A program to help food entrepreneurs in Tulsa is growing and making a new home in Mother Road Market.
Although the market won't open until at least August, Kitchen 66's area within it is ready for business. Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation Director of Food Innovation Adele Beasley said 2,800 square feet of commercial kitchen space is just one of the perks for up-and-coming restaurateurs, caterers, food trucks and packaged product makers.
"We have launch programs that are a four-month program that take you from A to Z of how to start the business, and then we also provide sales support. So, as you start working in the kitchen and you’re learning how to build the business, we connect you with opportunities," Beasley said.
One of those opportunities will be the Kitchen 66 General Store inside Mother Road Market, where members can sell their products.
"For a brand-new company that’s just launching at Kitchen 66, being under the roof of Mother Road Market will connect them to Tulsa foodies and fans that will be their next biggest customer," Beasley said.
Beasley said in its first two years, Kitchen 66 helped 60 businesses, with half owned by women, and nearly half owned by people of color.
"Carla Meneses, the owner of Que Gusto, she and her family moved from Ecuador just in the past between five or 10 years and are now opening up a Latin American–inspired restaurant in the Archer Building downtown," Beasley said.
Kitchen 66 is also partnering with Tulsa Farmers’ Market to offer a farm stand section in the Kitchen 66 general store.
