If your dream of starting an artisanal food business is bigger than your home kitchen can handle, it’s time to check out the newly opened, state-of-the-art commercial kitchen at West Chester’s Artisan Exchange.
The facility, available for rent by the hour, is at your service seven days a week, 24 hours a day at 208 Carter Drive. Rates start at $33/hour; weekly and monthly packages are also an option, with discounted rates available to those who use the kitchen more often. “It’s a versatile space designed to foster and facilitate the entrepreneurial spirit and eliminate barriers to success,” said Frank Baldassarre, who owns Artisan Exchange with his wife, Maryann; Joe Stratton; and Joe’s wife, Laura.
The commercial kitchen, designed for multi-purpose use, is ServSafe certified and licensed by both the PA Department of Agriculture (for those who are interested in wholesale manufacturing) and the Chester County Health Department (for those who want to make ready-to-eat foods, e.g., food trucks, personal chefs, caterers or those who wish to sell at Artisan Exchange’s Saturday marketplace). The kitchen is also available to chefs who would like to do hands-on classes or cooking demonstrations for groups of 10–15 people.
Equipment designed especially for large-scale production, which renters have full access to, includes a commercial-sized, six-burner gas-fired Viking range, three gas convection ovens, a 12-gallon jacketed steam kettle with a closed steam system, a gas-fired tilt skillet with 30-gallon capacity, stainless steel tables, an extra-large prep sink with garbage disposal, a restaurant-grade dishwasher, a 20-quart commercial-grade mixer, a warming cabinet/proofer and a commercial refrigerator and freezer. Chemicals for sanitizing and cleaning are also included in the price of rental. (Renters are responsible for their own clean-up.)
Frank estimated that the value of the appliances in the kitchen is well above $300,000, and they’ve also included room to grow and add more appliances based on the desires of renters. Huge corridors enable large-scale palletized deliveries in and out of the kitchen, and a separate entrance provides convenient drive-up access. In short, no detail was left to chance when planning this heavenly kitchen.
Those who rent the commercial kitchen also have access to separate storage and post-/pre-production spaces. Renters can keep their personal equipment in the storage area, locked and secured, ready for easy access when using the kitchen. The production space, rented at a lower hourly rate than the kitchen, can be used for prep work and for post-production tasks such as labeling and packaging.
When you join forces with Artisan Exchange, you gain more than just access to a large, modern workspace with all the bells and whistles, however. The exchange is a hub of collaboration, with members cohabitating happily in a working community that gives them access not just to the Exchange’s wholesale and retail distribution network and on-site Saturday marketplace, but also to each other. When I visited to tour the facility, pretzel makers and food-truck chefs were working side-by-side with pickle makers and soup artisans in areas called “neighborhoods.” This proximity allows artisans to bounce ideas off of one another, buy ingredients in bulk and provide moral support—a very necessary ingredient to anyone starting a business, which can often seem to be a lonely and frustrating undertaking.
Confused about the varying levels of certification, licensing and insurance you’ll need to launch your business? Artisan Exchange can assist with that, too. Frank, Joe and other team members can present you with all the different options available to you as a food artisan and explain exactly what you’ll need to make each of them happen—and, most importantly, be fully compliant with the law. They can also help you hone in on just what your vision of success looks like so that your skills can be put to their best use. Creativity and passion are a great start, but practicality also plays a role in the success of any new business. Can your product be scaled to serve a large marketplace? You need to have a plan, and the folks at Artisan Exchange will help you think through all of the details needed to define that plan and then put it in motion.
Ready to make that dream a reality? To learn more about renting the commercial kitchen space at Artisan Exchange, contact Frank Baldassarre Sr. via phone (610-719-0282) or email.
- Top photo: Amy Strauss
- Third & sixth photos: Artisan Exchange
- Remaining photos: Michele Kornegay
