'A bridge' to food entrepreneurship: Pueblo's Fuel & Iron opens commissary kitchen

Pueblo’s Fuel & Iron has publicly unveiled Fuel Kitchens, a full-scale commissary kitchen that will serve as a business incubator for the city’s food entrepreneurs.

Fuel & Iron earlier this month announced that the long-awaited kitchen was set to open after being under construction for nearly a year. The project is Fuel & Iron’s second to come online after the food hall.

Jolene “JoJo” Collins, the director of operations and mentorship for Fuel Kitchens and the entrepreneur behind JoJo’s Siracha, told dozens of people in attendance during Friday’s grand opening that it was an “exciting day” for food entrepreneurship in Pueblo. The kitchen can accommodate up to 60 businesses.

“We really see this as a bridge between people making products in their home and being able to ultimately graduate from the kitchen and open their own facilities down the road,” said Nathan Stern, co-founder of Fuel & Iron Food Hall.

In August, Collins shared with the Chieftain what makers will have at their disposal when they enter the facility, which is located at 1745 N. Erie Ave.

The building features a 2,000-square-foot walk-in refrigerator, a freezer that is three times that size, and a 3,000-square-foot kitchen for cooking or baking. It also has spacious dry storage and packing and shipping areas.

Makers can also access food processors, ovens, stock pot burners and mixers, among other commercial cooking items inside the space. There will be 24-hour access to the facility.

Fuel Kitchens will operate on a membership basis but offer a day pass for people who temporarily need the space. According to Fuel & Iron, it’s the first commissary kitchen in Pueblo.

How some makers feel about the new space

At least a few makers plan to use the space to test their products and expand their business. Gaynell Pritts, a baker who launched Whippy Cakes, was serving up custom-flavored portions of cheesecake to attendees on Friday.

Over the past year, Pritts started making cheesecake just for family but has since expanded her business idea, feeling Pueblo lacked a market for high-quality, customizable cheesecake.

She hit a few snags, however, once the side gig turned into a plausible business opportunity she felt she could explore. She said she spoke with Collins last month and realized how helpful the resources from Fuel & Iron, Pueblo Food Project and Fuel Kitchens can be for businesses.

“It’s not just a kitchen,” Pritts said. “They really want to develop food entrepreneurs. It’s such a daunting thing to do — figuring everything out (to build a business).”

Pritts has fielded multiple requests from people who want different types of cheesecake. She'll likely have plenty of time inside the kitchen to experiment with distinct flavors.

“I really enjoy people bringing me their different requests,” Pritts said. “I’ve had requests for smores, a marshmallow on top. That’s the fun of it for me.”

Calvin McElroy of C’s Sauce also plans to use the space to develop different sauces. He’s been selling his products for nearly 15 years and is now based in Pueblo West.

“This is great,” McElroy said of the kitchen. “This is a good opportunity for everybody to come in here and you don’t have to worry about it being an FDA-approved kitchen. You can come in and (work on your food). It’s nice, very nice.”

Fuel Kitchens marks next step toward creating ecosystem for entrepreneurs

Both Collins and Stern said that Fuel Kitchens is the latest step toward the group’s goal of cultivating an environment where food entrepreneurs can thrive and grow their businesses. The food hall was the first step and a planned urban farm is the bookend to a three-part plan to build incubator spaces.

“Fuel & Iron’s mission is to have Pueblo be the best place in Colorado to start a food business,” Collins said during Friday’s ceremony. “With that, you need an ecosystem, and these are all examples — the kitchen, food hall and (farm).

“When you really create that ecosystem, that’s how you get sustainability so that if you want a career and pathway in culinary arts and food entrepreneurship, Pueblo is the home for that.”

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Chieftain reporter Josué Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @josuepwrites. Support local news, subscribe to The Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Fuel & Iron unveils its new commissary kitchen