The City of Hamilton officially cut the ribbon on its new City Hall cafe today. The “Common House Cafe” will operate as a City-sponsored incubator for new food businesses.
The space struggled pre-COVID as a Country Style franchise. Once COVID hit, City Hall closed for two years. The franchisee had to abandon their lease.
When City Hall reopened, its staff only needed to show up for a few hours on one day each week. In 2023, City Council voted to institute a two-day office schedule for staff.
Few staff in the office and even fewer visitors means there is no viable business model for a private-sector cafe.
Enter the City’s small business centre. The space will incubator new food businesses, with mentorship support.
From City Hall, the businesses can grow into a spot at the Hamilton Farmers Market.
The Hamilton Farmers Market has become something of a business incubator itself.
In recent months, vendors that began businesses in the Market have graduated into large spaces in Hamilton’s business improvement areas. Joshy’s Good Eats is moving to Cannon Street East near Ottawa Street, JT Pets moved to Concession Street, and Eldercamp to Barton Street.
A pipeline for small business – some good news out of City Hall.