ATTLEBORO -- When Donald Dyer and his wife decided to open their own hair salon on Park Street a year ago, Dyer was confident that race would not be a factor in the business being accepted.

Now preparing to celebrate the first anniversary of Troiani Hair Studio, Dyer says his judgment has been proven right.

`` We've had an amazing year,'' said Dyer, who is black. His wife, who also works at the salon, is white.

`` If you can cut hair, you can cut hair,'' Dyer said. `` It doesn't matter what color you are.''

Dyer, who has lived in Attleboro for 10 years, says he can remember when it was a rarity to see other AfricanAmericans in a city that until recently was more than 90 percent white. That's no longer the case.

But he says in his experience, race has seldom been an issue in Attleboro.

`` This community is very accept ing,'' he said. `` A lot of different people come in here. We do everybody -- black, white, whoever.''

The Dyers are just part of a bur geoning crop of minority and immi grant business owners taking advan tage of an evolving city and readily available commercial spaces to stake their claim to commercial success.

Helping rebuild downtown

The downtown already includes two Hispanic markets, a Guatemalan bak ery and restaurant and a Colombian immigrant-owned jewelry store, along with restaurants started by Mexican and Taiwanese immigrants.

Some are prospering while others are struggling to find a following in a central business district suffering from a prolonged decline in retail business. But all say they are follow ing a dream.

Maria Velasquez and her daughter, Rosa Provost, opened a small jewelry store on South Main Street earlier this year with help from Provost's brother, Boston jeweler Usiel Jaramillo.

For the two women, starting a business means escape from monotonous factory work and a chance to grasp at success seven years after leaving their homeland of Colombia.

`` In my country the economy wasn't very good and it was hard to get a good job,'' said Provost, who worked in the banking industry in Colombia. `` I wanted something different.'' Provost and her mother started their business modestly, featuring a line of fine and costume jewelry and relying mostly on brochures and word of mouth to bring in customers.

Provost is counting on being able to serve customers in both Spanish and English as an advantage here.

`` We picked this location because it looked like a safe place for my mother and I to have a business,'' she said.

In a downtown that has a fraction of the number of stores it boasted 20 years ago, foot traffic has been less than desirable, Provost said. But the women are aggressively marketing to the Latino community and are considering an Internet presence to attract more customers.

The women are earnestly hoping that a revitalization of the downtown area, set to take place over the next 20 years with the development of additional housing and commercial structures, will improve the business environment.

`` Maybe it won't happen overnight,'' Provost said. `` But once they start, it would help.''

In the meantime, minority and immigrant-owned businesses may hold the key to filling a vacuum downtown -- an area many traditional businesses fled during the 1980s and 1990s because of heavy competition from malls and suburban retail centers.

Roy Nascimiento, executive director of the Attleboro Area Chamber of Commerce, said immigrant business owners have sensed opportunity in areas that had fallen out of favor of late, opening bakeries, eating places and other retail and service businesses.

He said the newcomers could ultimately play an important role in the rejuvenation of the central business district.

`` Downtown is an evolving place.'' Nascimiento said. `` And diversity is a strength that will help attract people and help attract other businesses as time goes on.''

Caroline Talebi, manager of the local Sovereign Bank branch who has helped finance several minority businesses, said opening a store or service business is an ambition of many newcomers.

`` In their homelands, there may not be a lot of big supermarkets or a Home Depot, where you can go and find anything you want,'' Talebi said. `` So, many people have small shops. That's part of the culture they bring to America.''

The desire to succeed is also closely linked to immigrants' dream of a better life based on financial independence, home ownership and being part of a stable community, Talebi said.

Not all minority and immigrant ventures are successful, Talebi said. As with many fledgling businesses, some aspiring entrepreneurs underestimate the investment needed to launch a new store and tie their hopes to unrealistic revenue expectations.

Also, Talebi says New Englanders tend to be slow to change their habits or try stores and restaurants that feel unfamiliar to them. As a result, some businesses find it difficult to develop the broad following that most depend on.