'It's a good feeling': Calgary caterer expands culinary space to help other entrepreneurs
A Calgary business that once offered space to budding chefs and restaurateurs is expanding its own capacity to help more entrepreneurs get a leg up in the challenging economy.
Culinary Coworking opened its doors in fall 2019. The idea was to provide a commercial kitchen for chefs who didn't have one and is run by chef Herbert Obrecht and his son Andrew. Many of their clients have faced challenging times during the pandemic.
"The last two years have been absolutely horrible to their businesses," said Andrew. "They lost businesses, they lost employees, they lost financial means to get through this and it really is not only heartbreaking to hear those stories, but also brings us a lot of enthusiasm for what we do."
Culinary Coworking started with 362 square metres of space with four work stations - the same space where Herbert ran his catering business for 11 years.
"The reality is that if my dad still operated his catering company throughout the pandemic, I don't know if he would have survived," said Andrew. "So it was really the right timing the right place and the right people."
The bay next to theirs came up for lease and the expansion has resulted in an additional 557 square metres with work stations going from four to 20. Herbert says chefs have all the tools they need at their fingertips and they've built a community where he's able to share his vast knowledge.
"It gives them confidence again," said Herbert. "They come in here and they know they're not on their own, somebody will somehow try to help them."
The father and son say the pandemic magnified the need for a commercial kitchen space where chefs become members and pay for time in the kitchen by the hour rather than signing a lease, paying for equipment and staff along with utility bills in their own facility.
"That's the beauty of this is that we have such a wide range of clients and members here," said Andrew. "Everything from food trucks, to doughnut makers, to meal prep companies, to chili oil companies, to companies that deal with vanilla byproducts."
And the business model is working. Herbert is seeing people he's helped and rented space to now in business on their own, thriving during the pandemic.
"You know, we had some people already graduate from us and it's a good feeling," said Herbert. "They've got their own place now in Calgary and produce fantastic stuff and I actually talked to one of them this morning on the phone, it's great makes me feel good."
Learn more about Culinary Coworking here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.