Bill Straus
Antoine and Michael Harris, owners of Moody Mike’s food truck, photographed at the Lexington Incubator Kitchen.
It’s a classic start-up story: Two friends get down to work in a garage and create a product that changes their community for the better.
Bill Straus
Lesme Romero
In this case, it’s Lesme Romero and Reinaldo Gonzalez who, in 2009, launched Lexington Pasta from a converted garage on North Limestone Street with a mission to provide freshly made pasta for local farmer’s markets, restaurants and groceries. When Romero opened Pasta Garage Italian Café on Delaware Avenue in 2013, Lexington Pasta moved its operations into the restaurant’s spacious kitchen and has since grown its capacity to ship orders statewide.
Today Romero’s mission has expanded to helping fellow culinary entrepreneurs realize their vision through the Lexington Incubator Kitchen. Opened in 2015, the shared commercial kitchen is located behind Pasta Garage and outfitted with all of the equipment up-and-coming restaurateurs need to launch their business or take it to the next level. The Lexington Incubator Kitchen is already baked into the origin stories of well-known Lexington eateries such as Lexington Diner, DV8 Kitchen, J. Gumbo’s and Crank & Boom Craft Ice Cream.
The earliest partnerships went so well, Romero said he decided to keep the momentum going and allow more fledgling restaurant operators into the fold.
“I realized that my overhead was really low having them here, and we were helping each other out,” he said.
Although he fields many requests, Romero is selective about who ultimately joins the kitchen. He sits down with applicants to discuss their business plans and needs in detail, and participants undergo a two-month trial period to ensure a good fit. Agreements are on month-to-month terms, with most lasting two to three years.
Jessica and Allen Jackson have operated Jacked-Nutrition out of the Lexington Kitchen Incubator since launching the meal prep business two years ago.
Participants have plenty of space to work, with access to shared ovens, grills, refrigerators, freezers and other commercial kitchen accoutrements. The set-up also features a customer pick-up area for businesses specializing in a carryout model, while other tenants use the kitchen to prep meals for delivery or to stock a food truck before hitting the road.
La Bonne Vie personal chef service, Sweetgrass Natural Foods, Pho KYtchen, Rise Up Pizza, Jacked-Nutrition, Bayleaf Diaspora Kitchen and Moody Mike’s are among the businesses currently utilizing the kitchen, Romero said, adding there is currently a three-month waiting list for new tenants.
Bill Straus
Dishes prepared in the kitchen by chef Etel Wagner, owner of Bayleaf Diaspora Kitchen, are inspired by global comfort foods.
Etel Wagner, chef/owner of Bayleaf Diaspora Kitchen, hails from Cape Verde, an island country off the west coast of Africa. She launched her restaurant concept this past September, with weekly menus leaning toward comfort foods that reflect her love of global cuisine. Offerings in January, for example, included Hawaiian, Scottish, Cape Verdean, Cajun, Southern United States and Moroccan fare. Jambalaya and spaghetti rank among her most popular sellers, she said.
Customers place their orders by phone or text, and arrive at the incubator kitchen for curbside pickup between 4 and 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays. Wagner currently fills about 30 to 40 orders a week, she said.
Wagner has more than three decades experience in the restaurant industry, including a stint working at Dudley’s. While researching opening her own restaurant, she discovered information about the Lexington Incubator Kitchen online.
“I had not ever heard of it, and it was five minutes from my house,” she said.
Wagner said the cost of using the incubator kitchen is far less than leasing or buying her own space, with no need to renovate or to purchase large equipment.
So far Wagner has signed on for a year but may stay another, she said. She plans to remain a one-woman operation for now.
“If Lexington really likes me, then I’ll look at expanding,” she said.
Antoine and Michael Harris prepare meals for their vegan food truck, Moody Mike’s, at the Lexington Incubator Kitchen.
Launched last October, Moody Mike’s is a vegan food truck owned by husband-and-wife Antoine and Michael Harris, who are both vegan. The food truck operates two days a week so far and serves about 50 to 80 customers weekly, Antoine said.
Moody Mike’s moniker arose when Michael couldn’t decide on a name for the food truck and, in mock exasperation, Antoine said she was being moody.
“We really researched and searched our souls trying to find a name for this food truck, and I changed my mind every week,” she said, laughing.
Moody Mike’s offers “totchos” — a base of tater tots topped with nacho toppings — as well as Impossible burgers and vegan shrimp po’ boys. Their vegan wings are also popular, Antoine said, with house-made sauces including Hennessy BBQ, Four Roses bourbon BBQ and lemon pepper.
The couple found information about Lexington Incubator Kitchen while researching commercial kitchen spaces. After a tour, meeting with Romero and a successful trial period, they estimate that they’ll work out of the kitchen for two years at the most.
While hoping that they can soon get back to serving at public events and festivals once the pandemic ebbs, their ultimate goal is to open a standalone restaurant. For now, the couple is planning their summer menu.
The most rewarding part of operating Moody Mike’s so far? “It makes me so happy to see someone enjoying my food,” Michael said.
Romero said revenue from the incubator kitchen also helps with his own expenses, but he primarily enjoys meeting new restaurant owners and watching their projects flourish. He’s happy to offer advice and to help connect owners with resources such as food suppliers, packaging and labeling vendors.
Said Romero: “The idea of the incubator [kitchen] is to have them for two or three years and help them move on to the next step, which is to open their own brick and mortar.”