NewBo City Market

What NewBo City Market does

NewBo City Market is a non-profit community market and equitable business incubator founded in 2008 and located in the New Bohemia (NewBo) neighborhood of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It operates as a physical marketplace and community gathering space that hosts local vendors, artisans, and food producers, while also delivering accessible public programming intended to support local economic development. The organization frames itself as an equitable business incubator, suggesting wraparound support services for entrepreneurs from underrepresented or resource-constrained backgrounds, alongside retail and event activity.

The organization currently operates with a small team of 1-10 employees and has been pursuing a material expansion financed primarily through public and philanthropic grants. In 2024, it secured a $1.3 million grant from the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration and a $500,000 grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority, both earmarked for facility improvements and expansion that are expected to add approximately 40 jobs. Additional grant support has come from the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation ($25,000 in May 2025) and The Iowa Women's Foundation ($25,000 in 2022). Leadership is provided by Executive Director Scott Wilson.

Its business model combines community-market operations (likely including vendor stall rentals, retail of local goods, and event hosting) with grant-funded capital and programmatic activity. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no structured product portfolio, technology stack, or proprietary software offering is identified in the available data. The organization's revenue mechanics therefore rely on a mix of small-scale self-generated operating income and substantial grant-based funding, with no equity capital structure, making it functionally a publicly and philanthropically subsidized community asset rather than a revenue-driven enterprise.

Name

NewBo City Market

Website

https://newbocitymarket.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NewBo City Market is a non-profit community market and equitable business incubator in the New Bohemia neighborhood of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. It operates a physical marketplace and gathering space for local vendors, artisans, and residents, supported primarily by government and foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Public Market

NAICS

All Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (71399), Other Amusement and Recreation Industries (7139)

SIC

Retail-Misc General Merchandise Stores (5399), Retail-Variety Stores (5331), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Neighborhood & Community Markets/Pop-Ups (Community-Led Bazaars) (MPAGAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Vertical/Specialty Marketplaces (BPAMAGAB), Community/Neighborhood C2C Marketplaces (CRAFAKAK), Local Community & Multi-Category Fairs (MPAGAFAO)

Keywords

• Community public market
• Local vendor marketplace
• Business incubator space
• Community gathering venue
• Public market programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Cedar Rapids

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Community Market Operations: Operating as a city market likely involves vendor stall rentals, retail sales of local goods, and community event hosting.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

NewBo City Market operates a physical community marketplace in the New Bohemia neighborhood of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing equitable business incubation, accessible public programming, and a community gathering space. The market hosts local vendors and artisans who sell goods on-site, and serves as a venue for community events and public programming for local residents and visitors.

Product overview

NewBo City Market is a physical marketplace and community hub, likely operating as a food hall, farmers market venue, or retail market space in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Based on the grant funding information, the market focuses on community food access, local vendor support, and job creation. No structured product portfolio or technology offerings were identified in the available source data.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Vendor Stall Rentals Rental of retail stall space within the market facility for local vendors, artisans, and food producers to sell their goods directly to consumers.
• Community Event Venue Public programming and event hosting space used for community gatherings, public events, and cultural programming serving Cedar Rapids residents and visitors.
• Business Incubator Program Equitable business incubation services supporting local entrepreneurs and small businesses, particularly women and minority-owned ventures, through access to market space and resources.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pike Place Market: A long-established public market in Seattle operating as a vendor marketplace, community gathering space, and small-business incubator. Directly comparable to NewBo as a multi-vendor public market with mixed food/retail stalls and a community programming mission.
• Reading Terminal Market: Historic public market in Philadelphia hosting independent food vendors, artisans, and farmers. Closely mirrors NewBo's model of curated local vendor stalls combined with public programming in a single facility.
• West Side Market: Cleveland public market operated as a community asset offering vendor stalls, fresh food, and event space. Comparable mid-size city public market with mixed-vendor format and civic redevelopment mission.
• Eastern Market: Detroit's historic public market combining weekend farmers/arts markets with permanent vendor stalls. Closely comparable community market format with nonprofit stewardship and equity-focused programming.
• Soulard Market: St. Louis historic farmers/public market with permanent and rotating vendor stalls serving a Midwestern urban neighborhood. Directly comparable as a long-running neighborhood public market model.
• Findlay Market: Cincinnati's historic public market operating vendor stalls, farmers, and small retailers in a single facility. Comparable neighborhood-anchored community market with mission-driven nonprofit governance and grant-supported capital projects.
• Milwaukee Public Market: Indoor public market in Milwaukee's Third Ward offering local vendor stalls, prepared food, and community events. Similar mid-sized Midwestern public market with curated local-vendor focus and nonprofit-style operations.

Broad incumbents

• Chelsea Market: New York City food and retail hall in a converted industrial building housing vendors, offices, and broadcast tenants. Comparable mixed-vendor marketplace concept but operates at substantially larger commercial and real-estate scale.
• Ferry Building Marketplace: San Francisco waterfront marketplace housing artisanal food and retail vendors. Comparable curated local-vendor marketplace model, but operates at significantly higher commercial scale and tourist capture.
• Grand Central Market: Long-running downtown Los Angeles public market with diverse food and retail vendors. Comparable vendor-stall marketplace model but operates at a much larger commercial scale and tourist-traffic profile.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NewBoCityMarket
• Facebookfacebook.com/NewBoCityMarket
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/newbocitymarket

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors4 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NewBo City Market