Gran Cocina, Holyoke business incubator, gets $45K state coworking grant

December 14, 2023 : MassLive, Jim Kinney

HOLYOKE — Taking a food idea — or a family recipe — and turning it into a business often requires a commercial kitchen few can afford.

That’s where Wellspring Cooperative Corp. and its new project Gran Cocina comes in, renting professional kitchen space for as little as $25 an hour and also providing food safety training.

“There is a lot of interest,” said Fred Rose, co-director of Wellspring Co-Operative.

The name Gran Cocina transales to “big kitchen.”

Wellspring also founded and runs worker-owned enterprises such as Wellspring Harvest greenhouse in the Indian Orchard section of Springfield and Wellspring Upholstery Cooperative, a furniture repair business in Springfield.

On Wednesday, the state and MassDevelopment, the state’s economic development agency and land bank, announced a $45,000 grant for Gran Cocina, which is on High Street in Holyoke’s downtown.

The money — one of 16 grants totaling $950,000 for the Collaborative Workspace Program — will pay for an energy-efficient mini-split heating and cooling system; repairs; renovating an unfinished room into additional space; and adding a walk-in cooler.

Rose said to expect a publicity push in the new year, looking to add businesses to the facility.

Wellspring also will add a cafe, where customers can try out food produced within.

Other local projects included in Wednesday’s announcement include:

Greater Easthampton Chamber of Commerce received $50,000 to build out a collaborative workspace at a building it owns. Last year, MassDevelopment awarded the organization a $5,000 seed grant to study market and design feasibility for the project.

The Sphere, Northampton received $100,000 to build out a vacant and gutted storefront to increase space and visibility of The Sphere Innovation Lab. The lab will be a woman- and nonbinary-oriented entrepreneur coworking space based on inclusivity, collaboration and uplifting entrepreneurs. The storefront is 82 Maple St. in the Florence section of Northampton.