After months of renovations and improvements, the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga will be cutting the ribbon on its upgraded commercial kitchen at 11:15 AM on Friday, October 7 in conjunction with October’s Food Truck Friday. The KIC provides shared commercial kitchen space for aspiring culinary entrepreneurs.
“Upwards of 25% of the business owners we serve at LAUNCH have dreams of being a food entrepreneur”, Hal Bowling, Executive Director at LAUNCH, said. “It can be expensive to get into the food industry and it also has many regulations associated with it. At the KIC, we have shared commercial kitchen space, meet Health Department and Department of Agriculture requirements and we provide guidance on the business side, giving our clients better odds at success.”
The Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce will be on hand for the ribbon cutting at 11:15 AM to present a proclamation. Tours of the new, improved KIC will be available for the public and the press.
In addition, immediately following the ribbon cutting, LAUNCH will announce the honoree for the Mike Hertzog Scholarship Award. This $3,000 award was established to honor Dr. Michael Hertzog who believed deeply in LAUNCH’s mission and was an active supporter of LAUNCH. The award goes to an entrepreneur who is a LAUNCH alum, who has been in business for at least two years and embodies the characteristics of service, perseverance, inspiration, integrity and humility.
Hal Bowling talked about what Dr. Hertzog meant to LAUNCH. “He was a man whose life was characterized by service, which abundantly blessed all who knew him. At LAUNCH, we were fortunate enough to know Mike and to be partnered with him as a donor in our work. He was a great cheerleader for LAUNCH's mission, and we are forever grateful for his support.”
Rounding out the celebration on Friday, October 7, will be another Food Truck Friday. It may be the largest collection of food trucks in Chattanooga in one spot yet. The food trucks signed-up to participate in Food Truck Friday include: Hot Dog Heaven, Mac Subs and Fries, Windy City Eatz, Wing Top Tots, BBQ Rowe, Rileigh and Company, Chattanooga Kombucha, Chei Tea, Down Home Bakes, Nola Girls Gumbo, Mo Lemonade, Ryan’s Pepperworks, Neutral Ground, Nonni’s Empanadas, California Smothered Burritos, Los Tainos and Freaky Funnels.
Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union sponsors Food Truck Friday and is a strong supporter of the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga.
Food trucks are ready to serve hungry patrons from 11am to 3pm on the first Friday of each month at the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga located at 5704 Marlin Road off of Eastgate Loop in the Brainerd area. For more information, please visit www.kitchenincchatt.org.