Cozy bakery storefront with neon sign — Mockups of the future space for Batter & Bloom. (A Logan Designs)

A new community-rooted food retail incubator is coming to Birmingham.

Batter & Bloom aims to help early-stage food entrepreneurs and hospitality talent, grow, test and sustain brick-and-mortar businesses while expanding fresh food access in local neighborhoods.

The initiative is designed as a place-based economic development strategy to lower the barriers that keep small businesses from securing permanent retail space, particularly in under-resourced communities.

What Batter & Bloom brings to the table

Polaris BHM / Regions — Alycia Levels-Moore is the founder of Batter & Bloom. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

Founded by Alycia Levels-Moore, Batter & Bloom operates as a front-door program within Vanguard Development Collective’s economic development ecosystem. The incubator functions as a regional food hub by connecting:

Local farmers to local food businesses
Food businesses to a trained hospitality workforce
Families to fresh food

To support emerging concepts, the program offers accessible retail environments that reduce the financial risk of launching a physical location, alongside mentorship focused on business operations and technical assistance.

“Batter & Bloom was born from the belief that when you pour into people and places, communities bloom. Food is more than what’s on a plate; it creates connection, opportunity and healing. At the intersection of food, place, and economic growth, we are creating pathways for entrepreneurs to rise, neighborhoods to thrive and access to fresh food to expand across Birmingham.”
Alycia Levels-Moore, founder of Batter & Bloom

Additionally, Batter & Bloom is currently participating in Shipt’s eight-week LadderUp accelerator program to build skills for scaling equitable food access.

Community impact and workforce training

The initiative focuses on long-term sustainability and local job creation through a 16-week workforce development program. Year 1 projections for the incubator include:

Producing 3,000 pounds of fresh food
Distributing 2,100 pounds of food to Birmingham neighborhoods via retail, delivery partnerships, and community events
Expanding fresh food access through Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs