If you have a retail business that can help redevelop a neighborhood in Detroit, Hamtramck or Highland Park check out the 2019 Comerica Hatch Detroit contest. You would win $100,000 in startup funds.
The record amount, donated by Comerica Bank, will go toward opening a brick-and-mortar business in Detroit, Hamtramck or Highland Park. In addition to startup funds, the winner will receive a comprehensive package of accounting, legal, IT and public relations support from Hatch Detroit and its partners.
In addition to Comerica’s $100,000 investment, the bank will also double its organizational support to Hatch Detroit with a supplementary $40,000 donation.
The 2019 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest officially kicked off Friday, June 7 when entrepreneurs began submitting their business plans online at HatchDetroit.com/apply. Applications are accepted through July 31.
The Top 10 businesses will be announced once the submission period ends, and two rounds of public voting will follow, including a Top ten and Top Four – allowing the Detroit community to vote for the business they believe is worthy of the $100,000 top prize.
“The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest is a catalyst for economic development in Detroit’s neighborhoods,” says Vittoria Katanski, executive director, Hatch Detroit. “Independent retail helps define the character and personality of city neighborhoods. Together with partners such as Comerica Bank, Hatch Detroit can continue to support independent retail while introducing 10 of the year’s best business concepts.”
The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest has launched many businesses. Six of the eight winners serve Detroiters in neighborhoods such as Midtown, Corktown and West Village, including:
• Hugh, a design and lifestyle store at 4240 Cass Ave. and first winner of the Hatch Detroit prize (2011)
• La Feria, a tapas restaurant at 4130 Cass Ave. in Southwest Detroit that brings a taste of Spain to the city (2012)
• Batch Brewing Company, a nano brewery at 1400 Porter St. (2013)
• Sister Pie, a corner bakery at 8066 Kercheval in West Village (2014)
• Live Cycle Delight, a fitness and yoga studio located at 8019 Agnes St. (2015)
• Meta Physica Massage, a wellness center located at 1701 Trumbull Ave. Suite 3 (2016)
• Baobab Fare, a restaurant and marked located at 6568 Woodward Ave. scheduled to open this year, owned and operated by a wife and husband team, who came from Burundi (2017)
• Toma Detroit, will be located at 1830 Michigan Ave. and scheduled to open in 2020 as the city’s first tequila-mezcal tasting room (2018)
Forty-two Hatch alumni businesses have opened since the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest began in 2011, and Hatch Detroit has provided more than $1 million of in-kind services to both contest winners and alumni.
Since Comerica Bank’s partnership with Hatch Detroit began in 2012, one year after the inaugural contest, Comerica has awarded a total of $350,000 in startup funding, with each winner earning $50,000. In 2018, Comerica Bank provided an additional $20,000 in organizational support, making for a collective investment of $370,000 into Detroit’s premier retail competition.
The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest encourages crowd entrepreneurship to ensure residents have a voice in helping to decide the type of retail they want in their community. Nearly 2,000 business submissions have been made over the past eight years, and the public has cast 520,000 votes.
“We view our relationships with small businesses as crucial investments into our communities,” says Michael T. Ritchie, Comerica Bank Michigan President. “We are proud of our partnership with Hatch Detroit for the past seven years, and we are most delighted to see how well previous winners and alumni are succeeding. Our goal is to help our communities thrive, and we believe this will continue planting successful retail businesses in and around Detroit.”
The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest concludes Thursday, October 17 with the annual “Hatch Off” at Ford Field in the Comerica Gridiron Club.
KEY COMERICA HATCH DETROIT DATES:
June 7: Submissions Begin
July 31: Submissions End
September 27: Top 10 Announced; Voting Starts
October 3: Top 10 Voting Ends
October 4: Top 4 Announced and Voting Begins
October 10: Top 4 Voting Ends
October 17: Hatch Off
2019 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest neighborhood retail business winner will receive record $100,000 added by TheHUB on
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