Union Kitchen is a kitchen incubator located in the NoMa neighborhood of northeast Washington, D.C. The business was created in a 7,300 sq ft warehouse by Cullen Gilchrist and Jonas Singer when they became frustrated with the lack of commercial kitchen space available in Washington, D.C. Union Kitchen has over 4,500 sq ft of food prep and cooking areas, dry storage, frozen storage, and cold storage for use by over 50 different member food businesses. The Kitchen also promotes local culture by housing several artist studios that provide in-house branding, illustrating, and web design services for the members.
Business Model
As an incubator kitchen, Union Kitchen supports the growth of food businesses by eliminating the need for the would-be food entrepreneurs to take on debt to purchase expensive equipment, to sign a long-term leases, or enter into disadvantageous distribution contracts, as well as by taking many of the other risks that have become the norm when starting a food business. The kitchen provides space for production and opportunities for sales, including driving business to members through catering gigs and by offering distribution services.