Hope and Main Celebrates Creating 75 Jobs in First Year at Sunday Birthday Bash

Hope & Main is celebrating its first birthday on Sunday Oct. 11, along with the fact the the once-shuttered Main Street school in Warren is now an tasty economic engine for the town and Rhode Island as a whole.

Participating in the celebration is Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, who will be attending the last Schoolyard Market of the season at Hope & Main this Sunday during a jam-packed day of pie-eating contests, cooking demos, dancing, raffles, gourd bowling and more— a real old-timey fall festival.

In its first year, Hope & Main reports launching more than 50 businesses, pouring $1.14 million into the local economy and creating an estimated 75 jobs. And it was done on a simple premise: local food is good and the market is ripe for local entrepreneurs to get in on the action.

A culinary incubator, workspace and farmers’ market, Hope & Main happens to be celebrating its first birthday at the same time their home, a renovated old school building on Warren’s Main Street, turns 100.

“When I first saw the building it took real imagination to see the potential for what Hope & Main has now become,” said President and Founder Lisa Raiola. ”It is a vibrant place of reinvention. At the same time we created state-of-the art production kitchens for food entrepreneurs, we also preserved the school as a community resource where people of all ages can learn about the benefits of healthy eating and local food. Now that we’ve been open for a year, I cannot believe the voracious appetite people have for this novel concept.”

The Centennial Celebration, which runs from 2 to 6 p.m. at 691 Main Street in Warren, is so significant, members of the Warren Preservation Society will be on hand to capture video of Main Street School alumni telling their stories as part of a town oral history project. If you walked through the halls as a youngster, a special invitation is yours to come and reflect on the school while you nibble on buckwheat crepes stuffed with ploys and sup from a cup of schwitzel. Consider it a class reunion.

Plus, if you submit a yearbook picture, you could win a $100 raffle prize.

The vision for Hope & Main was constructed into reality with the help of a $2.9 million USDA loan that preserved classrooms, restored blackboards and polished the maple floors.

The first floor is a community space devoted to public education about cooking, nutrition and why the local food system is so critically important.

And like a school enriching budding brains before its pupils venture off to improve the world, Hope & Main already has a few star students of its own. Here’s a list of some breakout businesses:

● Both Deelish No Scare Skin Care and Ocean State Smoked Fish were among only five finalists in the recent “Get Started Rhode Island” business competition.

● Hola Baked Goods is in production fulltime to satisfy demand.

● Fox Point Pickling Co. is marinating in 70 stores across five states, plus 610 restaurants and corporate cafeterias. Fox Point won a RI Monthly Best of RI award, and is a finalist in the Martha Stewart Living American Made competition.

● Tito’s Cantina quadrupled production and launched four new products, thanks to Hope & Main’s technical support, equipment, and resources.

● Delsie Catering & Events clients include Alex and Ani, RISD, Brown University, the Office of Governor Gina Raimondo, The Dean Hotel, The Governor Henry Lippitt House Museum, Lark Hotels, and the Junior League of Rhode Island.

● Essentially Coconut has seen impressive online sales, and their products can be purchased at Whole Foods and eight other stores across RI and MA.

● Backyard Food Co. is selling 51 stores, including every Dave’s Marketplace in Rhode Island.

Also attending will be U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee who helped secure a new $85,000 USDA grant to support the Schoolyard Market initiative.

“I am a proud supporter of Hope & Main. They help local entrepreneurs collaborate and grow their operations, and get technical assistance to cook up exciting new business ventures and turn their ideas and recipes into commercial success,” Reed said.

For more information about Hope & Main, visit their website.