Imagine a huge warehouse that holds not just one, but 53 other state-of-the-art kitchens?
https://www.pbs.org/video/54-kitchens-under-one-roof/
Published on Feb 11, 2016
Imagine a huge warehouse that holds not just one, but 53 other state-of-the-art kitchens? L.A. Prep in Lincoln Heights is a dream come true for local food producers who are hoping to take their homemade, edible creations to the next level.
Building your own commercial-grade kitchen can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Getting the health permits and licenses can take months of complicated paperwork. Mott Smith and Brian Albert, the founders of L.A. Prep, thought there had to be a better way. So they bought a 56,000 square foot warehouse and packed it full of permit-ready, commercial kitchens of various sizes, making it easier for entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses in much less time. The leases range from $2000 to $9,000 a month.
From delicious bean and cilantro-filled empanadas at the Empanada Shop, to organic cold press juice and salted white truffle ghee, each kitchen is brimming with new recipes and innovative products that could land in the next major supermarket chain like Ralphs or Whole Foods. There is also a business at L.A. Prep that helps chefs with marketing, labeling and business plans.
Anchor Val Zavala gets a special tour of this food incubator from the founders of L.A. Prep, and meets some of chefs who are changing L.A.’s food culture one kitchen at a time.
