Middlesboro Main Street hosted a “Jingle & Mingle” on Monday evening inside of The Tradesmen, their new small business incubator space located at 1911 Cumberland Avenue.

Middlesboro Main Street Director Celia Shoffner and the Main Street Board hosted guests at the new venue and also spoke about what they have accomplished this year as well as some of the things planned for 2025.

Shoffner explained that the Tradesmen will serve as a retail space for prospective small business owners. They can put a sampling of their products on display without the costs of renting a whole store or hiring sales employees. A full-time person will man the store and assist customers.

“This will give our clients the opportunity to make a low risk test run to see if downtown Middlesboro might be the right place for them to open a larger business,” Shoffner explained. “We’re looking for prospective business owners to try this space out and in the back we have a conference room with screens and all of the connections that can be used if a high-tech business would like to give it a try.”

The Tradesmen was funded through a $100,000 Small Business Incubator Grant from The Hartford.