At its foundation, Alchemist Public Market will serve as an engine of inclusive economic development through several core services:
Small Food Business Incubator.
The Alchemist Kitchen program was born out of our mission to connect communities to land, food, and opportunity. The USDA-funded feasibility study for the program determined that a need existed not only for a training and technical assistance program, but also for the physical infrastructure of an incubator kitchen. Since 2019, we have offered the Alchemist Microenterprise Academy (AMA) and Alchemist Kitchen Incubator (AKIP) programs to help train, equip, and empower under-resourced entrepreneurs to start their own food businesses. As we have worked with these entrepreneurs, our initial findings have been confirmed regarding the need for affordable commercial kitchen space to provide them with the means to safely and legally prepare food for sale.
Alchemist Public Market will provide under-resourced food entrepreneurs with affordable access to a shared-use commercial kitchen, empowering them to start commercial production and grow their businesses. Incubator participants and other small entrepreneurs will also benefit from on-site market opportunities:
- Serving customers directly through food trailers and food pods (permanent structures featuring small commercial kitchens with vending windows, akin to food trucks).
- Vending food at weekly farmers’ markets, night markets, and public events.
- Selling packaged, value-added products at the on-site retail store and through the cafe.
Recognizing that the Sacramento region is home to many entrepreneurial makers, including those outside of the food industry, the on-site retail shop will be dedicated to Sacramento-made products and will provide retail market opportunities to many such makers.
Workforce Development.
Launching in 2026, the new Alchemist Workforce Academy (AWA) program will set a benchmark for workforce development training the food service and hospitality industries. While many workforce development programs seek to move people out of these industries, we at Alchemist CDC believe that food service and hospitality are necessary and skilled industries that cannot afford to be anything less than high-value jobs.
Currently in development, the program will work primarily with newcomer populations (refugees and asylees with recent US work authorization) and Opportunity Young Adults with a special focus on young adults transitioning out of foster care. Each AWA cohort will begin with a comprehensive classroom environment in which participants learn industry jargon and the best practices of exceptional customer service; receive their ServSafe certification; are familiarized with labor protections; and are exposed to various career paths in the food service and hospitality industries in order to determine their own long-term professional goals. Following this classroom education, participants will gain experience through direct employment in various roles at Alchemist Public Market before eventually being placed into permanent employment with partner entities.
Co-Working Office Space.
This project will include a co-working office environment providing a range of services. Businesses, non-profits, and others can affordably launch in professional space in this environment.
Farmers’ Market.
Alchemist Public Market will host a weekly certified farmers’ market as well as other regular night markets and events. The market will provide significant opportunities to local farmers and other vendors, while also offering access to CalFresh/EBT recipient customers.
Local Sourcing.
With dozens of food businesses operating out of Alchemist Public Market, there will be ample opportunity for cooperative bulk purchasing of ingredients from local farms via the Yolo Food Hub (in development). The Yolo Food Hub will aggregate produce from many small farms in order to provide the benefits of an economy of scale, selling large amounts of produce to institutional and commercial buyers. Alchemist Public Market businesses will be able to add value to their products through the use of local ingredients while supporting small and mid-size farms that stimulate the regional economy.