Hope & Main Breaks Ground on West End Kitchens
The Warren-based culinary incubator program just launched its Providence counterpart with shared-use commercial kitchen space coming soon.
The groundbreaking of the Hope & Main West End Kitchens. Photo courtesy of Hope & Main.
Hope & Main has doubled its footprint. The Warren-based culinary incubator program just launched its Providence counterpart with the West End Kitchens. The expansion was years in the making, all in the hopes of making starting a food business more accessible to city dwellers. The shared-use culinary facility in Providence’s West End recently held a groundbreaking and will soon welcome small business owners to prep, cook and package food products in the space.
Hope & Main was founded over a decade ago, and during that time, it has fostered the growth of more than 575 food businesses — 60 percent women-owned and 45 percent founded by entrepreneurs of color. “One in four new consumer packaged goods companies that is launched in Rhode Island starts at Hope & Main,” says Hope & Main founder and president Lisa Raiola at a recent press conference held at the West End Kitchens. “That is not just a statistic. It is a signal. It’s a signal that when you invest in inclusive infrastructure, you unlock talent, creativity and economic mobility. And West End kitchens will build on this legacy.”
The new West End Kitchens facility will open in Spring 2026 and will include three kitchens that can be rented by the hour for newly launching and early-stage businesses. The organization plans to use the space to help launch fifty new food businesses over its first year. They are accepting applications for the West End Kitchens’ inaugural class now.
“Our expansion to Providence is a bold investment in equity, opportunity and community,” Raiola says. “West End Kitchens will allow us to serve many more food-preneurs at a time when post-COVID demand for affordable space is surging, and inflation and risk are rising for food startups…West End Kitchens will help make Rhode Island a center of gravity for food innovation that reflects the diversity, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our people.”
Lisa Raiola of Hope & Main.
U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, attended the Hope & Main West End Kitchens groundbreaking and commended Raiola for her vision.
“The inspiration, the drive, the vision is Lisa and she deserves a huge thank you,” Reed says. “The vision of America is if you give people a chance. You’ve given hundreds of people with talent and ambition who want to contribute to this community a chance to get their products on the market and as a result, you’re not only fulfilling the individual dreams of all these men and women, you are fulfilling the essence of this country.”
The $9 million project is made possible through financing from Capital Impact Partners, an Austin, Texas-based New Markets Tax Credit lender, the Providence Business Loan Fund, and Rhode Island Housing’s Acquisition and Revitalization Program. Additional support includes a series of federal earmarks secured by Senator Reed’s office, as well as grant funding from corporate and foundation partners, and private individuals. Blount Fine Foods and the UNFI Foundation are sponsoring two of the kitchens.
“Both UNFI and Blount Foods are two powerhouse companies that help shape the food industry, yet they’ve also made the remarkable decision to invest in fledgling startups,” Raiola says. “So it’s not just through their financial support, but through their hands-on guidance, that the Hope & Main community has benefited.”
Not only will the West End Kitchen space serve local food business owners, it will also be home to TRIO Community Meals, which is a contractor for Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island. TRIO hopes to relocate from West Bridgewater, Mass., to Providence to share the space and produce medically tailored and culturally appropriate prepared meals.
“More than proximity, this partnership is about shared purpose and working to meet the food and health needs of Rhode Islanders,” says Meg Grady, Meals on Wheels, RI, Executive Director. “TRIO Community Meals has been our partner in this work for many years. Relocating their operations to our backyard will enhance our ability to grow, will aid in streamlining efficiencies, and will ensure our sustainability.”
