Dreams Begin To Rise At East Harlem "Marqueta"

By: Rebecca Spitz

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A super-kitchen of sorts where entrepreneurs can get their businesses started before moving out on their own is up and running in East Harlem. NY1's Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

With a pinch of salt for good luck, the new kitchen incubator at "La Marqueta" in East Harlem officially opened for business Tuesday.

It's a newly renovated, state-of-the-art kitchen, designed to help culinary start-ups get a jump start on expanding their businesses.

"This kitchen incubator will provide 3,000 square feet of shared manufacturing workspace and technical assistance for small artisinal and ethnic food businesses," said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "This will not only help train and assist dozens of small food manufacturers, it will also create real, important, sustainable jobs."

The kitchen incubator was made possible by an investment from the City Council in partnership with the city's Economic Development Corporation. The incubator program will be run by anchor tenant Hot Bread Kitchen -- a non profit which will also operate its own immigrant workforce training bakery on site.

"I founded Hot Bread Kitchen in 2007 with the mission of helping foreign born women improve their lives while 'breaducating' New Yorkers about the contribution of immigrant communities," Hot Bread Kitchen Founder & Executive Director Jessamyn Waldman.

One of the first businesses that will benefit from the program, called HBK incubates, is Daisita, a bakery that Elvis Hernandez ran from his home, until now.

"La Marqueta is a perfect place for us to learn how to make cakes in a large quantity, how to work on nutrition facts labels and one day be ready to move to our own commercial space with all the necessary knowledge to have a successful business here in Harlem," Hernandez said.

Daisita is one of six small businesses Hot Bread Kitchen has agreed to help incubate. A second round of applications is being accepted through the end of February.

Clients for the incubator program will be recruited from the Hot Bread Kitchen workforce training program, East Harlem community groups and other non-profits, but anyone interested is encouraged to inquire about it.

Hot Bread Kitchen is capable of incubating up to 40 businesses at a time.