A new business incubator with the goal of boosting the overall health and wellness of residents of the Atkinson Park neighborhood is currently under construction.
Spearheading the effort to open this community gathering spot, which will be located at 2100 W. Atkinson Ave., is Tyrone Johnson, founder and president of Brothers Infrastructure Group Construction. He saw a need in the Atkinson Park neighborhood for a welcoming meeting place and for healthier eating options.
“It’s a group of entrepreneurs coming together in the space to help grow one another’s business,” he said. “It’s a coworking space that will grow healthy eating habits and raise consciousness of the types of food available in the area.”
Once completely full, seven different vendors will call the incubator home. Shops on the first floor will include a fresh juice business, a coffee shop, a vegan restaurant, a catering service and a bakery.
The entirety of the second floor will be occupied by a veteran-owned yoga studio offering an array of wellness services, called Earth Angel Studio.
“They’re just getting their businesses off the ground but none of them have a brick-and-mortar location yet,” said Johnson.
Helping rally the food and beverage vendors was Christal Shipp, co-owner of CTRL + C. The shop already has a space at the Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, but Shipp and her business partner were looking for a space to start their juicing business together. She began reaching out to other entrepreneurs to gauge interest in a new business incubator at the start of 2023.
“They all met at Sherman Phoenix and wanted to collaborate in a smaller, more intimate space,” said Johnson. “My team and I are pouring (support) into these businesses with the help of the Black Chamber.”
He believes the Atkinson incubator’s business model will be different than the Sherman Phoenix’s because entrepreneurs will receive an enhanced level of mentorship, whether that be helping them handle their social media or examining their branding and marketing.
Eventually, Johnson hopes to grow the incubator’s first cohort of entrepreneurs to a strong enough position that they’ll be able to go out and find their own locations. Then, he’ll start the cycle all over again.
A final name for the organization is not yet decided, but Johnson said he’ll likely end up naming it the Atkinson Incubator Hub.
Supporters of the incubator include Ruben Hopkins, chairman and CEO of the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce, District 1 Alderwoman Andrea Pratt, and Town Bank. Johnson is also helping tenants by providing volunteer construction work through his own company.
He’s hoping the incubator will be open within the next six months.
