Library Partners with HATCH to run South Huntsville Café

  • Posted on: 9 August 2021
  • By: Melanie Thornton

Meet our new friends.....

 

 

The Library announces partnership with HATCH

Workforce program will run café at the new South Huntsville Public Library

 

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library announced today that HATCH, Huntsville’s new hospitality workforce training program, will run a full service café at the new South Huntsville Public Library, opening next month.

 

“We are so excited about this partnership,” said Cindy Hewitt, HMCPL’s Executive Director. “One of HMCPL’s focus areas is increasing workforce trainings through our libraries and this partnership with HATCH is a natural fit, as we have similar missions.”

 

HATCH is a nonprofit organization that offers an eight-week job training program that combines life skills workshops and industry-standard culinary and hospitality training to empower youth to lead self-sufficient lives. Trainees work with a professional chef, receive one-on-one job coaching, mental health support, and gain personal finance and workforce readiness skills all while earning a stipend.

 

"This partnership exemplifies what community is all about," said Garrett Coyne, HATCH’s co-founder. "The new South Huntsville Library will be a pillar of the community for generations and Hatch is grateful to play a small role in that." The cafe will be named the HATCH Café at South Huntsville.

 

The first cohort of HATCH students starts on August 16. Students from the program will prepare some of the food and will be given the opportunity to work in the café during the program as an externship. Exact operational hours will be announced at a later date, but the café is expected to be open earlier than the library to serve customers during commuting times.


HATCH co-founders Beth Boyer (left) and Garrett
Coyne  (center) stand with HATCH Chef
Ruth Mercado at the new Hatch Cafe,
located inside of the South Huntsville Library.

Menu highlights include a variety of salads, wraps, coffee drinks, kid-friendly bento boxes and homemade cookies.

 

"While developing the menu we've been very mindful of how to best serve our customers," said HATCH Chef Ruth Mercado. ”Our kid's bento box perfect for a quick snack is one example of that.”

 

The new South Huntsville Public Library is located at 7901-L Bailey Cove Road and is expected to open within the first two weeks of September.  The Bailey Cove Branch Library’s staff and collection are moving into the new library to begin set up next week.

 

For more information on HATCH, including on how to apply to the program, visit hatchhsv.com