Introducing Batter & Bloom: A Community-Rooted Food Retail Incubator Building Pathways to Local Ownership

Birmingham, Ala. – Batter & Bloom, a new community-rooted food retail incubator, is launching in Birmingham, Alabama with a clear purpose: to help early-stage food entrepreneurs and hospitality talent test, grow, and sustain brick-and-mortar businesses while strengthening neighborhood vitality, food access, and local ownership.

Designed as a place-based economic development strategy, Batter & Bloom brings together affordable retail space, hands-on technical assistance, and intentional storytelling to lower the barriers that often keep small businesses, particularly those from under-resourced communities, from accessing permanent retail opportunities.

Rendering Source: A. Logan Designs 

This new initiative also addresses food insecurity and economic opportunity gaps in Birmingham communities, where some of the most significant barriers to fresh, nutritious food persist. With approximately 23.5 million Americans living in food deserts nationwide, the need for accessible solutions remains urgent. 

As Batter & Bloom begins to establish its roots, it’s excited to participate in Shipt’s LadderUp accelerator, an eight-week program helping fresh food organizations learn the skills needed to scale their impact and further advance their mission of expanding equitable food access. 

“Batter & Bloom was born from the belief that when you pour into people and places, communities bloom. Food is more than what’s on a plate; it creates connection, opportunity, and healing. At the intersection of food, place, and economic growth, we are creating pathways for entrepreneurs to rise, neighborhoods to thrive, and access to fresh food to expand across Birmingham”, said Alycia Levels-Moore, Founder of Batter & Bloom. 

“Our mission is to build pathways to ownership, workforce opportunity, and long-term community wealth while proving that investing in local food ecosystems can transform lives and strengthen our economy.”

Rendering Source: A. Logan Designs 

Through a multi-pronged approach, Batter & Bloom will establish accessible food retail destinations in underserved neighborhoods while equipping emerging food entrepreneurs and hospitality talent with training, mentorship, and education to build sustainable businesses. The initiative will also expand fresh food access through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.

Batter & Bloom is a food hub that:

• Connects local farmers to local food businesses

• Connects food businesses to trained hospitality workforce

• Connects workforce to support farmers, food entrepreneurs & hospitality talent

• Connects families to fresh food

“We’re not just supporting individual entrepreneurs, we’re investing in neighborhoods and local economies through ownership visibility, and long-term sustainability,” said Levels-Moore.

Batter & Bloom supports early-stage food & hospitality entrepreneurs by offering: 

• Accessible retail environments that reduce the financial risk of launching a brick-and-mortar concept

• Technical assistance and mentorship focused on business viability, operations, and growth

• Shared storytelling infrastructure that elevates entrepreneurs’ voices and connects businesses to the communities they serve

Batter & Bloom is intentionally focused on local and regional impact. The program recognizes food as both an economic driver and a cultural connector. By centering entrepreneurs within their neighborhood context, Batter & Bloom aims to activate local corridors, create jobs, and expand food access; while preserving the stories, traditions and identities that make each place distinct.

Conservative Year 1 projections show strong ROI through entrepreneur development and community impact, including a 16-week workforce development program for food entrepreneurs and hospitality talent. The program is expected to produce 3,000 pounds of fresh food, with 2,100 pounds distributed to Birmingham neighborhoods through retail, delivery partnerships, and community events.

The initiative will officially launch with a ribbon cutting during Polaris BHM’s Ideas to Impact 2026 Conference, themed “Mastering the Marketplace,” on June 19, 2026 from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

Batter & Bloom is a front-door program within Vanguard Development Collective’s broader ecosystem approach to economic development. It complements Vanguard’s existing accelerator programs, such as 4C Accelerator, by anchoring support in physical spaces where entrepreneurship meets community life. 

Partnership investment will drive long-term community impact by strengthening food entrepreneurship and expanding access to nutritious meals through proven development programs. The program will support food businesses, generate revenue growth among participants and partners, create jobs, and provide nutritious meals to the community.

As the program continues to take shape, Batter & Bloom invites collaboration from partners, mentors, funders, and community stakeholders who believe in building economic opportunity through place, practice, and people. 

For updates and future announcements visit: www.vanguarddevelopment.org/about-vanguard

Interior Design: A. Logan Designs

General Contractor: Lyles Construction