LANSING, MI – The Allen Neighborhood Center’s new accelerator kitchen gives you a taste of the entrepreneurial talent Lansing has to offer.
The $ 655,000 communal kitchen opened in mid-March and serves as a food hub for alumni of the nonprofit’s incubator kitchen program.
The incubator kitchen was opened in February 2014. It provides affordable kitchen rental and business development assistance for newcomers to the grocery store.
Joan Nelson, the director of the Allen Neighborhood Center, says 57 small food business startups have since participated in the incubator program.
“It’s the next step, so to speak, between an incubator program and moving into your own business,” said Nelson
There are currently four different stores in the kitchen: Smoothie Queen, Tantay, Mr. Leslie’s Cheesecakes, and Slow BBQ.
They each have their own area for working with prep tables, sinks, and storage. They also share a commercial hood, two stoves, a fan oven, freezer, counter, display case, and public seating area.
On one side you’ll find Tammara McCollum, the owner of Smoothie Queen, who mixes royal smoothies in her pink apron.
Tianna Jenkins, WSYM, April 2021
“We have all kinds of smoothies that are 100% dairy-free.”
She started selling smoothies from her apartment in 2019, but things got tough for her last year.
“I tried to run this business without knowing how to do it. Without knowing how to save money on a business. So I got into tough times and lost my apartment and had to live in winter my car, “said McCollum.
“That was around the time I found out about Allen Neighborhood Center, too, so I knew this would be my next step if I could get back on my feet.”
With the help of her friends and the community, she began to recover and started selling smoothies again. This time from the trunk of her car.
Then, during the quarantine, she got her meal license and started the program in August last year. She says the energy in the kitchen is great.
“It’s like a blessing. It’s like our own little room. We can do pretty much anything we want here. We have our own stations so it’s really great, ”said McCollum.
Across the kitchen wall is Marcus Leslie Sr, the owner of Mr. Leslie’s Cheesecakes, who perfects them to put a smile on your face.
Tianna Jenkins, WSYM, April 2021
“I want people to know when they get a piece of cheesecake it’s like you’re part of the family. You can take advantage of this experience and hopefully share it with other people,” Leslie said.
He says he loves cheesecake and grew up baking as a kid. But it was a dinner party he was invited to that made all the difference in his life.
“They told me they had cheesecakes, which were my favorite dessert, so I was like a bet. She said I was going to take them out of the oven and I said wait, wait, cheesecake shouldn’t be hot,” said Leslie.
“I tried it and it was the best cheesecake I’ve ever had. So I asked for the recipe and from then on I just made it myself.”
He says he actually got his hair cut in the spot where the accelerator kitchen is today, and he loves the fact that he can come back and give to a community where he once struggled.
“Now I am able to keep people busy and help them through this time of need,” said Leslie.
And finally you have Jose Aste, the owner of TanTay, who keeps things hot in the kitchen.
Tianna Jenkins, WSYM, April 2021
“It’s Peruvian cuisine. Only here in central Michigan. We’re the second Peruvian restaurant in the state of Michigan. We try very hard to use local produce.”
He says the difference between his Peruvian cuisine and the rest is that he tries to serve people who want to be gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian.
He was born in Peru and grew up in Miami. He says his love for food started with his family.
“The meeting in a kitchen has really been with me forever. That is exactly what I try to do,” said Aste.
“This is a great stepping stone to doing what we really wanted, which is to create an environment that is very inclusive and that brings people together, children, everyone.”
Slow grilling will soon be added to the mix.
Nelson says there is no time limit on how long the makers can work in the kitchen.
All three entrepreneurs say they learn from this program every day and are grateful for the opportunity to work in an environment with amazing people.
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