Incubator kitchen manager position8/28/2023 The Findlay Kitchen Incubator Manager has responsibility for effective management of the 8,000 square foot incubator kitchen facility, inclusive of equipment and regulatory compliance, as well as daily operations and programming. CFFM takes seriously our role as stewards to ensure that Findlay Market remains a vibrant living landmark at the heart of Cincinnati’s future. We’re confident and excited to be working side by side with food entrepreneurs at every stage, supporting them on the road of being sustainable (and delicious) businesses in our own backyard.Findlay Market is not just another historic monument it is an essential institution to life in 21st century Cincinnati. Giving microbusinesses a seat at the table in conversations about policy and removing barriers for food businesses through the capacity of our advocacy program.Leveraging our capital products and programs to support food businesses in every stage of business.Especially packaged foods, through shelf space at our retail incubator, the Ventures Marketplace in the heart of the Pike Place Market. Creating access to markets for our food businesses.Because they had access to affordable commercial kitchen space. Those rentals culminated in revenue totaling $67,126.25 for those entrepreneurs. In 2017, 11 food entrepreneurs rented our commercial kitchen space out a total of 112 times collectively. Providing integral, affordable access to commercial kitchen space.Offering customized coaching, specialized support, and side-by-side navigation of the complex licensing and permitting requirements for food businesses.So where does that leave us? Ventures is still providing a robust toolkit of support for food businesses with a comprehensive approach, all led and managed by Laura Gómez, Ventures’ Food Business Manager. We knew we invest in our programming to provide more effective support without a restaurant on wheels. We were seeing clients succeed in catering, packaged foods, and building out specific festival and farmer’s markets presence. It was very challenging to make the model profitable. Our food truck had to be sold.Ī shared rental model approach wasn’t able to give businesses consistency in location. True incubation is about connecting the businesses we work with every day to new opportunities and communities. Without production and storage space, it’s nearly impossible to scale a food business and grow at a sustainable pace. Access to affordable commercial kitchen space is essential when launching.Whether you are looking at expanding into new locations, playing with a menu change, selling wholesale packaged food, or building a digital marketing strategy, the food industry is constantly pivoting. Food businesses need support every step of the way.Not only are you building a business plan, but you are having to navigate licensing, permitting, and public health requirements outlined by the Washington State Health Code. Then we went back to the drawing board on how we can support our food businesses in the best way possible. We sat down as a team, looked at the data, and reached out to our food entrepreneurs. Our grant deliverables were wrapping up and we had a blank canvas in front of us. These range from packaged products like Doolie’s, to brick and mortar cafés like Miri’s Golden Gardens, to food carts that like El Chito Tamales. It would fund specialized coaching, access to affordable commercial kitchen space, and a food truck that would use a shared model approach to get businesses up and running.Ībout 30% of all of our entrepreneurs have businesses in the food industry. Ventures was in a unique position to support emerging food businesses of all types after receiving a three-year federal grant. The City of Seattle was even implementing a Restaurant Success Program to help local food entrepreneurs expand their businesses. The hyperlocal food craze was attracting eager and passionate people ready to turn a food business idea into a reality. Artisan packaged foods were making big appearances at local grocery stores, farmer’s markets, and festivals. Pop-up restaurants became the place to go. The year was 2014 and the trend of mobile food business was taking off.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |