Renaissance small business resource center opens in Half Moon Bay
Local officials, workforce development leaders and entrepreneurs celebrated the opening of the new Opportunity Center of the Coastside in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Half Moon Bay’s Main Street on Thursday evening. The center’s main goal is to provide job training, host informational sessions for small businesses and incubate potential startups in the coast.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses that relied on regular foot traffic and tourism struggled on the Coatside when they were forced to shut down.
Half Moon Bay City Manager Matthew Chidester, who grew up in the Coastside, said in a speech that during the recovery from COVID-19, he knew it was time to diversify the community, the economy and become more resilient.
“Working with our partners in the community, we started the Coastal Recovery Initiative,” said Chidester. “We brought in a group of fabulous residents from all across every sector, every community, every background to really help shape what we hope will become the future of the coastal economy and quality of life for our residents.”
What culminated in the Coastal Recovery Initiative was a report that had a series of actionable recommendations to start changing the future. The first item was to build a center where someone could getjob seeker support, business development support and entrepreneurial support.
Luckily, San Mateo County had opened an Economic Opportunity Center in South San Francisco and Redwood City. Each center has their own style since each center is meant to reflect their community.
“We were at the county trying to figure out how best to invest these dollars, we wanted to help communities and families get back on their feet after all of the disruptions of the pandemic, especially on the coastside,” said Justin Mates, a deputy executive with the San Mateo County. “But we also wanted to find ways to maybe get us better and put us in a better place than we were before the pandemic.”
$2.5 million dollars in pandemic relief funds are supporting programming at the Opportunity Center. Organizations that will be functioning in the center include the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber, Renaissance Entrepreneur Center, JobTrain and Coastside Venture Studios.
At the end of the speeches from leaders that included Renaissance CEO Sharon Miller, obTrain CEO Barrie Hathaway, American Energy President Eric Vettel (who oversees the business incubator at Coastside Venture Studios), representatives of the office of US Rep. Anna Eshoo and San Mateo County District 3 Supervisor Ray Mueller, Half Moon Bay Mayor Joaquin Jimenez announced that he is a client of the services provided by the center.
“Last year I actually became a client of the Renaissance Center – I started my own business,” said Jimenez. “JobTrain, I have to learn about them. And as I read, I became interested – ‘let me see if I have the qualifications to take that job’ and I became the regional director for JobTrain.”
Nonprofit organizations that help small businesses, like Renaissance, are speaking out alongside small business owners as they make a plea to state lawmakers to preserve vital services.