Moving from an at-home kitchen or similar set up to a brick-and-mortar location is never easy for food startups.
Just ask Nude Dude Food, which has been in business for seven years and serves primarily as a catering service for private events.
The food startup last week was named the winner of a pitch contest held by Grubhub and The Hatchery as part of a new partnership between the Chicago-based food-delivery service and the nonprofit food-business incubator. Grubhub donated $300,000 as part of the partnership to sponsor the pitch competition and develop guidance for entrepreneurs.
Nude Dude Food, which offers sourdough pizza among other items, was one of five local startups to compete and pitch its food-and-beverage business. As winner of the competition, the company gets rent-free access to a private Grubhub Kitchen at The Hatchery for a year, along with additional support.
Three additional entrepreneurs will get six months rent-free access to The Hatchery to help grow their businesses.
Natalie Shmulik, chief strategy and innovation officer at The Hatchery, said the space the companies receive can be a capital lift of $17,000 over six months and $30,000 for the year. The companies also will receive a stipend to outfit their space.
"Our goal is not just to have these companies move here and stay; we want to see that within one to five years, they also graduated out of the space," Shmulik told Chicago Inno.
The Hatchery has an advocacy team to help entrepreneurs find land if they want brick-and-mortar locations, and the nonprofit incubator helps with hiring with the goal of hiring West Side residents.
"We want to empower West Side residents to launch businesses, build sustainable careers and ultimately build generational wealth in an often-overlooked neighborhood," Shmulik said.
Among the judges at the pitch competition was Taylor Mason, co-owner of Taylor's Tacos, which had its first private commercial kitchen at The Hatchery before graduating to its own taco shop and catering kitchen earlier this year.
Ryan Van Voorhis, co-founder of Nude Dude Food, said winning the pitch competition will help the venture condense its operations into one space.
"The whole reason why we were in this competition was to have a space that can be more forward-facing," he told Chicago Inno.
Grubhub aims to provide support to the entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses with current consumer preferences in mind. According to the local food-delivery service, 80% of its customers order from a restaurant they have never been to physically.
