The Commissary Offers Incubator for Cooks; Chefs

A new facility in Marble Cliff serves as an incubator for would-be cooks or a laboratory for professional chefs who want to experiment. The Commissary features fully outfitted commercial kitchens, an event space for cooking classes, pop up restaurants or investor dinners. It also features spaces for food trucks to restock and recharge. Before she discovered The Commissary, Stephanie Eakins had to make do. "I was at a commercial kitchen in Grove City. And it was a little challenging because I couldn't store stuff there, so I would have to go in, do my cooking and then take everything out when I was done," she explained. Filling a need Before J. C. Lasmanis and his wife Charlane discovered The Commissary, the couple planned a major addition to their home. "We actually had a contractor on our property where we were going to build the kitchen. We were going to rent out a kitchen to other food entrepreneurs. And now that would have been a lot of work," Lasmanis said. And Carl Acampado? Well, he was doing a lot of driving. "Actually, I was cooking in a commercial kitchen up in the Cleveland area and it was such a trek for me to like go up there," Acampado laughed. The Commissary provides chefs, like Acampado, Lasmanis and Eakins a one-stop shop. Eakins makes oven-ready meals for clients. "I'm using the ovens, cold prep. I'm renting refrigerators and freezers because I have a lot of food to store. And so, it's been great," she said. A commercial kitchen for all The Commissary on Dublin Road in Marble Cliff is 16,000 square feet of cooking and event space. Commissary founder Kate Djupe says it's the realization of a long time dream. "I've been working on this for 15 years. The space we're actually standing in, I've been working on for probably five," she explained. Community project "I think this is a great facility for people who want to get into cooking for the community or starting their own business," said Carl Acampado. Carl Acampado can now spend more time in Columbus where his Rogue Bakery makes goodies for specialty grocers. "I sell retail through the Hills Market and Wieland's and other locations in Columbus. But I don't have a storefront or anything," he said. J. C. and Charlane Lasmanis are planning a store front in Grandview to sell their chili and baked goods. "It's in a little strip mall. It's gonna be carry-out only," Lasmanis said. Right now the couple uses one of the Commissary's three 6-hundred square foot communal kitchens. But Lasmanis has grander hopes for the future. "Well, we're hoping that things will go well enough that we will be having Kate build out one of these private kitchens for us," he said. Kate Djupe has other plans for more customization down the road. "Stauf's is putting in some coffee equipment so you can play around with beans and infusions. Acutal Brewing Company is bringing over their pilot brew system called "Amelia Beerheart." And we will have our manufacturer's license once we finish the big, long licensing race," she explained. With that manufacturing license, Djupe says, any beer brewed on the premises can be sold commercially. Crowdsourcing  00000178-6a24-ddab-a97a-6a3ce2650000 While most of the funding for the Commissary came from private investors, Djupe says a Kickstarter campaign provided extra money needed for the event space. An installation just outside the room commemorates the Commissary's many supporters. "This is an emotional and overwhelming thing to see because it's five hundred spoons engraved with the messages of people who have supported the project of people in the last five years but particularly through the Kickstarter. As a whole it feels like a big art piece, but when you look closer it feels amazing how much support there is in this community," Djupe said. Djupe said with that community support and the rental income from kitchen space, prep stations and specialty equipment, the Commissary will serve area cooks for a long time to come.