Renton Market operator wants to incubate small businesses downtown

Published 7:30 am Saturday, March 28, 2026

The City of Renton has officially chosen a local operator for the highly-anticipated downtown Renton Market.

At the March 23 Renton City Council meeting, the council gave the mayor and city staff authority to sign a lease with Logan Market LLC to operate the new market under construction on the north side of Third Avenue between Burnett Avenue and Logan Avenue in downtown.

The planned 10-year lease with the company starts in April, and the tenant will begin their improvements of the space for the vendors then.

While the operating company for the market may be new, the face behind the company is no stranger to Renton. The developer and entrepreneur Dave Brethauer and his wife also led the renovation and operation of the Cortona Building in downtown Renton, which is now home to Boon Boona Coffee, Urban Sprouts, The Pencil Test and Ascendance.

“We take an active stewardship role, from maintaining shared spaces to supporting tenant growth, because thriving small businesses are essential to a healthy downtown,” Brethauer said. “I see the Market and Piazza as part of a larger civic effort to create a safe, welcoming, family-friendly destination, a place where people gather not just for commerce, but for connection.”

The market building will have 11,783 square feet of indoor market space, with an outside extension space of 1,766 more square feet. The city intends for the market to operate seven days a week with year-round programming to shift the site from an “intermittent, event-based use to a dependable, regularly occupied destination.”

“A central part of our mission is to create a welcoming and inclusive marketplace that reflects the diversity, creativity and entrepreneurial energy of Renton itself,” Brethauer said. “We are intentionally curating a mix of businesses that represent different cultures, experiences, and price points so that the Market feels accessible, vibrant and relevant to the entire community.”

Businesses that Brethauer is seeking include food producers, specialty culinary concepts, artisans, makers and small-scale entrepreneurs. The market will be implementing a “business incubator strategy,” where the center’s stalls are designed as low-barrier entry for entrepreneurs by providing smaller footprints, shared infrastructure and operational support.

“As part of this mission, vendors will have access to business training, mentorship and resources intended to help them strengthen operations and build long-term success,” Brethauer said. “The goal is to create a pathway where successful businesses can graduate into brick-and-mortar storefronts throughout downtown, contributing to a strong pipeline of locally rooted enterprises.”

Other features of the market will include larger “anchor tenants” on either end of the market as well as a kitchen classroom to serve as a culinary and community resource with chef-led classes and demonstrations. Additionally, Brethauer envisions partnerships with organizations to host storytime programs, kids’ cooking classes, writing workshops and educational programming in the classroom.

Brethauer’s decision to invest in downtown Renton began in 2015 with the purchase of the Cortona Building.

“At the time, downtown had tremendous potential but needed consistent, experience-driven retail to help create walkability and a stronger sense of place,” Brethauer said. “My requirement for every tenant was simple: it had to be experiential. It needed to give people a reason to come downtown, linger and connect.”

Brethauer previously worked with a company that sold craft supplies. He later developed and wholesaled his own line of creative products nationwide.

“My wife and I would load up our kids and our dogs into a van and spend months traveling across the country visiting independent stores we supplied,” Brethauer said. “We offered classes and met hundreds of small business owners who were building community through creativity.”

The way small entrepreneurs created gathering spaces and relationships shaped how Brethauer thought about downtown areas. He said he believed the same model could help revitalize Renton.

“There is a strong, diverse and deeply caring community here. People speak about downtown Renton with pride and hope,” Brethauer said.

Alongside the city, Brethauer renovated the Cortona Building and kept infrastructure costs low with the help of grants, allowing him to keep rents lower for entrepreneurs. He sees the Renton Market as a continuation of that philosophy on a larger scale, by supporting small business incubation, strengthening walkability and activating public space.

“For me, this isn’t just a project. It’s a legacy investment in the future of downtown Renton,” Brethauer said. “The goal isn’t just to create a market, it’s to create an ecosystem where small businesses can start, grow and eventually become the next generation of downtown anchors.”