Three small businesses that graduated from Spaceworks Tacoma now share the same downtown block at South 11th Street and Fawcett Avenue. The incubator program threw a street party to mark it.

Tacoma Knife Sharpening and Mercantile, Civic Roasters and Hive Provisions and Refillery held a triple grand opening celebration, as first reported by the Tacoma Weekly. A section of the street was blocked off for a mini creator market.

It is only the second time Spaceworks has organized a multi-business grand opening. The first was in 2014, when four businesses opened along the same stretch.

"I was like, okay, we need to do something to celebrate this. There's three businesses all hyper located in that strip," said Jennifer English, Spaceworks program director.

English said the 2014 event featured her own business, SPUN Clay Arts Studio, alongside Monopoly Entertainment, Tshirt Men and Sound Concrete.

Who's on the block

Tacoma Knife Sharpening and Mercantile arrived first, roughly two years ago. Chef Stephen Gangl and potter Sarah Woodson run the kitchen goods shop, which offers knife sharpening services, a Knife Sharpening 101 class and a Little Free Cookbook Library.

Civic Roasters, owned by Benita Ki, opened its first brick-and-mortar location in late 2025. Ki serves single-origin, hand-roasted coffee from fair-trade and organic farms and donates a portion of proceeds to community organizations. The shop also employs formerly incarcerated women.

Hive Provisions and Refillery, owned by Michele Jones, was the last to join. The store opened Aug. 15 at 504 S. 11th St., Suite B. Jones stocks books, clothing, household goods and local art alongside a refillery bar where customers bring reusable containers for bath, skin and hair-care products. The store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and closed Monday.

Jones previously operated a version of the business called Hive Co. on South Tacoma Way starting in 2023, but closed about a year and a half later after her lease was not renewed, The News Tribune reported in August.

Why alumni cluster

English said Spaceworks graduates tend to land near each other. The reason is practical. Alumni can verify a decent landlord through the network and lean on neighbors who share similar entrepreneurial experiences.

A previous cluster on MLK Way included Wright 253, Fab-5, Tacoma Tool Library and The N. Dybevik Piano Company. Wright 253 and the Tool Library have since relocated to the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch.

The incubator's track record

Spaceworks launched in 2010 as a joint initiative of the City of Tacoma and the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber to fill vacant downtown storefronts with creative businesses. The program has produced more than 490 alumni. English said 80 to 82 percent of those businesses are still operating, down from roughly 90 percent before the pandemic.

The program's next cohort begins Oct. 27. Applications closed Sunday, Sept. 27. Spaceworks values the training at more than $17,000 per participant.