Patricia Lecy-Davis opened Embellish Multispace Salon near Tacoma’s Stadium District in 2003 and later moved to a building downtown – between Court D and Market Street – that once contained a meat market and that now serves as both family home and a site for her business.

“We live here, we work here, we create everything here,” she says

Married to a construction worker and mother of a 17-year-old daughter, Lecy-Davis, 42, is serving her second year as head of Tacoma’s Downtown Merchants Group.

She graduated form Clover Park High School in 1985, and later, after living for six years in other states, she returned to Tacoma in 2003.

What did you find when you returned to Tacoma?

“I came back and saw Tacoma with different eyes. I was intrigued by the music scene and the art scene. I remembered downtown – Sears, Rhodes – I remembered an ongoing effort to make something happen. People were always trying to bring something to Tacoma.

The area around the Grand Cinema was still fairly isolated then. Why move there?

“It was a gutsy move. Somehow I knew that if something was going to happen, it was going to be there. There was the Grand and Kickstand. I anticipated that area becoming a Capitol Hill. I still think it will get there.

You moved from there to a building, well, as isolated as you can be and still be downtown. And it’s blue. Again, why?

We were looking pretty hard to find a location. When we found this, it was dirty, raw, wet and ugly. We bought it in February ’06 and opened the salon in October ’06. We’re in the middle of a block where nothing is happening. Hopefully, we’ll be an anchor.

Has the business grown? And how have things gone during the recession?

Until 2008, we’ve grown about 35 percent, 40 percent every year. Our first year we did $47,000, then $89,000, then $189,000 and $265,000. I’m down 16 percent for ’08.

Except for last year, why do you think you saw the growth?

We’re connected to the community. Word-of-mouth has been what’s built us. Fashion shows, charity work, networking – sharing ideas, sharing customers with other businesses. I know that guerilla marketing is a good tool.

I don’t do hair, I do people. I make a lot of connections. Somebody in a chair has a change in their life – I might know somebody who can help. It’s putting the pieces together and seeing what might fit.

What I love is when a whole family comes in. Once, four sisters came in to donate hair to Locks of Love (a charity that offers hairpieces to children undergoing chemotherapy). One little girl, she’s now 11, just had her third Locks of Love haircut.

“Connected to the community” sounds a bit postmodern. Can you explain?

When I go to coffee at Blackwater or Satellite, I get seven connections that make my day more enjoyable and more productive, and I may have made four other connections that make my week that much easier. It’s that intangible thing that ties us together. The malls and the Internet have destroyed that. Costco has destroyed that. If I know I’m supporting a local business, then I’ve done my job. Connecting with your neighbors – why should that be hard?

How did you go from organizing in the Theater District to the Tacoma merchants group?

Marty Campbell (owner of Buzzard’s Discs and Stadium Video) recruited me. He was the president, and he brought me in as vice president. I saw it as an opportunity to affect change.

How many members do you have?

We’re now up to about 57. It can fluctuate between 13 and 70.

Members come from Stadium down to the Dome, from Upper Tacoma to the water. We can serve anybody in that area. Two years ago, we asked our members who we were serving.

And the answer?

Our motto, our credo, is “Downtown Business and Downtown Life.” We are a voice for anybody who’s passionate about the survival of downtown. Coffee shops, boutique owners, salons, accountants, attorneys, office supply, galleries, restaurants. We also have representatives from (several Tacoma banks). The police, City Council members, economic development department – we work closely with them. We’ve positioned ourselves as a strong voice.

We do a lot of cross-promotions. Mostly what they get is a platform so they can have a voice.

There have been complaints about the city not working with businesses on various construction projects. Does the group have a position?

Three years ago, there was poor planning. Very often they do a project without connecting it to something else. They didn’t seem to have much of a concern for businesses.

They were just on Pacific Avenue for a third time, and they did a good job communicating. They also did a good job listening to us. This time, the project representatives are doing their best to communicate.

From what you’re hearing, how are downtown businesses doing with the recession?

One of two things is going to happen. People who don’t have a plan and/or the creativity to make up a new plan are either going to be forced to do things very differently, or they are going to close.

There is still a large population that will spend money. You just have to figure out what they’ll spend money on.

What’s Embellish Salon doing differently?

We just opened a style annex at Urban XChange. Our barber will reach out to a younger, more spontaneous crowd. It will be more affordable – everything $20 for cuts, men and women.

Finally, I can’t end this without asking about the exterior color here. What is it? Blue? Purple?

Indigo. It was that color when we bought the building.

C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535

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