The HIVE 2.0, arguably one of Anacostia's "buzziest" workspaces, has added at least half a dozen new members in the past few weeks. The coming weeks will bring D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray's first visit, a roundtable discussion with D.C. Councilman Tommy Wells and the opening of Nurish Café in the upper level of the building. The space also hosted a wedding on New Year's Day, something that Nikki Peele, managing director of the The HIVE 2.0, calls "a coworking first."
"How many incubators can say that they have hosted a wedding?" Peele laughs. One of her members booked the conference room and invited 75 people to her nuptials, a move that Peele calls "smart and frugal."
Just as a new couple wants to stay together, Peele says that keeping HIVE members together was part of the reason for closing The HIVE 1.0 in 2013. "I didn't want to have the membership split [between two locations]," she explains. "The intention all along was to have one space. We rented the first building; we own the one we're in now."
Roughly 50 percent of The HIVE 1.0 members moved into The HIVE 2.0. The new members bring the grand total of HIVE members to roughly 60. Just a few of the newest members to join the coworking space include:
Aloetree Kids, a line of baby and children's clothing created by Anbinh Phan that sources organic and fair-trade materials and donates a portion of its profits to combat child trafficking in Cambodia;
AYA Consulting, founded by Jehiel Oliver, a financial consulting firm focused on alleviating poverty in marginalized communities internationally; and
Democracy Builders, a nonprofit organization out of New York that helps parents advocate for higher quality schools.
The Campaign to Elect Andy Shallal Mayor has also set up shop at The HIVE 2.0.
In addition to the new members, Peele is excited for the opening of
Nurish Food + Drink, a new cafe partially funded by "crowdlending" site Clovest and operated by Kera Carpenter, who has operated
DOMKU in Petworth for eight years. "She'll have her own café, and other restaurants will rotate and pop-up in her space."
"A lot of the focus [in D.C.] is on bigger, sexier incubators like Affinity Lab and 1776," Peele continues. "You don't hear as much about The HIVE and East of the River." That, she believes, should change. "Things that we've been planning for a year are starting to sprout now."