Longtime CAN DO partner, the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce, held its 21st Annual Business and Community Award Ceremony at The Pines Eatery & Spirits in Downtown Hazleton on Thursday, October 27th.
At the luncheon, CAN DO Business Financing Specialist, Nico Makuta, proudly presented the 2022 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Omar Alcantara of Hazleton. This marks the 9th year that the organization’s entrepreneurial arm, the CAN BE Innovation Center, has sponsored the award.
“CAN BE is proud to support this award each year and recognize the hardworking and innovative entrepreneurs that we have right here in Greater Hazleton. It is exciting to witness the immediate success that Tabla Supply has had in the market. Omar was a perfect selection for this award, and I commend him for how quickly he has grown Tabla Supply and his dedication to expanding his operations in the future,” Makuta said.
Omar Alcantara is the owner of Tabla Supply, a family-owned home decor store and remodeling business in Hazleton. Originally from New York, Alcantara started his entrepreneurial path with a small carpentry shop in Corona, NY. While still in New York, he realized that his customer base had additional needs that he could not fulfill at the time, such as flooring and granite countertops. Upon moving to the Hazleton Area, Alcantara found an opportunity to make his dreams of a home improvement store a reality.
Alcantara’s long-term goals for his business are to expand his product and service offerings, increase earnings, become sustainable, and expand personnel to provide more job opportunities to the community.
The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award promotes the development of future business owners and operators within the Greater Hazleton Area. Applicants were judged on staying power, growth strategy and accomplishments, as well as community contribution. Nominees for the Chamber’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year award must be between the ages of 13 and 35; reside or attend school in the Greater Hazleton area; attend school, high school or college or have successfully completed high school or be a full-time graduate student; have a for-profit business currently operating within Greater Hazleton that has been in operation for at least three months; and have a client/customer base of three or more.
Omar Alcantara joins previous award recipients such as Carolina Polanco, Owner of Carola’s Bakery, Ryan Robinson, Managing Partner of IntelliGreen, Ashley Evert, Founder of Halogen Hair Company, Jeremy Thorne, Owner of ThornCare Landscape Solutions, and Scott Gottstein, Chief Administrative Officer for The Gottstein Corporation.
Pictured above, from left: Nico Makuta, Omar Alcantara, and Senator David Argall.