Former Downtown Vendor Finds Sea Moss Sells Just Fine In The Neighborhood

Anthony Chapman was setting up his shop at the corner of Ellsworth Avenue and Whalley Avenue — a spot he didn’t always expect to feel like home.

Chapman, 55, started off his vending career 10 years ago and was located downtown. After five years, the city raised the annual fee for vendors to be located downtown from $200 to $1,000 a year. So Chapman decided to move his table on the sidewalk outside D’Amato’s Seafood II, where he could keep paying $200.

He was disappointed at first. Then he found that that change was good.

“Everything that looks bad, ain’t bad,” Chapman said during a conversation on the ​“Word on the Street” segment of WNHH FM’s ​“LoveBabz LoveTalk” program. ​“At first I was upset about it. I was comfortable and didn’t want to move my location, but this ended up being way better than downtown.

“My clientele grew on Whalley Avenue,” he reported. And ​“I’ve become more of a people person.” He also lives in the neighborhood.

Chapman spreads a wide range of natural wares on his table: scented body oils, herbal soaps and whipped shea butters, sea moss and sea moss capsules, organic honeys, and incense. He buys his products wholesale from New York.

When Chapman was on his last 30 days before having to leave downtown he rode up and down Whalley Avenue to decipher where would be the best spot for him to move. He was originally going to open his shop on Sherman Avenue and Whalley Avenue, but people there gave him a hard time, suggesting he would be ​“some kind of blight” to his business.

Once he set up a few block west, Chapman said those very people who complained ended up coming to purchase products from his business.

He said some of his best selling products include Black Seed body lotions and Black Seed Tonic, a detox bitter.

Chapman rings up sales of between $80 to $150 on an average day, he said. He also said the job is more than just a paycheck for him. He’s become more of a people person and often serves as a shoulder to lean on for residents.

“People talk to me about different issues that they might be going through,” Chapman said. ​“I see a lot of people struggling with homelessness, their kids, relationships, and bills. Whatever it is, I try to give them my best advice pertaining to whatever they might be going through.”

When Chapman started out downtown, he would only make $19 a day and wondered how competing vendors survived.

“What it was is that I didn’t have any clientele, since I had just started,” Chapman said. ​“Since I built my clientele over the years, the sales went up.”

“The first thing that people usually ask is if I have anything natural,” Chapman said. ​“Natural products are the best products.

““I drink sea moss everyday. It supplies 92 of the 110 minerals that our body needs.”

Before vending, Chapman used to work at the Columbus House homeless shelter as a residential supervisor. He also worked with the mentally challenged. He ended up being fired for sleeping on the job, due to fatigue from working two jobs, he said.

Becoming a vendor has allowed Chapman to be his own boss and decide how long he wants to work each day. He set he gets up between 5 and 6 a.m. and sets up his table by 8 a.m.

“It takes me a couple of hours to set up,” Chapman said. ​“Sometimes it takes longer to set up between taking customers. Some of them walk, drive, and even come on their bikes.

“During the winter, I’ll stay out here until 2 or 3 p.m. because of the dark and cold. During the warmer months, I’ll be out here anywhere between 6:30 – 7 p.m.”

Chapman said he knows many of his customers because he grew up in the area.

“I keep going because of my daughter, Amonee, who is 12 years old. My store is actually named after her: Amonee’s Fragrance,” Chapman said. ​“The clientele definitely grew over the years. I have customers that even come from out of state that I met over here that I ship stuff to also.”

Chapman plans on staying in the area while raising his daughter. He doesn’t plan on moving his business anytime soon, but dreams of becoming established enough to open his own storefront.

“My dream is to put stores up in a couple of different states. That’s how big I want this to grow,” Chapman said. ​“Until then, this is where I’ll be at.”