GARLAND, Texas — As a child watching his mother work in the restaurant industry in Seoul, Tyler Shin swore he would never go into the restaurant business.
Now, he’s founded a commercial kitchen business in Garland that is home to a growing number of virtual kitchens, caterers and packaged-goods chefs.
Revolving Kitchen opened in October to fill a need for commissary kitchens in North Texas that were fully stocked, on flexible lease terms and not shared by others. The 25 individual kitchens are rented for a flat monthly rate that includes infrastructure, equipment, utility costs, permits and inspections.
Close to 60 companies work at Revolving Kitchen and Shin said his goal is to have all 25 kitchens full by the end of the year.
“They can come here and rent these kitchens either by the hour, by the day, 12 months or 24 months lease, where it's all outfitted all the equipment is provided so they can literally come here and start cooking,” he said.
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Before the coronavirus pandemic, many of Revolving Kitchen's renters were caterers, like Carra Freeman, president of PROPER Catering & Events.
“I was super excited when I found Revolving Kitchen,” Freeman said. “When I started, we didn't take out any loans, didn’t take out anything like that. It was something completely funded with no debt, so starting a new business, it's real scary to take on a commercial lease. They tend to be five to 10 years with a lot of really high overhead. So, this has been just a really great option for us as the business grows and changes, we've been able to be really flexible there.”
As coronavirus took hold in North Texas, many caterers like Freeman had to pivot during what is normally their busiest season, leaving Shin and Revolving Kitchen with some question marks.
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