Non-profit’s ‘Downtown Makers Marketplace’ aids food entrepreneurs with valuable exposure while offering hotel guests and locals authentic culinary experiences.
PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND – The Beatrice, a luxury boutique hotel in the heart of downtown Providence, welcome Hope & Main, Rhode Island’s first food business incubator, to the burgeoning Paolino Properties’ campus on Westminster Street in the city’s lively historic district.
Debuting adjacent to The Beatrice in a 5,000 square-foot storefront space, the Hope & Main Downtown Makers Marketplace on the ground floor of 100 Westminster Street showcases products created by local food entrepreneurs, providing a rewarding opportunity to grow their businesses by increasing exposure for their products with hotel guests, visitors, and city residents. The marketplace features a café offering breakfast and lunch items as well as coffee, tea, and craft beverages to grab-and-go or enjoy onsite.
Hope & Main’s path to the expanding Westminster Street campus was brought to fruition by avid supporters of the local food economy and Rhode Island entrepreneurship, Paolino Properties, a real estate investment, development, and management firm owned and managed by Joseph R. Paolino Jr., who is also the former Mayor of Providence and a former U.S. Ambassador; and the nonprofit Papitto Opportunity Connection, a tenant of 100 Westminster Street led by Barbara Papitto, which invests in the educational, professional, and entrepreneurial aspirations of people of color and indigenous populations throughout the state.
“Our goal is to offer authentic experiences that are true to the tastes of Rhode Island and the diversity of the people that live here,” said Joseph R. Paolino Jr., Managing Partner of Paolino Properties and developer and owner of The Beatrice hotel. “The Hope & Main Downtown Makers Marketplace is the perfect addition to the 100 Westminster Street campus. My vision for the property is to be an all-encompassing space where corporate tenants, members of the downtown community, and hotel guests can eat, work, play, and stay. From our luxury accommodations at The Beatrice, to upscale dining at Bellini, and now – Hope & Main’s first-ever marketplace and café, this address will be a hub for locals and visitors alike.”
Anchored by Providence-based Schasteâ, one of the many Hope & Main success stories, the café will feature wholesome and delicious recipes and products from the organization’s entrepreneurs and alumni such as traditional Argentine baked empanadas from The Perfect Empanada, Orisirisi flavorful gourmet pepper sauce, Naked Fig Mediterranean hummus, and Chi Kitchen Kimchi Slaw, some of whom will be featured as guest chefs in the future. Meanwhile, the range of products will be representative of the entrepreneurs’ diverse backgrounds and heritages, including Ethiopia, Mexico, Cambodia, Israel, the Caribbean, and more. The common thread is that their companies are rooted right here in Rhode Island.
“We are thrilled to have the Hope & Main Downtown Makers Marketplace join the Westminster Street campus. The delicious and local products will be a wonderful addition to the food and beverage offerings available to guests at The Beatrice,” said Jennifer Curtin, General Manager of The Beatrice. “With its setting onsite, we believe there will be ample opportunities to help showcase the products to our guests who visit from all over the globe and will surely appreciate the opportunity to support the local economy here in Rhode Island and be exposed to the cultural mosaic that makes up the community. We look forward to seeing the Marketplace succeed for the benefit of the creative food and beverage entrepreneurs who are growing their businesses one sale at a time.”
Headquartered in Warren, Rhode Island, Hope & Main was launched in 2014 by Lisa Raiola, Founder and President, with a mission to empower an inclusive community of entrepreneurs to jumpstart and cultivate thriving food businesses, providing a foundation for a more just, sustainable, and resilient local food economy. Since its start, Hope & Main has launched some 450 small businesses out of its shared kitchen, more than 40 percent of which are owned by people of color. The organization also offers Nourish Our Neighbors, a “give a meal get a meal” program, to support members of the community who are food insecure, which will be available to customers at Hope & Main’s Providence location.
“This is an incredible opportunity to expand Hope & Main’s reach to Providence’s Westminster Street campus, located in the heart of Rhode Island,” said Lisa Raiola. “We are looking forward to providing even more of our makers with a space to grow their businesses and introducing them to a global audience through our collaboration with The Beatrice hotel.”
The Downtown Makers Marketplace is a superb addition to the food & beverage scene in Providence, as well as a standout dining and shopping experience for guests of The Beatrice. The hotel is also home to Bellini Providence, the first Bellini location in New England from famed fourth-generation restaurateur Ignazio Cipriani, in addition to Bellini Rooftop, a private members club styled as an intimate rooftop lounge and open to members and hotel guests alike.
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