Cape Cod Culinary Incubator: Too Many Cooks? Not in This Kitchen
Lee Hill had a vision. A vision of a place that would be a source of opportunity, support, and education for the creative minds of the entrepreneurial culinary makers of Cape Cod. A safe space where risks are taken, and ideas are advanced. In 2013, Hill established the Commercial Kitchen Cooperative of Cape Cod (CKC3), a non-profit organization for small business owners and would-be owners to craft and sell their products. CKC3 would eventually transform into the Cape Cod Culinary Incubator (CCCI), and in June of this year, open the doors to its first shared commercial kitchen space within the new KAM Appliances building in Hyannis. Sadly, Hill passed away before the realization of his vision.
For the fledgling business owner, the challenges to bring an idea to life can be daunting and often stop people before they even begin. The road from “Mmmm, these are great! You should sell these professionally!” to actually doing it is a long one for a potential food business. The Cape Cod Culinary Incubator strives to make that road as smooth as possible.
The early years were marked by overcoming numerous roadblocks. Chief among them, as with all nascent non-profit organizations, was funding. It takes a lot of dough to make a shared kitchen rise, and the prospects brightened when KAM Appliances got involved by allowing the CCCI to use its display kitchens as a fundraising tool in the form of cooking classes at their former location at the corner of Yarmouth Road and Route 28 in Hyannis. Classes alone were not going to meet the need, so grant funding was sought. The CCCI did receive some small grants, but they were focused on providing cooking classes to kids, and adult culinary skills training to help supply the local hospitality industry with qualified personnel. None went to the desired goal of backing a local shared kitchen space.
It was around this time when Linda Davey, doing her own research about launching a food product, first became aware of the CCCI. “I was looking for a local kitchen and realized they didn’t have one yet. They needed help,” she remembers. “So, I took my background in food and marketing and decided to volunteer and join the Board [of Directors].” Now President of the CCCI Board, Linda explains the major leap in good fortune for the organization. “As we were looking for a space, KAM Appliances was designing their new building (to be built at 6 Aggregate Way off of Attucks Way in Hyannis), they graciously agreed to put this space in for us.”
The Gralton family, owners of KAM Appliances, know a thing or two about running a small business. Starting out with a small storefront in Hyannis, KAM Appliances has grown to three locations in Hyannis, Hanover and Nantucket. “They [the Graltons] recognized what the Incubator was trying to do in helping small businesses get established,” says Sarah Richardson, Sales and Marketing Manager for KAM Appliances. When word came that the Commonwealth was going to take KAM’s Hyannis property by eminent domain, the search was on for a new location. It was also decided that wherever that spot would be, it would also include space for CCCI. “None of us had any experience with laying out a commercial kitchen, or what appliances to put in it,” she laughs. “KAM is all residential. We don’t handle commercial equipment.” Sarah and her team rolled up their sleeves and laid out the space of nearly 2000 square feet and, with the assistance from suppliers and some further grant money, filled it with just about any piece of kitchen apparatus a small food business could need. Construction took two years, and the KAM Hyannis showroom opened in January of 2022. CCCI was able to open their doors six months later on June 1. “We now have this wonderful, brand-new kitchen that KAM built for us, and has agreed to lease to us for as long as we need it,” Davey enthuses. The dues paid by incubator members using the kitchen will pay off construction of the space over time. “This is totally for the community,” Richardson proudly states.
Just walking into the kitchen triggers an urge to get making. A set of racks inside the door holds a wide assortment of hand tools. Whisks, spatulas, colanders and strainers, tongs, peelers, measuring cups and spoons, along with pots, pans and bowls are stacked at the ready for whatever task needs to be accomplished. The stainless-steel work surfaces and equipment shine under the bright lights overhead. As you round the corner, you’re met with the lineup of a gas range, ovens, deep fryers, a steam kettle, and a tilt skillet that allows the user to grill, simmer, boil, braise or saute a variety of foods in large batches. As the name implies, the skillet can be tilted forward to easily pour off the food into serving or storage containers.
Members rent the kitchen by the hour or bundle hours to tailor their membership to just what they need. “We have members who come in once a month, once a week, or four times a week,” Davey points out. The makers secure their own permits and insurance for their products and provide their own packaging. Just about everything else is provided by CCCI. Along with use of the equipment with which to cook or bake, storage is also provided. A membership of twenty hours a month comes with storage space. A vital necessity, CCCI has dry, refrigerated and frozen storage available to members to hold ingredients or finished products. Health code regulations state that any food item brought to the kitchen must remain there throughout the cooking or baking process. A baker, for example, cannot bring in a bag of flour, use a portion of it, bring it home and return with it. “The first few months was a great learning experience for us on how it all worked with multiple people using the space,” Davey recalls. “We still find ourselves saying, ‘Oh, we need to remember to tell people to do this or that before leaving,’” Overseeing the daily comings and goings is CCCI’s only paid employee, Kitchen Manager Phil DeNegri. DeNegri controls the kitchen’s schedule of members throughout the week. He provides the introductory orientation of the rules and regulations of the space to new members, handles maintenance, and even receives deliveries at times when a member can’t be on site.
A separate entrance at the back of KAM’s building allows makers to come and go outside of the regular business hours. Members can now arrive as early as 5am and stay as late as 9pm seven days a week, with an eye toward expanding the hours. The wider range of availability allows makers to chase their dreams and still make it to their day or night job.
A big part of CCCI’s mission is also to provide education. “How do you take a passion and make it a viable business?” Davey asks. “We’ve just received a $50,000 grant from the Eastern Bank Foundation to put towards that educational programming.” CCCI is in the process of rolling out a series of classes to introduce potential food makers to the idea of running a food business. Topics include packaging and labeling. “Packaging. What type is right for your product? Is it food safe? The laws regarding labeling are really strict concerning allergens, calories and ingredients which have to be listed in a specific order,” Linda points out a few examples from her years of experience that has led her to become the Executive Chef at KAM Appliances.
CCCI’s shared kitchen isn’t just for those looking to start a food-based business. Established makers have joined the ranks of incubator members as well. Sandy Rowland had closed her business, Washashore Bakery in Mashpee Commons, the year before to regroup and restructure the goal of the bakery. “I happened to talk with Jen Villa [of The Local Juice and The West End], and she mentioned the Incubator,” Rowland recalls. This was a month before the kitchen was open for business. “The timing was perfect,” she says. “We were able to get in the week we needed to begin selling at the Osterville Farmers’ Market.” For Rowland and others, it’s just the right fit for them. “It’s great. You have full access to the kitchen, and I knew I could afford the hours,” she points out. The cost savings in overhead alone compared to renting or owning a brick-and-mortar location is enough to make business owners rethink their business model. For Rowland and Washashore Bakery this past summer, she used the space for prep work from 9am to 2pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays. She’d arrive early on Fridays to bake and package her goodies for the market later that morning. An added benefit is the camaraderie of the kitchen. “It’s nice to talk to others, and see what other people are up to,” she says.
For other seasoned veterans of the food business, the CCCI kitchen’s locality represents a number of cost savings. Jay Powell’s JP’s Twisted BBQ food truck anchors the beer garden at Cape Cod Beer around the corner from the Incubator. In addition, he, his wife Nancy, and staff cater private events around the region. During the entirety of his residency at Cape Cod Beer, he had been using a prep kitchen to do all his major cooking and cleaning in Worcester! Once or twice a week, Powell would load up his truck to make the four-hour round trip to get prepared for the week ahead. Now that the CCCI kitchen is open, he drives all of four minutes (and that’s if he misses both turn lights). “It’s been a huge cost savings in time and money to be able to come here,” Powell gushes. “For food trucks, they need to have a kitchen as a base of operations, and this incubator is a dream come true.” Recently, Powell used the tilt skillet to make 28 gallons of a unique chili specialized for a wedding. He fired up the steam kettle to produce 60 gallons of his pilsener mustard, for which he uses Cape Cod Beer’s Pilsener beer, in one batch.
Powell is one of the many who understand the bigger mission: the need for such an operation for food businesses just starting out. “I’m a huge proponent of these incubator kitchens. The food business is tough. I hate to see people throw their life savings into a place, and not really know what they’re getting themselves into,” he admits. “Here people can learn, and experiment in this world-class kitchen.” He then adds for emphasis, “I mean, it is an absolute world-class kitchen. There’s plenty of people out there that wish this was here ten years ago.”
It took nearly ten years, but the Cape Cod Culinary Incubator has finally arrived thanks to the tireless efforts and generosity of so many, and the dream of one. Years on, it will be fascinating to look back on just how many successful businesses will have been launched from this small space that provided them the opportunity to experiment and grow at a measured pace. The local food community can only be strengthened by the Cape Cod Culinary Incubator, and it’ll become a matter of when (not if) the next big venture is hatched.
Cape Cod Culinary Incubator
capeculinary.org
KAM Appliances
6 Aggregate Way, Hyannis
kamappliances.com
Washashore Bakery
washashorebakery.com
JP’s Twisted BBQ
jpstbbq.com
