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From Passion to Business Success 💡

Our mission is simple — to equip Chattanooga’s food entrepreneurs with the tools, training, and space they need to grow. Through LAUNCH Chattanooga’s Kitchen Incubator, dozens of food trucks, caterers, and packaged-food startups have transformed passion into thriving local businesses.

In a recent NewsChannel 9 Community Spotlight, reporter Dane Wurmlinger shared how the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga continues to nurture the next generation of chefs, bakers, and food innovators — creating opportunity, education, and community impact.

Recipe for Success: LAUNCH Chattanooga’s Kitchen Incubator Helps Entrepreneurs Grow

Since 2011, LAUNCH Chattanooga has supported hundreds of small businesses across the region, offering education, mentorship, and access to affordable resources. In 2020, during the height of the pandemic, LAUNCH expanded its mission by opening the Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga (KIC) — a shared, commercial-grade kitchen that empowers entrepreneurs to start and scale their food ventures safely and sustainably.

In its early days, the incubator became a lifeline for the community. Under LAUNCH’s Provisions Project, the facility prepared and delivered more than 100,000 meals to seniors facing food insecurity during COVID-19 — all while keeping local food businesses working.

Today, KIC is home to nearly 30 active businesses, including food trucks, caterers, bakers, and restaurants refining their concepts before opening storefronts. Inside the 10,126-square-foot space, entrepreneurs have access to commercial ovens, fryers, mixers, and prep stations, along with guidance on health department standards, marketing strategies, and licensing requirements.

Director Mark Holland describes the incubator as a bridge between dream and reality:

“We have new restaurants that open up downtown that need a space to come and iron out their concept, get their license, and we provide that facility for them.”

Among those helping foster that growth is James “Pat” Rowe, Outreach Manager at KIC and owner of BBQ Rowe. A graduate of LAUNCH’s business training program, Rowe now mentors new entrepreneurs while running his own successful catering company.

“Between the networking and the help and support LAUNCH has given, it’s been a great journey,” said Rowe.

Beyond kitchen operations, the incubator also serves as a gathering place for the community. On the first and third Fridays of each month, KIC hosts Food Truck Fridays, sponsored by TVFCU, showcasing local chefs and food trucks in front of the Eastgate facility.

As Holland explains, every entrepreneur who succeeds at the Kitchen Incubator strengthens Chattanooga’s local economy:

“By supporting the Kitchen Incubator, you’re helping us achieve more dreams of people out there in the community that want to start their own business.”

📖 Read the full story on NewsChannel 9:

Recipe for Success: LAUNCH Chattanooga’s Kitchen Incubator Helps Entrepreneurs Grow

#SmallBusiness #ChattanoogaEats #LaunchCHA #FoodBusiness #EntrepreneurSupport #CommunityDriven

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