At United Kitchen, in downtown La Grange, the entire business plan is predicated on collaborative use of a shared space.
"So a new business starting off, they could come here, rent space without having to put up the upfront capital cost of building a kitchen," said Kelly Ford, the owner of United Kitchen.
That rental saves thousands of dollars for entrepreneurs like Kevin Roblee, who spends his days making chocolate and caramel sauces.
"Right now I'm at 37 stores; if I were at 100 stores I'd be opening up my own shop. But this enables me, without all that capital, to start up my business and do things the right way," said Roblee, owner of Kokku.
Simply Pies has its headquarters here, making use of the stand mixers, ovens and refrigerators. So does Gravy, which produces Italian comfort food, like hearty sausage bread in two sizes. For the women of When in Rome, cranking out Italian cookies is made a lot easier when they have the space, and proper licensing, to work.
"It keeps the clutter out of my kitchen. I've grown so big that I can't manage it at my own house anymore, so space is here, all of the equipment is here, it's close to my home, I can keep my ingredients here," said Geri Luka-Reisch, owner of When in Rome.
All of the companies sell their products in the store, and with the kitchens running 24 hours, there's a lot of room for additional tenants.
"People share," said Ford. "So I have a wonderful group of people and we all work together and sometimes it gets a little bit tricky but that's part of the fun."
There are many others businesses using United Kitchen as well, including Gourmet People Chow which makes kind of a sweet Chex Mix and chocolate-covered pretzels, a couple different flavors, and granola as well as jam and different flavors of pretzels, all available for sale here at the store.
In order to use the kitchen, you have to have a corporation established with the state, plus business insurance and a food sanitation certificate. If you don't have them, they are happy to help you out.
United Kitchen
26 Calendar Ave., La Grange
708-354-4844
http://www.unitedkitchen.com