Summary: | Entrepreneur Bezelee Martin was born on September 29, 1932 in Dumas, Arkansas and raised mainly in Boley, Oklahoma, an all-black town. He attended Boley High School and Milwaukee Area Technical College where he studied business and bookkeeping. By 1950, Martin was the first black licensed car dealer in Wisconsin. By 1957, he was selling his own Martin Hosiery to women and operating his own trucking company by 1958. In 1960, Martin and his wife, Lena, opened Lena's Super Market. In 1965, he owned a 3,000-square foot location. Martin purchased Milwaukee's Kohl Food Store in 2001. In 2005, Martin used $3.7 million in New Market Tax Credits through the Wisconsin Housing and Urban Development Authority to open a more spacious store. In 2007, Lena's purchased two new locations raising the total to six stores, employing 600 people. Martin's family was deeply involved with the businesses especially sons, Gregory Martin and Bruce Martin.
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