FAME backs $3.6M loan for Fork Food Lab move to South Portland
File Photo / Tim Greenway
Bill Seretta, executive director of Fork Food Lab, said plans are on track to move into a larger facility in South Portland later this year.
Fork Food Lab, a shared commercial kitchen and food startup incubator in Portland, has taken another step toward a planned move to South Portland by securing insurance on a $3.6 million loan to buy the new, larger facility.
The Finance Authority of Maine said Monday it approved 90% pro rata insurance on a loan from Mascoma Bank to help finance the purchase. Mascoma is a mutual bank headquartered in Lebanon, N.H., with a Portland office.
With the move, reported by Mainebiz last October, Fork Food Lab aims to add more members as well as three employees to the current staff of six. The new location, at 95-97 Darling Ave. in South Portland, would accommodate up to 90 members in 42,000 square feet of space, roughly eight times the size of the current site in the West Bayside neighborhood of Portland.
The loan insurance "is an important piece of the finance puzzle," Fork Food Lab Executive Director Bill Seretta told Mainebiz on Monday. "We need to complete the equity investment piece and are still tracking for a closing by the end of April and a move-in date in late 2022 after we complete renovations."
FAME’s commercial loan insurance program supports lending to businesses by participating financial institutions and investment firms. For a startup, the insurance sometimes means the difference between obtaining capital or never starting up at all.
“FAME is pleased to help finance Fork Food Labs’ relocation to a larger commercial space, which will enable them to grow and accommodate their members’ needs,” said David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System, who chairs FAME's board.
“Greater Portland’s food industry has experienced significant growth over the past decade and Fork Food Labs provides a critical starting point for many businesses seeking to launch their operations without investing large amounts of capital upfront.”
Fork Food Lab is Maine’s only food business incubator and shared production facility, and provides entrepreneurs with workspace, equipment, and access to locally sourced ingredients for the development of new products. The membership-based organization has helped with the start-up and scale-up of some 120 companies.
The incubator also plans to use a $750,000 federal grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year, to add staff and help members expand ahead of the planned move.
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