What’s Cooking? How Shared Kitchens Can Boost Local Entrepreneurship

Photo Credit: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy

As an entrepreneur who started a salsa business based on a family recipe during the COVID-19 pandemic, I depend on a shared kitchen for my business. I could never have started it without access to one, and that’s true for countless entrepreneurs. Yet there is a shortage of shared food facilities nationwide. Addressing that need is vital to new-business growth, and local governments have a major role to play.

The reason shared food facilities are so important is that food-related businesses are among the most accessible for aspiring entrepreneurs. The beauty of food is that it reflects culture and heritage, and everyone has culture and heritage to bring to the table.

I had never imagined that my business would be based on a recipe that had been sitting in my mother’s kitchen, but when the pandemic ended my job I turned to the recipe box. My family has moved over decades from Mexico to Alaska to New Mexico, and our salsa recipe reflects all of that heritage, with a unique blend of related flavors.

Fortunately, I live in Albuquerque, where there are several shared kitchens, and I was able to access one at an affordable rate. But the waiting list now for access to a shared kitchen in Albuquerque can be as long as 18 months. That’s a bottleneck to entrepreneurship. Advancing entrepreneurship is crucial, because small businesses create most new jobs in America.