A look inside a kitchen at the new Culinary Enterprises Center in West Philly (Hao Wei Yang)Food entrepreneurs have a new home in West Philadelphia.
This morning, The Enterprise Center (TEC) opened their new Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises—a new initiative aiming to bring together the vibrant local food industry with the thriving green jobs sector.
The 13,000-square-foot center, renovated from a former supermarket, has four licensed, shared-use commercial kitchens (two traditional and two baking), one eKitchen multimedia Learning Center, material storage areas for clients, and retail spaces. The center, which was built with federal grants, loans and foundation funding, will also provide technical and business support to help entrepreneurs develop their products. The ultimate goal of the center is to accelerate local food business and job creation.
“What we want you to see here is not a complete project, but the progress we’ve made,” said Della Clark, TEC president, at the ribbon cutting. “We want this place to become the lighthouse for job creation.”
The four kitchens in the center will be available for rental on a 24/7 basis. The rent is $22 to $27 an hour, depending on clients’ needs. The goal is to provide entrepreneurs a convenient and affordable space to develop their products. “One of our responsibilities is to help entrepreneurs at all levels and we are here to serve the community,” said Sameer Khetan, TEC director of development.
The center has already attracted two local retailers and several clients. The retailers are Lahori Cuisine, which will be the first genuine Pakistani restaurant in West Philadelphia, and Cafe Injera, a sit-down, Ethiopian eatery. Clients include C&D Catering, Really Fresh Vegan and Nutrition Carts.
The center is located at 310 S. 48th Street. Learn more, including how to become a member, at philafood.net/wp/
