July 11--Ryan Marks is opening The Vig in Old Town this fall, and he needed a place to test recipes for the "refined kitchen and sports parlor." He found it at the new Lakeview Kitchen Market.
The 5,000-square-foot space at 3109 N. Broadway, formerly home to House of Fine Chocolates, has a licensed commercial kitchen available for rent to people in the food business like Marks, be they restaurateurs, farmers market vendors, bakers, canners or caterers. What's more, Lakeview Kitchen Market has a retail space where those renting the kitchen facilities can sell their wares to nearby residents.
"These are local products created by local small businesses. Many clients are using local ingredients from local providers," said Wendy Grahn, who co-owns the venture with her daughter, Maggie O'Brien. "A customer will come in and buy three different things, and I'll tell them they just bought from three different vendors."
There are other commercial kitchens one can rent in the Chicago area. But the fact that Lakeview Kitchen Market has the retail space is what sold Lori Terry, chef/owner of Crave Cuisine, which specializes in weekly delivery of healthy meals, catering and in-home cooking classes.
"The foot traffic is phenomenal," said Terry, who gave Grahn and O'Brien 18 meals to sell for her in the retail area. All were sold, she added, lauding the two women for really marketing the space and the products. Having a Lakeview location -- and exposure -- is also a way for her to build a roster of downtown Chicago clients. She's branched out into catering for business and weddings and is thinking of selling more retail too.
"One of the things we sell a lot of is healthy granola bars," Terry said. "We've been thinking of retailing our granola bars, and this is a great way to test-market them."
Lori Byars, owner of Cheshire Cat Confectionary, said she's been able to broaden her business as well at Lakeview Kitchen Market. Where she once focused mainly on cookies because they were easier to ship, she's now moving into cakes and cupcakes. Having the market's retail space handy means she can make items that are more perishable and difficult to ship. And, she can gauge how well new products do.
"It's huge to put something in the case and see how fast it sells and how many they sell," Byars said. "I like to experiment with new things. ...There's no requirement to have anything out in front, but it's an added bonus."
While Byars noted it would be wonderful to have her own space, her own kitchen, her own retail counter, she is quick to note that all those things cost money. Renting a store, paying for utilities and staff all pose a "huge risk" for a small business owner like herself.
"I'm not going to bankrupt myself for cupcakes," she said.
While Lakeview Kitchen Market is conducting a private grand opening event July 13, the kitchen space opened May 15 and the market June 8, Grahn said. She announced the space was available by hanging a banner in the window.
"We got a lot of calls and word-of-mouth," she said. "We knew the demand for a shared kitchen was great."
Indeed, O'Brien herself was in need of space to grow her catering business, Velvet Dessert. Grahn, who had been living in Northbrook and working in corporate training, said she and her daughter thought opening a shared kitchen space would generate income faster and more reliably than opening a bakery on their own.
What's in the space? A convection oven with 40 racks, a 10-burner stove, a fryer, walk-in refrigerators and freezer, tables, sheet pans, bowls, whisks and other kitchen equipment. Grahn said the space was designed for efficiency and speed. The kitchen is available to rent by the hour, week or month.
"We're very hands-on," she added. "We know who comes in and what they need."
Marks would agree, praising the kitchen as "very clean, very organized and it's a big space."
"They do a fantastic job," he said of Grahn and O'Brien.
wdaley@tribune.com
