8/11/2023 0 Comments Incubator kitchen in nashvilleAccording to labor statistics from the Employment Development Department of California, at 10.9 percent Watsonville has the highest unemployment rate in Santa Cruz County, more than double the national average of 5.4 percent. Of the 200 or so clients that visited the CDC every year, at least 40 percent of them wanted to start a food business, but were prohibited from doing so due to lack of start-up capital and commercial space. The need for a commercial kitchen space had been apparent to the CDC for more than a decade. “Others have no idea how to use a commercial oven or commercial stove.” “Some people come in with experience and they don’t take very much time,” explains Ruiz. Only after all of this initial training, which takes three to six months, do clients finally move into the Kitchen Incubator, which sometimes poses its own set of challenges for new entrepreneurs, many of whom have never worked in a commercial kitchen before. Once we collect those documents-business plan, the identity of the proper entity that’s overseeing them, and ServSafe-then we move into local permits, insurance for your business and obtaining a business license from the City of Watsonville.” “We bring in new people who want to use the facility, and often times they don’t even know where to start. “That’s a big part of what we do,” explains Cesario Ruiz, who manages the Kitchen Incubator and works closely with all of its start-up clients. The CDC also offers a 13-week technical assistance program to applicants, where they work with consultants to put together a business plan, figure out which federal entities will oversee their production, and obtain a ServSafe certification and the correct permits. Entrepreneurs apply to share a commercial kitchen facility for $10 to $30 an hour, depending on their equipment and energy needs, which significantly lowers their start-up costs by tens of thousands of dollars by removing the need to rent or build their own kitchen. As the newest incubator program from the El Pájaro Commercial Development Corporation (CDC), a nonprofit based in Watsonville, its goal is to help underserved entrepreneurs in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties by lowering the costs of their initial investments and providing them with technical training. Since its launch three years ago, the Kitchen Incubator program has nurtured at least 30 food start-ups. “We would either have abandoned the idea all together or be working to save up money to reinvest, which would have taken a long time.” Start Me Up “We think that if the Kitchen Incubator did not exist we would not be in business right now,” says Bianca. Now, nine months later, their product is available in four locations, including Staff of Life in Santa Cruz and Aptos Natural Foods. Martin rushed to their office and filled out an application the same day. Luckily, a friend recommended they check out the incubator in Watsonville, where they live. Here, the cactus is trimmed and shaved by hand. We did not have PRICKLY SITUATION El Nopalito Produce bought 100 cases of cactus per week from area farms last year. We thought that was it, that it was over, because we were out of all the money we had to invest. In the beginning, we got our own location, but it did not pass the city inspection. “Neither of us had any experience in starting a business or in the food industry, we just knew we had an idea we truly believed in. Madriz and her husband launched their business just a few months ago, but it almost didn’t get off the ground. “They can also be eaten as sandwiches with egg and cheese, regular cold cut meats, or vegetarian. “They can be eaten as breakfast waffles with honey and fresh fruit,” she explains. The warm, toasted pastry is almost savory, with a delicate sweetness, and Blanca Madriz, who co-owns the Green Waffle with her husband Martin, explains that it contains just five ingredients: egg whites, oats, banana, and spinach, with additions of either blueberry, yam or cauliflower. As I’m handed a pea green waffle, I’m reminded a little bit of Dr.
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