With the news that the Piedmont Food and Agricultural Processing Center is becoming a private nonprofit, Orange County’s initial support for the center can be labeled a successful investment.
The center acts as an incubator to incipient businesses, providing services such as consulting and training to combat problems that often keep fledgling businesses from taking off.
The center, which until now also received county funds, will now support itself solely on hourly member fees that are reasonably priced, going as low as $15/hr.
As the face of Franklin Street becomes increasingly covered with nation-wide franchises such as Waffle House, there is a true need for local businesses to retain a presence in the area.
The center will help businesses and farms that do not have the resources of national franchises to develop their products.
The services of the center also coincide with recent popular support for food trucks in Chapel Hill.
Though there has been a movement to relax certain requirements for food trucks, they must still have a permanent facility or commissary to store food and dump waste. Baguettaboutit, currently Chapel Hill’s only food truck, runs its operations out of the center.
The departure from county support will ensure further success for the center. By foregoing county funding, the center will also be released from county control, allowing it to make decisions autonomously.
Franklin Street will always see restaurant turnover, but thanks to the county’s investment in the center, it may not become a revolving door of corporate franchises.
