Our Food Business Incubator
We support entrepreneurs through training, mentoring, and affordable commercial kitchen space. Small businesses rent the kitchen for catering, farmers market and festival vending, and preparing packaged foods.
Before renting the kitchen, entrepreneurs receive help with required permits, licenses and insurance, and a basic business plan. Then business owners are paired with a coach for additional training and mentoring. StartZone at Highline College and Ventures Nonprofit provide coaching.
How to Apply
Entrepreneurs start working with us 3-6 months before they are ready to use the commercial kitchen space. Once a business is permitted and insured to use the kitchen, we work together to build a market and customer base. Every applicant is screened to ensure they meet basic program qualifications, including being a resident of South King County. We require applicants to complete a basic business development training course (see options here) to be eligible to apply.
We have selected businesses to join us in early 2020, and will announce the next application opportunity later in the year.
In 2020 we’re hosting quarterly meetups for aspiring food entrepreneurs, including those who are not enrolled in our Food Business Incubator. For more information about these meetups, or about applying to the Food Business Incubator, please email Njambi Gishuru or call her at 206-291-7407.