Asa was traveling last week to visit a client that wanted to build co-manufacturing space in their shared use kitchen. The building has inherent challenges to make efficient. It is on a narrow residential street, and difficult dock access for 53′ trucks. Once docked, the path to move materials into and out of the proposed co-man space is long and disruptive to other activities in the building. Additionally, the areas in discussion for co-man use were not contiguous, which would create difficulties getting SQF certified down the road.
We had prepped their leadership team with a few proposals that involved repurposing other spaces in the building and tearing down walls. At the time, we were encouraged by the client to think within the existing shell and not alter the building too much.
During the site-visit, FoodOps and our partner Food Works Group, we were able to walk the space and articulate the value in repurposing the building to provide better human and material flow. This will ultimately improve their operational efficiency and GMP’s, allowing them to be a great small co-man for budding businesses.