Note: This article has been edited since it originally appeared online.
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Due to the pandemic, when Hatch Cafe initially opens on Aug. 6, it will offer lunch and takeout service only. The space will host pop-ups and other special events and feature products from Hatch Kitchen members.
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Hatch Kitchen opened in January 2019.
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Tables are set up for future guests.
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Cookbooks and decor near the ordering counter
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Part of the cooking and smoking area at Hatch Butchery, set to debut in early September
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Hatch Packaging is set to open in mid-August.
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The co-packing line in the Hatch Packaging facility allows businesses to can, bag, box, bottle and ship products on site — a one-stop shop.
Over the past two years, Hatch Kitchen has transformed a sea of warehouse buildings at 2601 Maury St. in South Side Richmond into a land of opportunity for small-business owners in the food and beverage sector.
The hybrid, commissary-style kitchen space at Clopton Siteworks is ascending to the next level. Set to launch three new additions to the business incubator operation — Hatch Cafe, Hatch Packaging and Hatch Butchery — co-founder Austin Green says it’s simply another step in building a community where entrepreneurs can fulfill their visions and gather under one roof.
“This is enormous,” Green says of the new ventures. “This will certainly be the most state-of-the-art facility in the region.”
For Green and co-founders Brad Cummings and Lynx Ventures, the 24-hour space that debuted in January 2019 has always been about creating a network of resources for members and offering guidance via a team well-versed in the food world, having experienced many of its obstacles themselves.
On a recent visit, Director of Operations for Hatch Packaging and Butchery Warren Haskell was processing tomatoes for one of Hatch's first co-packing clients, Back Pocket Provisions, a maker of bloody mary mixes.
“We’ll do that because we understand what that means to the client,” says Green.
The goal is to keep the packaging facility, which is expected to open by mid-August, modular, so that it is a one-stop shop for businesses. Asked how impactful Hatch Packaging will be, Green responds immediately: “Game-changer.”
Located in a separate building from the kitchen, the packaging facility is home to a 150-gallon kettle and a streamlined system that fills, bottles, caps, dates and labels products. Green says the production schedule has already begun to fill up, and that Hatch plans to hire more workers to meet demands.
“Our entire job is to create safe and delicious food for people exactly how they want it made,” he says, noting that transparency with clients about the processes is key. “We’re also putting a major emphasis on craft, and the people that will be operating this are people who know how to make food.”
Previously processing out of Charlottesville, Back Pocket Provisions founder Will Gray says the new packaging facility is “perfect for us.”
“Watching Hatch make that kind of investment in processing here in Richmond is a dream come true for us because it allows us to continue to grow while still staying very rooted to the community," he says.
In business since 2015, Back Pocket had reached a point where it was becoming difficult to balance production and time while remaining firmly committed to local sourcing, Gray says.
“When working with smaller batch sizes, there's only so much we can do,” he adds. “[At Hatch] they’re letting us scale our production without compromising any sense of place, which is a huge benefit for us.”
With Back Pocket currently processing 600 pounds of tomatoes a day, Gray estimates that once Hatch Packaging officially opens, that number could skyrocket upwards of 2,500 pounds.
“Everything is measured by tomatoes in my life,” Gray says with a laugh. He believes co-packing will also allow him to expand his product line and the network of area farmers he works with, which he describes as a “canner’s dream."
“As all of this infrastructure becomes available, there’s so many cool opportunities to work with tools we didn’t have access to before,” Gray says, adding that there is potential for a smoked tomato mix and collaborations with other entrepreneurs down the road — last year, Gray worked with Staunton’s The Shack on a blend.
Green notes that while packaging capabilities can open the door for new clients, it also allows current clients an easy transition to that stage of production.
“We can help guide you to the co-packing situation, which normally you go into blind when making that big jump,” he explains, previously citing packaging as one of the biggest obstacles he faced when launching his own business, Texas Beach Bloody Mary Mix.
“We can provide that guidance, bridging that gap between what Hatch does in mentoring and connecting it to the next step for the life of a company.”
Another forthcoming venture, Hatch Butchery, is expected to be completed by early September. Under Virginia law, butchers may only sell their products directly to consumers. A space in the city where meat can be processed and USDA inspected on site opens doors for butchers, restaurants and other members of the food community to create their own line of products sold in stores.
Haskell, also founder of the pop-up The Wandering Biscuit, says, “Restaurants are trying to move product to retail, and farms are looking to do more of their product in house that has been wholesale, so the interest is high.”
Hatch Butchery will package items with the businesses' brands, Green noting that Hatch will never have its own line of products.
The almost 2,500-square-foot butchery space is divided into two rooms — one for processing, the other for cooking — featuring a full prep line, convection oven, steamer and USDA-approved smoker. If a company wants to make smoked sausages, meat lasagna, chicken salad or frozen foods, they now have the chance.
Shortly after the butchery and co-packing facility debut, Hatch Logistics will follow, offering a space for finished products to be stored and deliveries handled.
First among the trio of new ventures to launch will be Hatch Cafe, set to open to the public on Thursday, Aug. 6, featuring a concise food menu that initially will be offered strictly to go. With the cafe originally intended to serve as an event space that doubles as a cafe during the day, Hatch shifted gears when the pandemic hit. Now, it will serve as a new spot for Richmonders to grab takeout and for Hatch Kitchen members to show off their skill sets.
Ryan Evans, director of kitchen operations, is heading menu development currently, although there are plans to hire a head chef once the uncertainty surrounding the pandemic settles. While featuring member products as much as possible, menu items will include a barbecue pork sandwich with soy-glazed pork and jalapeno-peach preserves and a grilled cheese with Gruyere, feta, and spiced tomato jam. Diners can also find "The Ten Dollar Soup," a large portion of house-made soup of rotating flavors, with each sale providing two meals for neighbors in need through the Hatch Helps initiative.
In addition to being open for lunch, Hatch Cafe will host a series of pop-ups that highlight members and friends. First up is Cobra Burger on Aug. 22, a Hatch client that serves smash-style burgers and boasts a cult-like following. Future plans also include butcher and charcuterie boxes featuring meats, sauces, jams, pickled products and more, along with a low country seafood boil.
“The food community just keeps demanding this stuff,” Green says. “We wouldn’t be building this if Richmond wasn’t providing us with a need. “When you get this many food and beverage companies together … I don’t see an end to what we can do out here.”
