Detroit Kitchen Connect
Contact: Anika-Kafi Summers Grose
www.detroitkitchenconnect.com
facebook.detroitkitchenconnect.com
phone: 313-833-9300
What assistance do you offer for people or groups interested in starting a food business? Do you target specific types of food business (women-owned, Detroit-based, home-based, etc.)?
We provide connections to fully-licensed commercial kitchens that are reliable, accessible to food entrepreneurs, and that provide a sense of collaboration and community with other makers. We are committed to providing financial and technical assistance so that traditionally marginalized communities have access to the same tools for entrepreneurship as more well-resourced groups.
How can entrepreneurs access your services? Is there a specific staff person to contact?
Coordinator Anika-Kafi Summers Grose is the main point of contact; contact information is above.
What is the process someone would go through in working with you from first contact to being on their own?
First they must complete the Detroit Kitchen Connect application, then acquire ServeSafe certification and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development licencing. After that comes scaling their business. Finally, the business would be out on their own and accessing continued support through networking with DKC as long as needed or desired.
Where should would-be entrepreneurs be in the process of forming a business when they contact you?
We specialize in makers who are seeking to be licensed so that they can sell product in retail and or wholesale venues, catering, etc. All must be committed to the process and know that it takes up to 3 months to come a licensed business and longer to be a sustainable, scalable business.
What kind of projects can you not take on due to funding restrictions, your scope of service, a lack of fit with your mission, staff availability, etc.? To whom would you refer in that case?
n/a
What kind of lead time, if any, can people expect between when they contact you and when you can begin working with them?
The lead time varies. Typically, 2 weeks
What fees do you charge for your services?
Our current application fee is $20.00 but is expected to increase in 2017. We also require that makers have ServSafe certification (a one-day class costs $195); the appropriate business license from the state of Michigan (cost varies) and a $1 million general liability policy with the kitchen to be used named as co-insured (polices generally cost between $300-$500).
What else should people know about your organization?
Detroit Kitchen Connect is a program of Eastern Market Corporation, 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization that has been nourishing Detroit for the past 125 years.