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Sussex County ‘Kitchen incubator’ opens to culinary entrepreneurs
           S     ussex County has added a new ingredient to the recipe for



                 promoting economic development in southern Delaware.
            In November 2023, County officials formally opened a new
            “kitchen incubator,” aimed at small commercial operators in need
            of space to craft their cuisines. The kitchen launched at the Owens
            Campus of Delaware  Technical Community College, centrally
            located in Georgetown.
            The 1,800-square-foot commercial-grade kitchen is the result of
            a four-plus-year collaborative effort among the County, Del Tech
            and the State of Delaware to create a first-of-its-kind working
            space for caterers, farmers, food truck operators and other smaller
            businesses without a commercial-grade kitchen.
            Under Delaware’s licensing requirements for vendors, such
            a facility is a requirement for food preparation and sale, which
            often means small businesses must use space during off hours at
            restaurants, fire halls, church kitchens or other licensed facilities.
            “Lack of  space and the  tremendous overhead costs to  create
            their own kitchen is something food vendors have told us time
            and again [is a challenge],” said Bill Pfaff, the County economic
            development director. “We believe the kitchen incubator is a way
            to help meet that need, to provide the catalyst—the yeast, as it
            were—so these ‘foodpreneurs’ can cook up their success.”
            Latisha Dismuke is a culinary arts teacher and chef/owner of A
            Taste of Jazz catering. “I had crossed paths with Bill Pfaff a few
            years ago when I talked to him about trying to find a kitchen, and
            it was just really hard.”
            Now, the kitchen incubator is “instrumental” to her business. In
            past summers, “I didn’t have access to a kitchen, and I had some
            large-scale events. This summer, I did four weddings with over 220
            guests, within a 30-day time,” she said. “I’ll put it like this: This
            year, being able to have this kitchen, my revenue has quadrupled.”
            The incubator helps reduce the risk of failure by removing start-
            up barriers associated with starting and maintaining a commercial
            kitchen.
            Plus, this Sussex County program will provide technical assistance
            and training related to distribution, branding, marketing, pricing,
            food cost and other business know-how. Ultimately, this will help
            people to grow food companies, create jobs, improve healthy food
            access and strengthen our regional food economy.
            More than two dozen vendors are or soon will be working
            here. Products have included baked goods, gourmet hot sauce,
            handmade jellies, catering businesses, food trucks and more.
            Vendors using the space must become members of the incubator,
            paying a minimal fee and a per-hour charge for kitchen use. Up to
            three businesses can actively work in the space at any time.
            Find more information, visit sussexkitchende.com or facebook.
            com/SussexKitchenDE. Contact econdev@sussexcountyde.gov or
            (302) 667-0825 for more details.

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