COLUMBIA, S.C. — One challenge of joining the food industry is the all-important kitchen.
To keep up-to-code, owners need certain equipment and storage, which can be pricey.
That's why more and more businesses are opening their doors to share their kitchens with others.
Among them is Philly Pretzel Factory on Rosewood Drive.
Eleni Adkins and her three-person team start the day early there preparing sourdough bread for her Sour and Salt Bakery business.
It's one of roughly 15 other businesses at Philly Pretzel, using the shared kitchen-space.
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"Opening a kitchen at the point that I was at would have been cost prohibitive for sure. So, when we found this space and that we could rent it for a reasonable rate and be in here and have all the equipment we needed in place," Adkins said. "My kids were getting older. It was time for me to go back to work and so I figured it was now or never, I'd give it a try."
According to the S.C. Dept. of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), which regulates these spaces, some restaurants will rent their kitchen, which is allowed, if they're an approved shared-use space through the agency.
“To me this is the next big thing for Columbia," John Bailey, who runs the Philly Pretzel, said. "It's beneficial for me and for the smaller businesses."
Bailey said they schedule the businesses and some are more frequent than others. Food trucks, for example, typically don't use the space every day.
"Often, we don't even see them," Adkins said of the other owners, "and it's nice to have other chefs around."
DER Kitchen is on North Main Street. Unlike Philly Pretzel, their kitchen is the business - a gamechanger for food cart hopeful Norma Oakley, who's opening a Caribbean restaurant soon.
"It's always been a dream of mind to own a food cart, but the opportunity has never been until now," Oakley said.
David Roberts owns DER Kitchen and says they have 40 businesses that share the space.
"Some of them, like the caterers, are more event driven," Roberts said. "So, when they have an event that they get hired for, they’ll call me and ask for certain dates and times.”
Adkins is just hoping more people learn about the trend that gave her business a kick start.
"A great deal for us now," Adkins said. "We’re hoping to stay here for a while and eventually get our own place.”