Indy's Kitchen a breeding ground for culinary startups 5.5.11

INDIANAPOLIS STAR

Indy's Kitchen is cookin' up a batch of small businesses.
At 25th Street and Central Avenue, Indy's Kitchen provides aspiring owners of catering and other food businesses with two fully equipped, commercially licensed kitchens for rent by the hour.
About 30 culinary entrepreneurs are renting time in the catering and pastry kitchens, saving them the hefty up-front investment in equipping their own kitchen to serve the public.
It was launched a year ago by partners Linda Gilkerson, William Powell, Paul Pickett and Tom Abeel, who invested $150,000 in the 2,300-square-foot facility. They say it is unique in Indianapolis in renting food preparation space by the hour to cooks, caterers, personal chefs, pastry chefs and food trailer operators.
Gilkerson had decided she might want to start a cupcake business.
"I looked all over town for a commercial kitchen and found nothing I could rent. So, that said there is a need in Indianapolis for a board of health-inspected kitchen for small and part-time businesses to rent by the hour," Gilkerson said.
On Wednesday, Mayor Greg Ballard presented a $17,000 grant from Develop Indy to the Indy's Kitchen to help other new companies build a foundation and create jobs in the community.
Kris Parmelee, owner of a new meals-to-go company that she named Avec Moi, became the first honorary graduate of Indy's Kitchen. Her business is moving into its own space after operating out of Indy's Kitchen for the past year.
"To me, Indy's Kitchen means a big break. It gave me a break into business when the banks wouldn't even talk to me for a $40,000 loan to equip a kitchen, pay rent and to get started," Parmelee said.
Working from Indy's Kitchen, she built up a catering history to prove to the bankers that her business could be successful. Eventually, she got a loan for $240,000 to buy a building at 701 E. 62nd St. to open her meals-ready-to-go business on May 16.
She said the location is a perfect draw for commuters headed home after work Downtown and looking to pick up a home-cooked dinner.
After years as a stockbroker, bookkeeper and accounting clerk, Michael Z. Miller has started using Indy's Kitchen for his part-time business as personal chef. On Wednesday, he was in the kitchen chopping vegetables and ingredients for a rich blend of mushrooms and green beans in a white cream sauce to be served for dinner to about 30 people at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Operating as Meals by Michael, he said the facilities at Indy's Kitchen allow him to provide a professional, quality service.
Several mobile vendors dishing up lunch from trucks and trailers rent time in Indy's Kitchen for food preparation before they hit the city streets.
Among them, Byrne's Grilled Pizza sets up a mobile catered pizza operation at a local microbrewery.
And Kate McKibben bought a vintage 1962 Airstream Globetrotter Travel Trailer, transformed with loving care into an upscale mobile eatery. However, under board of health rules, the preparation has to be done in an inspected, commercial kitchen.
Weekends, she parks the Mabel trailer close to Monon Trail to serve healthy foods "to people who are exercising and obviously concerned about what they eat. I'm passionate about quality, and it begins here at Indy's Kitchen."
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110505/BUSINESS/105050395/-1/7daysarchives/Indy-s-Kitchen-breeding-ground-culinary-startups