YellowTruck Market, located at 101 East Main Street in the old Bode and Tonn building, held a soft opening on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 and had its grand opening on Thursday, October 21, 2021, at 10 a.m.  This is the first-ever retail incubator in Brenham, and provides new business entrepreneurs training, mentoring and networking opportunities through a two-year program to help them launch a successful business.

YellowTruck Owner/Investor Tiffany McMordie-Morisak partnered with Brenham | Washington County Economic Development and Main Street Brenham to create this program.  She believes it will complement existing shopping opportunities in downtown Brenham to offer items not seen anywhere else.

Seven businesses are participating in the incubator program at launch, ranging from jewelry makers and bakers to merchandise designers, leather or wood crafters, and veteran-owned and minority-owned businesses.  They are Company Five, Krafty Inc, Local Honey Bee Company, Pelayo’s Art and Folk, posey roe, The Butter Stick Bakery, and The COEO.

“Our hope is to grow the next generation of retailers that are going to fill the spaces in our downtown area so that it remains the vibrant retail hub that it is and we can use this as an experiment to gather data on the impact of extended hours on retailers in this incubator space.” Susan Cates, Director of Brenham | Washington County Economic Development

YellowTruck Market will be open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The space includes the retail space at the front of the building, while in the back is a business center that offers individual offices for rent, along with a conference room.

Target participants must be within a 60-mile radius of Brenham and will have established products that they are already selling, whether through local farmers markets or online through avenues like Etsy.  Participants must maintain an internet presence for their business while they are a part of the program, and must take part in a minimum of 10 educational sessions per year.  Cates noted that the sessions are open to all local businesses.

Participants must also hit a series of benchmarks every six months for financial accountability, having a viable business plan and having a launch plan for when they exit the program.  After 24 months, participants “graduate” to launch their business either locally or elsewhere.

Entrepreneurs can learn more about YellowTruck or apply at www.yellowtruckllc.com.