Press

Bakers, caterers, candy-makers and farmers market folks have been their clients. Pie-maker Hoosier Mama and the pastry wizards of Floriole Bakery used Kitchen Chicago, as have many more who stir up food products without the financial outlay needed to open their own facility.

Chicago Tribune, 2010 Good Eating Awards

In its four-and-a-half years, the space (with rates ranging from $10–$24 an hour) has helped launch several well-known establishments, including Bleeding Heart Bakery, Hoosier Mama Pie Company, Vella Cafe and TipsyCake.

Heather Lalley, Time Out Chicago, July 23, 2009

Alexis Frankfort, co-owner of local food-industry incubator Kitchen Chicago, says the recession hasn't curbed her appetite for expansion.

Demand to rent space at her firm is increasing, and the poor economy is actually providing a lift, Ms. Frankfort says. Some clients have postponed plans to move into their own facilities because financing is difficult to secure, and they have continued to rent space at Kitchen Chicago. Others have come on board after losing their full-time jobs and deciding to start a business.

Meghan Streit, Crain's Chicago Business, January 19, 2009

"It’s a 24/7 operation," said Alexis Leverenz, who opened Kitchen Chicagoafter leaving Wall Street investment bank Merrill Lynch with dreams ofstarting her own business. "People come in here at all times of the day andnight, and it is thrilling to watch them trying to start their own businesses..."

Joe Bel Bruno, AP, April 14, 2008

Tucked inside the Ravenswood Manor beside the busy train tracks, this little burst of sunshine offers far more than your average cold comfort cafe. Besides providing patrons with tasty home cooking, Kitchen Chicago rents a fully equipped kitchen to dozens of aspiring and well-seasoned chefs who need a place to test and tweak their recipes.

Jessica Herman, Centerstage Chicago, October, 2005

What she and her partner and boyfriend, Jeff Leverenz, wound up creating - Kitchen Chicago, a shared-use kitchen with a storefront in Ravenswood Manor - a novel solution to a common problem. For many small businesses the Internet has radically simplified the start-up process: you knit a sweater, you create a Web site, someone buys your sweater, and everybody's happy ... But since bakers and cooks are required by the government to operate in a commercially certified kitchen, they can't start small: they need a separate workspace, which means large start-up costs. And in the restaurant business there's little tradition of sharing costs and space. It was a niche that, once filled, got noticed.

Nicholas Day, Chicago Reader, July 29, 2005

This community kitchen is an artisan's lifesaver. Nestled on a quiet street in Ravenswood Manor, this quaint storefront hides a commercial kitchen that's shared by several entrepreneurs who can't afford a place of their own. So what does that mean for you? A charming cafe, decked out country kitchen-style with an antique stove and weathered furniture...

TimeOut Chicago, July 14, 2005

Time shares: If the concept can be used to pitch vacation condos in Orlando, why not to sell commercial cooking space? That's the idea behind Kitchen Chicago, a "shared-use kitchen" concept that launched in February in Chicago's Ravenswood Manor neighborhood. But unlike the hard sell often associated with proportional ownership vacation properties, chefs, bakers and caterers are approaching Alexis Frankfort, a former portfolio analyst in the Chicago office of Merrill Lynch, and partner Jeff Leverenz.

Brian McCormick, Chicago Tribune, June 8, 2005

So she and Leverenz ... came up with the idea to create a space where almost anyone could get started making and selling their edible wares. ...By creating an affordable, rentable kitchen and a space to show off product, would-be food artists can get help in making a start. ...Now that they've almost finished building it, people are starting to come.

Mike Schramm, Newcity Magazine, February 15, 2005