The Community Loan Fund closed on a $20,000 term loan to help Hubbard Hall keep its kitchen facilities, after a beloved cafe on the ground floor closed due to COVID.
In June, Round Hill Bakery, which had occupied the cafe in the historic Cambridge opera house for three years, announced they would not be reopening their restaurant.
The announcement was a sad one; Hubbard Hall and Round Hill Bakery had become a dynamic duo in the village of Cambridge where they frequently partnered on events and fundraisers. The bakery was a good fit for the space, and benefited from theatre traffic. The theatre also benefited from having this community-mind, family-owned business onsite, and Executive Director David Snider notes that the relationship was “symbiotic.”
After the announcement to shutter the cafe, Snider and the board agreed that keeping the kitchen facilities made sense. The organization hopes to attract another restaurant to the space.
The loan was used to purchase the kitchen equipment from Roundhill Bakery to keep the space attractive for the next tenant.
“The Community Loan Fund has been critical to our success, helping us with cashflow in an ever changing funding environment,” says Snider. “Our patrons, students, artists, staff, and board are forever grateful.”
Hubbard Hall is a community arts center, based in an opera house built in 1878. Hubbard is the hub of cultural activity in its area, with dozens of programs and workshops, a critically-acclaimed theatre company and dance program.
Round House Bakery will continue business at its original location at nearby Pompanuck Farm.
