It’s been a historic year for the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest so far, with a bigger than ever grand prize of $100,000, a record number of applications, and now five Detroit businesses are moving on to the final round instead of four.
“We had such an incredible interest in this year’s Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest, from the record 444 submissions we received, all the way down to the wire with the fourth and fifth businesses being so close in votes, that we decided to return the vote to the public and present five finalists instead of four,” Vittoria Katanski, executive director of Hatch Detroit, said in a statement. “Hatch Detroit prides itself on highlighting the value of unique, independent retail and turning to city residents for their input. This is the reason we continue to invest so much in Detroit’s ever-growing small business community.”
The five finalists are:
- 27th Letter Books: an independent bookstore and audio recording space.
- Brix Wine and Charcuterie: a wine and small plates gathering place in the Liv/7 neighborhood along with Brix Concierge, a wine curation service.
- ILERA Apothecary: an organic and vegan beauty tech company.
- Street Beet: a vegan comfort food pop-up that aims to open a brick and mortar.
- The French Cow: a pop-up inspired by French cuisine and culture with the goal of a brick and mortar space that will serve crepes, cheese, ice creams, and other French treats.
Public voting runs from now until Oct. 10, and voters have three ways to weigh in:
- Visiting www.hatchdetroit.com/vote
- Visiting Hatch Detroit’s Facebook page
- Voting in-person at the following locations:
- Sister Pie: 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5
- Peso: 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10
The results of the second round of public voting will be taken into account during the final Shark Tank-esque Hatch Off event on Oct. 17.
Previous winners of the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest include Hugh, La Feria, Batch Brewing Company, Sister Pie, Live Cycle Delight, Meta Physica Massage, Baobab Fare, and Toma Detroit.
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