Wilmington Kitchen Collective provides local culinary-based entrepreneurs a place where they can grow
By Catherine Kempista
Photos by Moonloop Photography
In January 2022, the Wilmington Kitchen Collective officially opened the doors to its first shared commercial kitchen space, culminating two years of collaboration between Riverfront Ministries and Wilmington Alliance to launch a new economic development program in the city. Their goal — to provide local culinary-based entrepreneurs commercial kitchen space to start and expand their small businesses and the business development support to sustain it.
Today, the Wilmington Kitchen Collective operates four kitchens in churches throughout Wilmington, supporting 35 businesses run by 42 entrepreneurs. Currently, 72 percent are women-owned and operated; 89 percent are minority-owned businesses. The waiting list consists of 50 entrepreneurs in various stages of operation waiting to get through the door.
Heavy Lift
In late 2019, as conversations were happening among leaders at Wilmington Alliance about creating a shared downtown kitchen to spur economic development in the retail food space, Riverfront Ministries was in search of ways to deepen their impact in the city. Grace United Methodist Church provided the connection.
“Wilmington Alliance approached Grace about using their space, and they liked the idea of it happening in their church but didn’t feel like they could operate it,” says Spyres. “Because of the partnerships that already existed, Riverfront said this is a thing we could operate, and it fits into our mission of working around food and economic justice.”
Under the new nonprofit Wilmington Kitchen Collective, Riverfront Ministries assumed the operational piece of the program while Wilmington Alliance provided their economic development and small business expertise.
To open its first kitchen, Spyres and Wilmington Alliance staff raised approximately $200,000 for capital upgrades necessary to bring Grace Church’s existing space up to code.
According to Spyres, “The build out of Grace was a really heavy lift because Grace wasn’t approved by the Health Department, and it required a lot of construction to bring it up to code. And at this point, we’re also trying to convince people that this project and this program is going to work.”
Quickly, news spread about the work at Grace Church and the waiting list for entrepreneurs, spurring interest among other groups to get involved in this highly sought-after program. Ultimately, the overwhelming interest from the community and businesses changed their plans.
“First and Central really changed the model of the kitchen because at that point, we thought we were going to run one site,” says Spyres. “They came to us and said, ‘Our kitchen is already certified as commercial. Would you consider operating here?’ We had a waiting list of 50 businesses, and we hadn’t opened at Grace yet.”
So, as the first shared kitchen space opened its doors at Grace Church, plans were soon underway to do the same at First & Central Presbyterian Church on North Market Street. Because far less work and funding were needed to bring their kitchen on board, entrepreneurs started cooking in their space in November 2022. Aldersgate United Methodist Church and Westminster Presbyterian Church both opened their doors to the entrepreneurs in 2024.
With the existing waiting lists and growing demand among organizations to adopt the model, the Wilmington Kitchen Collective has now created the Kitchen Collective Affiliate Network, which provides one-on-one consulting, training, and program development support for a fee to organizations that join. To foster a sense of community, the Kitchen Collective Affiliate Network will host events for members to meet and share stories and best practices. In January 2025, Newark United Methodist Church will become the first official member of the Kitchen Collective Affiliate Network, as it opens its own space, the Newark Kitchen Collective.
Operational Necessity
In the earliest days of planning for the program, the people behind the Wilmington Kitchen Collective quickly realized they were creating a solution to two major problems culinary entrepreneurs faced to legitimately operate in Delaware — access to a licensed commercial kitchen and assistance navigating the food safety regulatory and licensure process.
“These businesses really can’t be legally licensed without a commercial kitchen,” says Renee Bennett, director of development and marketing for Wilmington Alliance. “And there are minimal opportunities for people who are just starting out that may not have the capital [to] have their own brick-and-mortar commercial kitchen.”
The Wilmington Kitchen Collective has become the answer to the hopes of food-based small businesses throughout the area.
Once an entrepreneur is accepted into the program, they not only gain access to the physical kitchen but also to business support resources focused on setting them up for long-term success.
“This is a holistic program,” says Bennett.
Participating entrepreneurs receive assistance in navigating the licensure process with the City of Wilmington, State of Delaware and, when needed, the FDA, and the Kitchen Collective pays for their first-year licensures and permits, according to Bennett. Business owners also have access to business plan experts and marketing, design, and social media help. They can attend various workshops hosted by the Small Business Development Center and the Launcher Entrepreneurship Program at the West End Neighborhood House.
When possible, the Kitchen Collective and its partners connect its small business owners to opportunities for direct financial assistance to help with necessary upgrades, like new equipment or food truck improvements.
“There’s a lot that goes into the program other than just the actual commercial space,” says Bennett.
Collective Support
For Lance Williams, co-owner of Rhythm + Heat, a low-sodium specialty seasonings company, the assistance he and his wife Adrienne received from Spyres and the Wilmington Kitchen Collective team has been essential to their success.
Like many new culinary entrepreneurs, Williams quickly figured out through his own research that the path to legally operate his small business and start turning a profit was going to be riddled with regulatory hurdles and operational challenges. They would need to eventually find a commercial kitchen because the Cottage Food Law would only take them so far. Thanks to Adrienne’s research, they found the Kitchen Collective online and signed up for the wait list.
According to the Delaware Office of Food Protection, the Cottage Food Law allows “for the preparation of a limited type of food products made in residential kitchens.” It can provide a start for entrepreneurs looking to sell their food, but businesses operating under this provision are significantly limited in the type of products and quantities that can be made and sold.
To the delight of the Williams family, they were off the waiting list in a few months and added to the Grace Church kitchen schedule.
“They provided so much assistance,” says Williams. “From the three or four licenses that we needed, the ServSafe certification, the off-premises license we needed from the Department of Health, we had no clue about any of this stuff. If they had never sent us this list and walked us through getting these things and have these connections with numbers to call people directly, we would have been super illegal.”
For Joanne Graves, co-owner of GravesYard Apiary, being a part of Wilmington Kitchen Collective has not only benefited her business but also made her part of a special community shepherded by Spyres and her team to ensure their long-term success.
Through the work of the Wilmington Kitchen Collective, Graves was connected to the president of Brew HaHa, where she now sells her products.
“Chelsea guided me through that process, so I could sell my products to Brew Haha,” says Graves. “She loves the entrepreneurs. She loves the community. I love everything about this organization.”
Catherine Kempista, a native Delawarean, has worked in various communication roles in state government, education, and nonprofits for 18 years. Her passion for writing led to her becoming a freelance writer more than a decade ago. She lives in Wilmington with her husband and three children, and when she’s not with them, you can find her running the track at Bellevue State Park.