ORIGINALLY POSTED IN THE CHICAGO BUSINESS JOURNAL.

Amped Kitchens, which provides ready-to-rent commercial kitchen space, is finally having a grand opening at its first Chicago location, in a former Zenith television manufacturing plant in the city’s Belmont-Cragin neighborhood.

A spokesperson for Amped Kitchens, which operates two similar kitchen facilities in Los Angeles, said the facility has been operating in a limited capacity since late 2020 and Thursday’s ceremony marks the official end of construction as well as the facility’s ribbon-cutting and planned in-person tours for the Chicago food community. The Chicago facility will be responsible for 250 new jobs, the company said.

Amped Kitchens, which provides ready-to-rent commercial kitchen space, will hold a grand opening today at its first Chicago location, in a former Zenith television manufacturing plant in the city’s Belmont-Cragin neighborhood.

Amped Kitchens said it began the $25 million renovation of the vacant 117,000-square-foot Zenith factory at 5801 West Dickens Avenue in late 2019, and it has 64 private kitchens ranging from 150 square feet to nearly 2,000 square feet in size. The facility includes refrigerated, frozen, and dry storage, office space, meeting rooms, attended shipping docks, packing rooms, and an on-site USDA office.

The company said it leases to food businesses including consumer product group companies, restaurants needing commissary/central kitchen space, meal subscription companies, and people looking for research and development or pilot production space. Existing Chicago tenants include Two Fish Crab Shack and Soul Vegan.

“Growing food companies tell us the costs, complexity, and time needed to secure their own permitted space are an enormous burden. They need to be producing in a matter of weeks, not months – or years and Amped can make that happen.” said Amped Kitchens co-owner Brian Albert in a statement. Albert co-owns the company with Mott Smith.

In March, Counterpointe Sustainable Real Estate said it provided $4.6 million in Chicago Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy funding for the Chicago Amped Kitchen construction.

Amped Kitchens has Los Angeles locations 230 West Ave. 26 and at 6130 South Avalon Boulevard.