News

CAN DO works with partners to help food industry entrepreneurs start a business through new Hazleton Kitchen Incubator

For entrepreneurs who dream of starting a business in the food industry, one of the biggest barriers to entry is having the resources and access to professional kitchen equipment. That's why the latest addition to Downtown Hazleton's entrepreneurial ecosystem is working to make it easier for people to start their own culinary business.

The Hazleton Kitchen Incubator, located inside the Hayden Family Center for the Arts at 31 West Broad Street, is the latest project from The Hazleton Innovation Collaborative (THInC) designed to help entrepreneurs and startup companies. The kitchen incubator program gives regional food and beverage businesses a low-risk opportunity to start small, test and develop a business idea and plan, and scale their operations without the cost of equipping and maintaining their own commercially-licensed culinary facility.

Read more ...

Keystone Ballet Academy continues to grow with the CAN BE Innovation Center’s expansion options

For Keystone Ballet Academy owner Emily Finer, the ability to expand her dance studio in stages but remain in the same location at the CAN BE Innovation Center has been an integral part of its success since opening in 2017.

Finer said that CAN BE has been an ideal location to start her studio because it has offered her the ability to expand when it fit the needs of her growing studio without having to move to a bigger location each time.

“Knowing I could expand where I am already located is ideal. My customer base is familiar with my existing location and the expansion will allow us to grow within a reasonable budget. As we acquire more students and have an increase in our classes, we will be able to move to a space that will really suit us and our students,” Finer said. “We are so fortunate to have access to additional space within the CAN BE Innovation Center, allowing our school to grow. From the beginning, I envisioned our growth here.”

Read more ...

Sweets Melendez becomes first business to use new downtown Hazleton shared kitchen incubator

Dominican desserts company Sweets Melendez recently became the first business to launch using the new downtown Hazleton shared kitchen incubator inside the Hayden Family Center for the Arts.

Owner Maribel Chavez began thinking about creating a food-based business in November of 2019 when she started making Dominican sweet beans before transitioning to desserts.

“All of our desserts are handcrafted and made with love. They are made with fruits, a hint of cinnamon and vanilla and contain no preservatives, artificial color or high fructose corn syrup,” Chavez said.

The shared kitchen incubator was created through a partnership between the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress, the Hazleton Art League, The Hazleton Launchbox, CAN BE and other members of The Hazleton Innovation Collaborative (THInC). The organizations worked together with local and regional food, entrepreneurship and culinary arts education providers to develop a program designed to support aspiring and existing food entrepreneurs. 

Read more ...

Startup Ranek Technologies finds ideal home to launch its operations at CAN BE Innovation Center

Ranek Technologies founder and CEO Joe Halcisak had the idea and vision for an innovative app. But, he needed to find the guidance to create a business plan and a place to launch his computer software development startup. It all came together when he discovered the CAN BE Innovation Center.

Halcisak formally founded Ranek Technologies in May of 2020 and officially moved into the CAN BE Innovation Center this year. But his association with CAN BE and CAN DO Director of Economic Development Jocelyn Sterenchock began in 2018. Halcisak was a member of a team that won the tecBRIDGE High School Business Plan Competition that year and went on to be named the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs of the Year, an award that is sponsored by CAN BE.

Read more ...