by Alex Jones
Kitchen shares give food entrepreneurs access to low-cost, commercial-scale equipment at a location with flexible hours. So whether you want to be a private chef, a caterer or a producer of a commercial product, these kitchens will help you get a food business going. They can even assist with marketing, networking and distribution.
Center for Culinary Enterprise (CCE)
Location: West Philadelphia
Year founded: 2012
West Philadelphia’s Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprise, a project of The Enterprise Center, provides invaluable business development support—as well as access to kitchen and event space rentals, access to capital and help connecting with wholesale buyers—to fledgling food businesses from all over the city.
Artisan Exchange
Location: West Chester
Year founded: 2015
The Artisan Exchange takes the shared kitchen model one step further, promoting business growth by also offering distribution services to wholesale accounts all over the Philly metro area and a weekly year-round farmers market for food artisans—from granola makers to coffee roasters—to showcase their wares.
“Spruce Hill Preserves wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t discovered the CCE. They also offer entrepreneurs an opportunity to network and collaborate with other small businesses and organizations, thus building their own companies while helping to strengthen the small business community.”
—Molly Haendler, Spruce Hill Preserves
