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Incubator kitchens help those on a tight budget to develop their concept

Jul 19, 2011

Many food entrepreneurs have great ideas, are expert chefs but have a modest budget. This leaves many trying to think of ways to stretch their budget while still doing what they love. Food trucks have become a haven for such people as their much-lower-than-average overhead helps turn a profit. Same for those prepared food sellers at farmers markets. So, if you don’t have a food-truck or rent a retail space, and don’t have hundreds of thousands in capital to build a full commercial kitchen, where can you prepare and cook your food? You certainly can’t cook from your home kitchen as it will not meet state safety requirements.

Incubator kitchens to the rescue.

Also known as culinary incubators or “kitchens for hire,” incubator kitchens are state certified and inspected commercial kitchens available 24 hours. The cost? The fully-equipped space can be rented for only about $15-75 an hour. Renters can even have ingredients delivered to the kitchen and stored. Even better is the atmosphere– kitchen managers are like business advisors, lending valuable advice on marketing, business plans while fellow users are like a community of entrepreneurs lending support and guidance.

Some people are still unaware of such gems. For example, The Chef’s Commercial Kitchens Co-op opened in Los Angeles has been around since 1984. But unfortunately, there are still not many around there across the nature.

 

Recently, Synergy Consultants had teamed up with LYFE Kitchen, headed by former McDonald’s President, Mike Roberts, to develop a fantastic concept: affordable-health fast food chain. Utilizing incubator kitchens (we used Logan Square Kitchen) was just one method we used to facilitate testing new menu ideas and other concepts before rolling them out and determining their viability.

Synergy has over 20 years experience in helping new concepts come to life. Please contact us for more information on concept development or assistance with commercial kitchens.