Ghost Kitchen to Open at 16 Tech
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Developers of a new ghost kitchen will celebrate its opening Tuesday at 16 Tech Innovation District on the near west side of Indianapolis to support emerging Black chefs and restaurateurs. Melon Kitchens is a concept generated by Indianapolis-based Be Nimble Foundation. The organization says the cooking facility will host cohorts of chefs who are interested in exploring new restaurant concepts.
In an interview with Inside INdiana Business, Be Nimble Foundation co-founder Kelli Jones said program provides the resources needed for chefs who don’t want to rely the brick-and-mortar restaurant model.
“We’re now creating something that adapts to chef’s that adapts to people in the restaurant industry, but it’s taking a more innovative tech first, and potentially venture bankable model to do so,” explain Jones.
She says the business accelerator supports budding business owners by allowing them to build and test their virtual restaurant concepts and bring their restaurant visions to life.
The business accelerator is located inside the AMP, a 40,000-square-foot artisan marketplace at 16 Tech that offers a variety of foods. Jones explains that while Be Nimble’s mission focuses on creating a diverse and inclusive technology ecosystem, the food tech space is not too far removed.
“Given that we’re a tech focused organization, and we’re really working on building high growth, high scale, innovative models in the food space, it just felt like a natural fit,” said Jones. “Everything is online ordering and kiosk ordering so you can do it straight from your phone. We also have…heated food lockers…so everything is hands free.”
Jones says she and her partner started to develop the concept for Melon Kitchens in 2019, but moving the plan forward was delayed by the pandemic. Ironically, Jones said, the healthcare crisis illustrated the need for reimagining how the food sector can operate.
“We had no idea that COVID would have the impact that it had. But it actually made the idea even better. At the time, we weren’t banking on delivery only or takeout only concepts,” said Jones. “We were doing it because we saw an opportunity to show people this new model.”
Jones says six chefs have been selected for the initial cohort. They will offer vegan, American, Japanese and fusion food selections. She says most already have experience in the food space that will provide initial feedback to Melon Kitchens. Subsequent cohorts will be budding business creators.
“We first wanted to work with established chefs. People that already had a following people that may have already kind of been in market doing some other things, mostly because we want their feedback,” said Jones. “We want to know if this is helpful for them, we want to know if this is something that they’d be interested in.”
Jones says the goal is to have Melon Kitchens operational and offering a variety of cuisine by April.
While 16 Tech is the first location, Jones says several more locations are planned.
