1105 Project Kitchen to open

IOWA CITY — Beginning this week, aspiring entrepreneurs will be able to work in a high grade kitchen in Iowa City.

The 1105 Project Kitchen, at 1105 Gilbert Court, has professional-grade equipment as well as storage space and areas for preparation and packaging. The cost to rent the space for two to 12 hours a week is $20 an hour.

The facility is affiliated with ickitchenconnect.com, which seeks to link entrepreneurs to kitchens available for rent.

The site was created after Jesse Singerman, a food business consultant and president of Prairie Ventures, and Jason Grimm, a food system planner at Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development, conducted a study in 2013. The two wanted to know what was needed to help more local food businesses open in Johnson and Linn counties.

Singerman and Grimm determined that there was a supply of raw materials and demand, but 'there were certain things missing in terms of the infrastructure of the food system to support local food businesses,' Singerman said.

'Some of those things that were missing were one place where a food entrepreneur could go to get information about how to start a food business, and specific information such as what do you do about food safety,' she said. 'The other thing we identified was that there is no commercial kitchen for rent on an hourly basis to food entrepreneurs in Johnson County.'

The Crisis Center of Johnson County, which is next door to the 1105 Project Kitchen, is operating the space.

'When Jesse called me last year, we wanted to work with her,' said Becci Reedus, executive director at the Crisis Center. 'It was something that was always on my backburner, but now working with IC Kitchen Connect, it would have taken us years to get this done that they have been able to get done in less than nine months.'

The kitchen creates a revenue stream for the center, Reedus said.

An open house will be held at the 1105 Project Kitchen on Thursday. Those interested in renting the space can find forms online at jccrisiscenter.org. If you go

If you go

What: 1105 Project Kitchen open house

Where: 1105 Gilbert Court, Iowa City

When: 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday

For more information and application forms for the kitchen, go to jccrisiscenter.org or ickitchenconnect.com.