Hygge coworking announced today that it will purchase Advent Coworking, which it will turn into its fifth location in Charlotte. Advent’s single location has operated in the Belmont neighborhood since 2015 and is home to hundreds of businesses, including Queen City Nerve.
Advent Coworking’s space will add 28,000-square-feet, 84 private offices, five meeting rooms, a podcast studio, a yoga studio, and an event space to hygge’s current offerings. After surviving the brunt of the pandemic, Advent expanded its space in 2021, adding 4,700 square feet of space on the second floor of 933 Louise Ave., where Advent is located.
After welcoming his first child in 2021, Advent founder and owner Kevin Giriunas moved to Asheville in early 2022 and has been supporting his team of three remotely since then.
“My life has morphed and evolved in ways I never could have imagined through the pandemic, raising a toddler, and moving to Asheville,” Giriunas stated in a press release announcing the sale. “This is immensely difficult for me, but in order to best support the Advent team and our members, I realized it was time for me to step away. Hygge acquiring Advent will expand our members’ benefits, allow more career growth for the Advent team, and continue to push coworking to new heights in Charlotte and beyond.”
Giriunas said other entrepreneurs and investors have approached him about the space, but he wanted to ensure that the coworking business model continued and his members weren’t displaced. At that point, he turned to Hygge Coworking founder and owner Garrett Tichy.
“Both business owners are champions of supporting local businesses and wanted to see the coworking space continue to grow under local operation,” the release read.
Tichy also launched hygge coworking in 2015, just a month before Advent opened. Hygge began with a flagship location on Westmere Avenue near Bank of America Stadium, then grew to become one of the largest independently owned and operated coworking spaces in the country.
The current hygge membership of more than 500 people will nearly double once Advent’s current membership of more than 300 people become part of hygge on May 1.
Hygge has locations throughout west Charlotte as well as one in Camp North End. As well as office space, the company offers meeting spaces, a podcast studio, a gym called FIT at its Remount Road location and a retail collective called Lokal at Camp North End.
The new location is located inside 933 Hub, which was repurposed from a factory that was built in 1945 and originally housed Jack’s Cookie Company, which was acquired by Murray Bakery, which became Keebler, which in turn was purchased by Kellogg’s. Factory workers produced Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies, Austin Sandwich Snack Cookies, and Frosted Animal Cookies.
The 933 Hub compound is also home to Paper Plane Market & Deli, Catawba Brewing Co., The Barrell Room, The Actor’s Studio and BATL axe-throwing venue.
In Friday’s release, Tichy said he was immediately intrigued upon hearing from Giriunas.
“I have a lot of respect for the business Kevin has created and the work he’s done to support the Charlotte community,” Tichy stated in the release. “This seemed like a logical way to grow the Hygge Coworking brand in the current real estate climate.”
Advent Coworking will operate under Hygge’s name and branding. While the sale becomes official on May 1, in an email to Advent members on Thursday Giriunas said he expects current Advent members to have access to all Hygge locations by early June.
Two of Advent’s full-time employees will remain on staff and be offered positions with Hygge Coworking. A third full-time employee had planned a transition out of the business prior to the sale. The new location will eventually staff seven people. Giriunas will move on from the business and looks forward to exploring new ventures in Asheville.
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