This shared-use kitchen space is helping food entrepreneurs grow their businesses

Mary Madookz Muse has been involved in the Philly food scene for years From prepping pies and desserts for various restaurants to being a general manager of a local Tropical Smoothie Cafe she has built a strong architecture I am a food safety ServSafe Proctor and instructor and I also owned a food truck previously she explained As a Philly chef Muse stated it was vital for her to have a dedicated space to create cook and store her products This is where Alonzo Coates came in A Penn State economics graduate who formerly worked in mortgage consulting and healthcare facilities management Coates saw a need for commercial kitchens in the Philly area Thus was born Kitchen Korners located off Bustleton Avenue in Northeast Philly I just love to see that smile on the client s face and know that they feel good about doing the right thing and being able to prosper he stated Muse was one of Kitchen Korners first clients She mentioned this commercial kitchen is different from other ones in the city Specific of the other commercial kitchens in the city there s so a great number of people there and there s a possibility of losing transaction secrets and of losing equipment she commented But his is so private you could come in and really have the time to focus and create your product and your presentations Mary Madookz Muse was able to use Kitchen Korners to perfect her products Photo courtesy of Mary Madookz Muse The space Kitchen Korners opened in following zoning permit and COVID- challenges Coates explained over the past three years the space has welcomed different types of clients We ve got the manufacturing clients the caterers the startup businesses and the food truck clients he commented While various clients have well-established businesses and need a space to prepare their goods others are working on their future ambitions he explained We have clients who dream of one day having their own food business he noted There are also people who have dreamed that one day they will have their food items in Whole Foods or Acme The space hosts a multitude of kinds of clients Coates explained Photo courtesy of Alonzo Coates Coates announced multiple of his younger clients have driven the need and demand for this type of space As times change and the Millennial population and the Gen Z population like the - to -year-old range there they have different requirements and wants in terms of food products he stated There are more fresh or farm items and these populations are willing to try more gourmet types of foods or different types of exotic ingredients It leads to this type of movement And because of that people want to create food products and they need a space that would allow them to do that Coates reported hosting clients in this space is mutually beneficial He enjoys the experience of elevating new business owners while he takes care of legal and insurance-focused paperwork and standards for the space I love the idea of helping a new client build their business from the beginning he mentioned My goal is to create a millionaire out of that building space The relationship between Muse and Coates has provided benefit in both directions He helped her grow her business and exposure and she was able to help with the start of the kitchen I was able to arrangement with Alonso and help him address through specific of the barricades and requirements that you might need to start your business with a commercial kitchen in Philadelphia she stated Philadelphia has selected of the strictest policies for food safety which is good for us because that means that you re getting good safe food The space is unique Muse stated Photo courtesy of Alonzo Coates Muse announced she was able to bake a cake for the Phillies home opener this season that she and Coates attended She commented this connection is one unique way Coates helps his clients through exposure It was just the fact that the owner of the Phillies noted I like your desserts she commented There s no other better endorsement than having someone share their different spaces or entrepreneurial relationships with you Muse has been able to create various different desserts for different occasions Photo courtesy of Mary Madookz Muse Beyond the kitchen Outside of his kitchen space Coates sells gourmet cookies to Black Turtle Coffee in Center City Philadelphia He stated this has led him to get more involved in the dessert industry Because of the success of the cookies I ve decided that ice cream and the water ice and cold treats industry is where I m going he revealed So I ve got various designs already created and waiting on particular zoning to go through and if that happens I m hoping by the spring of to have that Coates also is aiming to open up a retail space next to his shared-use kitchen He hopes this can be used to sell his and other food entrepreneurs goods Additionally Coates plans to start a food nonprofit to teach kids about the culinary industry We ll have teachers in there who will help kids with getting their food safety certificate and getting them to understand food protection he disclosed And then if they want to be chefs we can teach them in the kitchen or if they want to learn how to make water ice and ice cream there will be opportunities for that For Muse there are more opportunities on the horizon as well She announced she is partnering with several restaurants outside of Philly cooking desserts for their spaces Additionally she is working on getting her products into supermarkets including ShopRite In the meantime she commented she is grateful for Kitchen Korners as it gives her a space to create these products You know that your food is safe there she disclosed You have individual freezer space You know that no one else is coming in there and touching your product You can lock things up and put things away There is a private element to this commercial kitchen which makes his commercial kitchen more unique than any other commercial kitchen space in the city The post This shared-use kitchen space is helping food entrepreneurs grow their businesses appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY