Culinary Collective is an innovative concept that offers Philadelphia food entrepreneurs coworking commercial kitchen space that supports pop-up restaurants, food trucks, and much more, writes Natalia Sanchez Loayza for Billy Penn at WHYY.
Each of the cooks working in the family-owned space in the Frankford Arsenal is preparing something different — from carrot cakes and macarons to venison with macaroni and cheese and empanadas.
“What the space is like here on a daily basis is a community,” said Brandon Weizer, who co-founded the space in 2021 with his parents, Craig and Robin. “It’s a family of businesses and people that all work together.”
The family started operating Bridesburg Commissary kitchen 13 years ago, when food trucks were gaining in popularity. At the time, they quickly became one of the most successful kitchen commissaries in Philadelphia. Then when the industry began to shift, the family decided to adjust their business model.
Brandon said they started seeing more catering, while more bakers, private and personal chefs, were needing more space. In addition, consumer packaged-goods brands needed areas to produce their product.
From there, they relocated to the Frankford Arsenal and rebranded as Culinary Collective. Now, they own two buildings with 21 coworking kitchen spaces, four cook pods, and five private kitchens.
Read more about the story of Culinary Collective in Billy Penn at WHYY.
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