew her toward Atlanta’s historic Westside.

After moving to Atlanta, LaRayia spent years looking for that sense of alignment and community connection.

When she found it, she described it as “a sigh of relief.”

“When the opportunity came up to move to Atlanta and begin to put down roots on the Westside, it felt the most aligned as far as a moral compass and the things that I really wanted to do.”

Today, she operates LaRayia’s Bodega at Ponce City Market while preparing for her next chapter which will include a move to the historic Westside.

Asked what she hopes her business contributes to the neighborhood, her answer came quickly.

“Love without reason. That is our mantra.”

Then she added: “If we do nothing else, I hope we love the neighborhood, and the neighborhood loves us.”

For three entrepreneurs building very different businesses, that sentiment feels surprisingly familiar.

Because on Atlanta’s historic Westside, success isn’t only measured by what’s built.

It’s also measured by the relationships built along the way.