Inside San Mateo's KitchenTown

TT: I am originally from Utah but have lived in California for over 30 years and in Castro Valley for 11. I am married with treeh kids, ages 15, 10 and 8. I like many outdoor activities with my favorite being skateboarding. I am interested in Macroeconomics and recently made my first video for my YouTube channel.

DJ: How did you become involved in the food world?

TT: I have been into cooking since I was young and would always read labels when growing up. One of my first jobs was at an ice cream shop in high school. I have worked around food my entire adult life. I studied Finance in school but ended up working for Ladle & Leaf (SF Soup Co.) for over a decade after I graduated. I started managing their commissary and got introduced to food manufacturing and commercialization.

DJ: How did the concept of KitchenTown arise?

TT: The founder, Rusty Schwartz, had an observation that there was need for food innovation but not much infrastructure. This was in the early days of the shared economy (Uber, etc.) and he thought of a shared space where companies could come and innovate and run their CPG [Consumer Packaged Good] businesses. KitchenTown has now evolved into that plus a hub for all things commercialization, including an Innovation Lab with food scientists and an Insights and Strategies team that does market research.

DJ: Who thought of the KitchenTown name?

TT: Rusty’s 12-year-old son came up with it.

DJ: Which KitchenTown facilities are most in demand?

TT: We have an 11,000 square foot commercial kitchen that has all kinds of equipment, including mixers of all sizes, multiple kinds of ovens, fryers, ranges and kettles. We have a number of bakers, so the mixers and ovens stay busy most of the time. The warehouse and refrigerators/freezers can be the bottleneck as even if the makers are not here working, their ingredients, packaging and smallwares need to be stored.

DJ: What hours of access are most in demand?

TT: Monday to Friday from about 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. is our busiest time.

DJ: How do you select new makers for KitchenTown?

TT: We are looking for makers that are interested in creating and selling a CPG [Consumer Packaged Good]. We have had some makers come in and do R/D [Research and Development] for a period of time before they launch, but the majority of them already have a product and need a commercial facility to make their product.

DJ: What are some of the products that have been developed at KitchenTown?

TT: There is quite a broad range of products. Bonjour Bakehouse makes outstanding pastries and operates a coffee shop here in the old cafe. Dosa Chips makes these fermented chips that is a three-day process but yields a delicious flavorful snack. Organic Pantry makes high quality crackers from ingredients like quinoa and flax seeds. Living Flora makes delicious kefir water. Sobo Foods launched this year with their plant-based dumplings. Backhaus also got its start at KT.

DJ: There is a KitchenTown in San Mateo and a KitchenTown in Berlin. How are they connected?

TT: KT San Mateo came first. Berlin started about four years ago as we work with many international companies as a way to increase global innovation. They are very similar.

DJ: Is KitchenTown open for the general public to view?

TT: Not really. If someone walks by, they can see some of the kitchen through the windows, but we are not open to the public.

More about KitchenTown: KitchenTown, founded in 2014, provides incubation services and support to startups and companies in the food industry. It is located at 1001 Howard Ave. in San Mateo. For more information visit https://kitchentowncentral.com/.

Susan Cohn is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com.