A co-op of commercial kitchens: Oceana Coffee Roasters hatching a kitchen incubator

Two-story building rising in Lake Park more than a coffee house: Upstairs will be devoted to kitchen space for startups.

If you’re an entrepreneur wanting to get into the food business, your product is the least of your worries. The cost of operating a restaurant or even a small cafe or food truck can be prohibitive.

Enter the Culinary Studio, a concept coming this winter to Lake Park. 

Amy and Scott Angelo, owners of Oceana Coffee Roasters in Tequesta, plan to share their new $10 million building housing their coffee roasting and canning facility with hopeful food start-ups.

Culinary Studio will be a co-op of commercial kitchens available for rent through a club membership.

“The idea came out of something we needed 15 years ago,” Amy said.

They began their coffee roasting start-up first in their home kitchen, using a $35 popcorn machine Scott found on eBay. He graduated to a bigger machine and roasted bigger batches of a variety of beans in his garage for friends. 

Once the small-batch coffee caught on, the couple invested in a commercial machine and opened their first facility in Tequesta, selling beans to restaurants and individuals. They expanded into a second roasting facility near the first, but have now outgrown it.

“This was four years in the planning,” Amy said about the building under construction on 10th Street a few blocks north of Park Avenue.  “We bought the land in 2019.”

They secured a Small Business Administration loan, a federal Housing and Urban Development loan through the county, and a grant from the town. In 2020, they knocked down the existing building that once housed the restaurant Someplace and started work on the new one.

COVID held things up, and afterward, costs changed.

“When we took the loan, interest rates were half what they are now. Our original plan for the building was larger, but after the pandemic, construction costs have soared, so we amended the plan,” Amy said. 

Coffee roasting and a cannery

Downstairs in the two-story building, the Angelos will operate a coffee-roasting facility and a cannery. They’ll also offer a cafe, small food market and a drive-through window. 

The cannery will be producing cold-brew coffee, a first for the couple. 

“We can also can other beverages, such as juices or specialty waters,” Amy said, as well as lightweight alcohol products. Lifts and pallets with refrigerated pallet storage will be available as well.

“We also hope to have a weekly greenmarket on the grass in season,” she said.

Upstairs will be the kitchens and event space for the Culinary Studio.

“There are three main kitchens that will rent by the hour. There are spaces for demos and teaching.”

Members-only kitchen access

The shared kitchens will be equipped for most commercial cooking. Equipment includes three separate hot lines, convection ovens, fryers, a flat-top griddle, tilt skillet, steamers and walk-ins. Ware-washing stations are shared.

Those renting can bring their own equipment, such as ventless ovens, stainless steel tables, mixers, heat-holding cabinets, induction stove tops and ice cream makers.

Potential members will go through a strict screening process and formal background check, Amy said. Key cards and a controlled scheduling board will keep the cooks from encroaching on one another’s work areas. Extra charges will be levied if members work beyond their appointed times.

In pre-opening brochures, 68 memberships are available for the Culinary Studio kitchens. They start at 10 hours for kickstarter operations. Hours increase for different levels of membership, which range from $500 monthly for food trucks, to $2,750 per month for 80 hours for established cooks in the private kitchen.

Amy said the costs are mom-and-pop friendly. 

“Start up costs for most entrepreneurs are $80,000 to $160,000. Things like grease traps and hoods are expensive for the small shop or bakery. That’s a big barrier for most people. And finding a commercial facility for rent is really hard,” she said.

Having the equipment, inspections on site and room to store items can help kick-start a small business.

Open house on Friday

A food-buying co-op also may be part of the Culinary Studio, offered to the members and stocked by one of the big food distributors.

“We’re looking at caterers, food truck owners, wedding cake bakers and people wanting to make a product, like a salsa maker. Cooking teachers or chefs wanting to stage a pop-up with a demo or class can use the kitchen then rent the outdoor event space,” Amy said.

The event space, described as “a rooftop patio under the stars,” is available to rent for a full or half day for a party, wine dinner or chef’s restaurant pop-up, for example. It will be open 7 am to 11 pm and includes a kitchen space for the allotted time.

Rates for the event area are determined by day of week and time of year. Costs range from  $1,000 to $4,000.

Memberships are limited to 20 or 30 per month, depending on the level, Amy said. 

They’re hoping to open the kitchens by December, two months after Oceana completes its buildout. 

“We must have our CO (certificate of occupancy) by December,” Amy said, “because it’s one of the conditions of our grant. We have a $1 million penalty otherwise.”

Amy will host an open house to see layouts for kitchens and explain memberships from 10 am to 6 pm Friday at the Brooklyn Cupcake Co., 796 10th St., Lake Park. For more information, call 561-206-2443.