Cameron County Chamber Open House Held Wedensday

Cameron County Chamber of Commerce hosted an open house for the funders of the $650,000 innovation center in downtown Emporium. The facility once housed the popular Cabin Kitchen. The Cameron County Chamber of Commerce Foundation purchased the building in February and has been focused on renovating the kitchen area into a state of the art incubator kitchen.

Chamber officials say four individuals/businesses have completed a user request form reserving 20 hours per week at the facility. The kitchen incubator features induction cooking, a flash freezer, three convection ovens, a proofer and equipment for packaging items. The funding for the renovations to the kitchen and equipment came from USDA and West Penn Energy Fund.

The multi-tenant facility with a focus on economic development is now home to the chamber office, artisan center, CareerLink, Northern Pennsylvania Regional College and WLEM/WQKY. Executive Director Tina Solak says sweat equity with countless volunteer hours, and local contractors made the renovations to the facility. “Rick Vassallo, Rhino Flooring, Graham Electric, Scott Burnside and the Emporium Borough maintenance crew deserve the credit for the transformation since February”, according to Solak. Funding came from FY23 Federal Appropriations (HUD), Seneca Resources, DCED, George A and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation, and Sylvan Heritage Council.

During the private open house Solak says funders got to see how the money was spent and forge new relationships with those in attendance. Plans are underway for more ServSafe, business planning and culinary classes open to the public including students at Cameron County High School. US Congressman Glenn Thompson and State Representative Martin Causer addressed the 40 people in attendance, praising the vision of the chamber to make an economic impact in the rural community.

The public is invited to stop in Monday-Saturday during open hours to tour the facility. Another open house is planned for September for home bakers/makers to see the equipment and explore opportunities to grow their businesses.