Prices for commercial kitchen space are exorbitant. Enter co-working options

Food costs are soaring. But one local chef and entrepreneur thinks he has found a solution.

At least it's a help, says Alejandro Rodriguez, owner of Latin Foods Specialties Market and Kitchen.

Rather than competing with all the other would-be food entrepreneurs in Calgary, Rodriguez turned his grocery store into a new business incubator.

He built a commercial kitchen that's now available for rent, and he works with new local chefs to help them get their products to market. He'll even sell their products on the store's shelves, right next to the food items he produces.

"Basically, what we do isoffer some sort of support to these local entrepreneurs to come here," said Rodriguez, who runs the shop with his wife, Andreina Chavez.

The front of the market doesn't look so out of the ordinary arepas, tacos and quesadillas are on the menu for lunch, and locally made empanadas and churros are for sale at the market.

But take a look through a prominent window at the back of the shop and you'll see Rodriguez and Chavez's unique vision at work, with a busy fully equipped commercial kitchen where cooks prepare their products for market.

Rodriguez said he's learned a lot since immigrating from Venezuela to Canada 15 years ago.

Navigating complexregulations was a challenge. Knowing how to market their products was another. All of it took time, and a lot of learning, and much of it the pair had to learn on their own through trial and error.

But today, they're hopeful they can share their knowledge to give aspiring chefs an easier path towardsuccess.

"We want to share our experience with others in order for them to start living their own dream," he said. "We're trying to provide a new scenario for those people who want to create new things."

High costs of doing business are a challenge

It's not simple or cheap to start a commercial food business in Alberta.

There are steep costs involved in opening a businessand complicated work when it comes to bringing a spaceup to code, getting it cleaned and having to potentially upgrade equipment, said Andrew Hewson, a culinary arts instructor at theSouthern Alberta Institute of Technology(SAIT).

"And there's no guarantee that the business is going to work, right? The restaurant industry is notoriously one of the hardest to make a go," he said. "Especially now, with the cost of everything wages, food, rents and utilities."

The impacts of inflation and the cost of food have hit the restaurant industry especially hard, many of which were already struggling after the pandemic.

Last year, an annual report from Restaurants Canada raised concern about what substantial increases in food costs would do to the industry. Eighty-five per cent of Canadianindependent full-service restaurants went into additional debt to keep the doors open during the pandemic, according to the organization.

Taking all of that together the barriers of access, the state of the industry, the high risk factors means people with a dream face an uphill battle.

"I think those barriers are pretty intimidating for a lot of people," Hewson said. "Knowing that there's these other options, I think it might give a little more hope to people wanting to get something off the ground at a reasonable cost. And not losing everything if it doesn't work."

Chefs who rent space from Rodriguez aren't competitors. They're students and teammates.

Rodriguez and Chavez teach them how to commercialize their products. Once the products are completed, the option is provided for the final product to be sold within the market.

Erika Araujo, 42, immigrated from Mexico to Canada 15 years agoand is renting space at the Latin market. She said cooking for people makes her happy, and her dream is to have her own branded products that reflect her Mexican roots selling in stores.

Her specialty? A healthy bread recipe. She's also developed a salsa recipe. But opening her own kitchen would be impossible given the amount of money involved.

"It's very important to have an opportunity like this to start my business, especially [since] I'm a newcomer in Calgary. I don't have a lot of connections," she said. "It has been a life change in my business, to be honest."

'Culinary co-working' becoming a more popular option

These types of co-working kitchen environments are becoming more common for chefs. In 2019, a father-son duo opened up an industrial kitchen in southeast Calgary, dubbed Culinary Coworking.

At that point, owner Andrew Obrecht told CBC News: "I think the culinary community really needs to stick together. A rising tide raises all ships."

Another similar arrangement, called Kaladi Collective Kitchens, has two locations in Calgary and one in Edmonton.

Still, the conceptremains fairly unique, said Hewson, the SAIT instructor.

"People want to test out a concept before dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into a brick-and-mortar store," he said. "COVID, I think, expanded the market and gave opportunity to a lot of these smaller operators to get going."

More people turned to delivery options during the pandemic, which led to the rise of what's been dubbed "ghost kitchens," Hewson said.

These are commercial kitchens with no front of house; they're focused solely on delivery.

Other creative kitchen arrangements, like shared spaces, followed.

Calgary has also seen a rise in other sorts of food hall concepts, noted Hewson, including the First Street Market, which involves a number of food stalls under one roof.

"I think that trend of casual dining is just going to keep growing, and certainly it's a way to revitalize neighbourhoods and areas or repurpose older buildings, warehouse kind of buildings, and turn them into these sort of food hangouts," Hewson said.

Back at the Latin Food market and kitchen, Rodriguez said he recognizes that the pandemic has challenged the food industry.

But he believes that solutions are possible through working collaboratively.

"Part of the service that we offer is not only about the business. It's about building connections with the community," he said.

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