Utah is a great place to start a business — the best, in fact, according to Seek Capital.
If you are an entrepreneur with an idea for a business, this is the place to be. Of course, that doesn’t mean that starting a new business is easy, especially if you want to get into the food industry.
Starting with a passion for delicious food and translating it into a profitable business is a costly endeavor. Without the capital for an expensive commercial kitchen, it can be hard to get off the ground.
Community Action Services and Food Bank is working to bridge the gap for food entrepreneurs with a low-cost commercial kitchen: The Potluck. With hourly rates based on income and amenities to suit food wizards of every kind, The Potluck has helped entrepreneurs transform their dreams from ideas to delicious reality.
Here’s how The Potluck has made a difference for two local food companies:
Omanee Foods, LLC
Omanee Foods began with a family kimchi recipe that couldn’t be beat. Owner Taylor Roberts loved his mother-in-law’s recipes and wanted to share them. Unfortunately, he needed a commercial kitchen to get started whipping up kimchi and other foods for the masses. Rental rates were expensive, as were catering businesses.
Roberts’ former day job was as an accountant, and he wanted to get his business started the right way, without cutting corners. When he came across The Potluck, he found a commercial kitchen that could suit his needs, with flexible pricing and hours to accommodate his needs.
“If you’re looking to get into the food business, you need to keep it by the book and follow state laws,” Roberts says. “In Utah, The Potluck kitchen allows small businesses to do that without blowing their entire budget.”
Roberts said the kitchen has given him the ability to experiment with different recipes and work on his manufacturing process. Not only that, but he felt right at home among other entrepreneurs who shared similar goals. The kitchen is open for companies of all kinds, with most of its operating hours dedicated to businesses like Omanee Foods and The Pie Tin Bakery.
The Pie Tin Bakery
In Utah County, you can find a business offering a variety of sweets on just about every corner. One thing baker Kanani Carmack didn’t see much of was dedicated pie shops. Carmack couldn’t let the public suffer without homemade pies, so she got to work baking. Like Roberts, however, she found she needed a good commercial kitchen to do the work correctly. Enter The Potluck.
Carmack heard of The Potluck before starting her business, so she knew just where to turn for her needs. The Potluck kitchen is a baker’s dream, with a double-deck oven that can handle 100 miniature pies at once. So she has no problem whipping up lemon, strawberry rhubarb, chocolate with coconut pudding, and s’mores pies. She’s found it to be the ideal place to get a business like hers off the ground.
“I absolutely love making my pies,” she says. “Every pie I make is made with love. Community Action has given me the foundation to pursue my passion.”
The Potluck is intended to serve entrepreneurs for a year, after which their needs are reassessed. It has the resources to assist various food businesses, whether foods are intended to first end up on store shelves, like Omanee Foods, or go directly in mouths, like The Pie Tin Bakery. The kitchen has been a great starting point for companies like Omanee Foods and The Pie Tin Bakery and can provide a foundation for success as they move on to grow their companies.
May 23, 2021 at 09:00PM
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Community Action Services: Starting a food business is easy as pie with The Potluck - Daily Herald
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