Financial management and a food hall might not seem complementary on the career spectrum, but for Clark Gaines they make the perfect pair.
As Business Report details in its latest Entrepreneur feature, Gaines is the founder of Point91 asset management and the owner of the forthcoming White Star Market food hall. Gaines’ inspiration for both ventures came from the eight years he spent in Columbus, Ohio.
There, the New Orleans native and his wife, Whitney, from Lafayette, witnessed Ohio’s capital city transform into a vibrant, thriving economic engine.
“There’s a lot of things about Baton Rouge that reminded us of Columbus when we first moved there, and seeing how successful Columbus has been we thought Baton Rouge is the place where we want to put down roots and really invest,” Gaines says.
His first investment came in the form of starting up his asset management firm, but the couple always wanted to do something that would enhance and transform the fabric of the city in the same way they saw so many entrepreneurs do in Columbus.
One concept that always stood out to the couple was the food hall.
“There was one about a mile from our house in Columbus, and it was a big, central focus of the city and the community,” he says. They set out on a tour of different food halls around the country to determine the best model for Baton Rouge. Gaines used his quantitative background and previous experience as a restaurant owner to develop the business plan, but says Whitney will be the face of White Star once it’s up and running early next year.
“When it comes to large scale retail operations, she’s a dynamo,” he tells Business Report.
Ever since White Star was announced as the anchor tenant of the Square 46 mixed-use development on Government Street in early 2016, Gaines says the reception has been “amazing.”
Nine vendors were quickly lined up for the food hall. And he’s also been encouraged by a handful of promising property deals that have taken place along Government Street since early last year. Of the corridor’s revitalization, he says: “It’s definitely happening.”
Read the full Entrepreneur feature in the current issue of Business Report. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
