Happy Anniversary Baby!

Smallman Galley, a URA-supported food hall and restaurant incubator, recently celebrated its one-year anniversary!

The URA provided a $150,000 loan to help fund Smallman Galley’s opening in December 2015. URA Entrepreneurship Investment Specialist Jeni Cooper worked with Smallman Galley co-owners Tyler Benson and Ben Mantica to provide the loan. The money was used to replace an HVAC system and working capital.

“It was truly a pleasure to work with Ben and Tyler. They came to me with such a unique business model – four separate kitchens, each operated individually by a chef, and yet all working together under the same roof – and I’m so glad the URA was part of making it possible,” Cooper said.

When Smallman Galley first kicked off last year, four aspiring chefs assumed their place in the food hall to serve the public delicious dishes from their own restaurant kitchens. Over time this allowed them to refine their cooking skills and gain business insight in hopes of eventually running their own restaurants.

This spring will bring a turnover of new chefs. Benson and Mantica will hold a cooking demonstration in March in order to select four out of eight finalists to start in June. The new chefs will attend weekly training sessions while running restaurants over the course of 18 months.

As for the first round of chefs, two are accelerating into their own establishments, one will be working as a partner in a new restaurant, and the other will be taking an executive chef position in Pittsburgh. Congrats!

Since Smallman Galley’s opening, Cooper has worked with the chefs to provide information regarding URA financing programs to potentially assist them as they move on to their next venture.

In the past year, Smallman Galley has been able to create 25 new jobs with six jobs conceived out of each restaurant. That’s a whopping total of 49 new jobs.

Smallman Galley is located at 2016 Smallman Street in the Strip District.