Chef Sherry Bolton has been making delectable desserts and cakes for much of her adult life. She has owned her own bakery, been a pastry chef and has offered cake decorating classes to the public. Sherry came to the SBDC with the idea of opening a shared commercial kitchen space where other chefs, caterers, bakers, and food entrepreneurs like herself could rent commercial kitchen space by the hour, day, week, or as needed. Sherry also planned to use the space to offer cooking classes, food and wine pairings, plated desserts for retail, and mentorship. Sherry worked with the SBDC to hash out her business model and determine how to structure her business. The SBDC provided the client with some research on similar shared kitchen concepts and helped the client establish her startup costs as well as her business budget. Once the homework was done, the SBDC helped the client generate a set of financials that she could present to commercial realtor in her effort to find a space. Once the space was secured, Sherry used the projections that she created with the SBDC’s help to garner the interest of an investor who helped outfit her commercial kitchen space. Culinary Co-op is now open for business, and it is home to a host of food entrepreneurs and foodies alike. With the help of the SBDC, Sherry now has a supportive space that can aid other entrepreneurs in launching their own food-based businesses.
