NEW YORK—La Marqueta in East Harlem will become an “incubator” for new restaurateurs, announced City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) last week.
The 4,000 square foot commercial kitchen will receive city investments and provide shared workspace for restaurant entrepreneurs—having such an arrangement will eliminate one of the most prohibitive startup costs of a restaurant: renting a space to develop a menu.
"There are countless people in neighborhoods around the city that have the talent to make it big in the food industry," said Quinn. "But many of these folks simply don't have access to the space and equipment they need to grow."
"This partnership with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and La Marqueta will help us create jobs while making dreams come true for new entrepreneurs," said Quinn.
The concept is one that Quinn has spoken about before. In her state of the city speech in February, she urged the city to diversify and look beyond the financial services industry for income.
“It’s as though we’re finally waking up from a long, Wall Street induced slumber,” Quinn said. “There was so much money coming in from the financial boom, we didn’t really have to look any farther. But now, we’re being forced to look closer at what we do have and find creative ways to make it go further.”
In her February speech, she said that playing on the city's “good eats” would be a great way to boost local economic activity. As such, she proposed that the local government start and support a public experimental kitchen.
The Process Begins
Now that the city has a plan for such an establishment, it is soliciting the help of companies that could manage the operation of the shared kitchen space. Companies should submit a proposal to the city. The winning company will be responsible for providing an equipped and well-maintained kitchen that can be sublet as well as develop a food business in that location.
Proposals are due to the NYCEDC by September 2.
In its research, the city found two types of commercial kitchens that currently exist in the United States. One is run by a commercial group, which rents space to existing small businesses. Another is run by a nonprofit and can be rented out by individual entrepreneurs. That model usually comes with an educational portion.
The Resurrection of La Marqueta
The shared kitchen will be located between 111th Street and 116th Street on Park Avenue, at the site of La Marqueta. During the 1950s and 1960s, the space was a shop from which many Hispanic food, music, and goods vendors operated.
But business there dwindled since vendors moved into street carts and Hispanic goods became readily available in other parts of town.
