It’s amazing what a good oven can do.
Until about a year ago, the Bay View Community Center had a dated on-site kitchen that wasn’t serving its community-building mission.
The new kitchen, part of a $730,000, grant-funded renovation, is now a business incubator, currently rented by three local startups – Kathryn Loves to Bake (Southern-inspired cakes, pies, biscuits and cookies); Tapas Ricas (catered charcuterie); and Rosa’s Baking (Venezuelan pastries, tres leches cake and native candies).
Through a partnership with South Shore Farmers Market, the businesses have a built-in marketplace in the summer to sell their products. There’s another way the community benefits: This is the first year foods donated or harvested from the center’s garden are being turned into soups and sauces available at the center’s emergency food pantry.
Programming is diversifying too, expanding from cooking demos and wine tastings to nutrition classes for families with limited resources. “It took a little bit to get started,” says Diana Billstrom, the interim executive director, of the incubator. “But we want to get more renters. [The kitchen] is open to anyone.” 1320 E. Oklahoma Ave.
