This is What we do:
Economic Gardening
Considering our community’s agricultural heritage, the term “economic gardening” seems like the perfect phrase to describe one less immediately visible aspect of our economic development work here at the MVDA. Perfect as it is for our community, that term did not originate here, but came from an entrepreneurial support program in Littleton, CO. According to Law Insider, “The fundamental concept behind economic gardening is that entrepreneurs drive economies, and healthy communities have a healthy base of entrepreneurs.”
At the MVDA, we work to support and encourage entrepreneurs in a variety of ways, working with both new entrepreneurs and established entrepreneurs. Sometimes that consists simply of cheerleading and encouragement. Sometimes it takes form as more direct and active assistance, such as helping our businesses access COVID relief programs and information, and providing marketing materials, campaigns and events that help increase consumer exposure to the businesses through foot traffic in the district. Sometimes our efforts yield quick results, but more often, the seeds we plant and the conversations we cultivate take some time to germinate. A very current example of a fruition of our economic gardening work is Skagit Table, set to open in downtown Mount Vernon almost exactly two years after we first connected with Chef Courtney Bouresaw.
That connection came by way of Skagit Valley College Culinary Arts Instructor Lyn Highet, who emailed our executive director in late April of 2021 about a former student she described as “very talented and focused on healthy, local and sustainable” food. After nearly six years running a successful online-only business providing personal chef services and catering, Courtney had a concept for a different kind of eating establishment and was interested finding a space with a commercial kitchen in downtown Mount Vernon. There were very limited options available in downtown Mount Vernon at that time, and while encouraging Courtney to explore them, Ellen also offered Courtney the opportunity to test her concept in the MVDA’s incubator, The Pop-Up Mount Vernon. In addition to offering Courtney the space at the incubator, Ellen also engineered a meeting between Courtney and the former owner of the Mount Vernon Café and Lounge, which was one of only two commercial kitchens not in use in the district at the time. A nearby location for cooking was essential for the Pop-Up to work for Courtney. The Chef and the property owner arrived at an arrangement for Courtney’s temporary use of the kitchen and plans were in put place for Courtney’s Rainbow Eats to occupy the Pop-Up starting in July. While those plans eventually fell apart after the property owner changed their mind at the last minute, Courtney and Ellen remained in contact over the next year, checking in periodically with each other. Ellen also connected Courtney to the Center for Inclusive Entrepreneurship, where she got help refining her business plan, preparing bank forms, and other business counseling. When the building at 225 S. 1st Street went up for sale in 2022, Ellen reached out to Courtney, but it was already under contract. After the second contract on the building closed for new owners Curtis Broman Real Estate, Ellen introduced Courtney to the new owners as a potential tenant. A lease was negotiated a few months later, and with the renovations now complete, Chef Courtney Bouresaw is set to open Skagit Table in downtown Mount Vernon, almost exactly 2 years to the day since the first connection with the Mount Vernon Downtown Association.
Some seeds take longer to germinate, but the important thing is to keep sowing!
