City Food Studio, a new shared-use commercial kitchen geared for culinary entrepreneurs and cooking enthusiasts, is under construction at 38th and Chicago in Minneapolis.
Owner Journey Gosselin says he's busy lining up contractors to install modern utilities, add glass block windows, and build new walls.
The space will have a special dairy room for making cheese and ice cream, and a storefront retail area. Besides the commercial food prep, a part of the kitchen will be used for a variety of cooking classes, as well.
In terms of its look, “I’m trying to blend a clean and classic 1930s look with a modern, urban art aesthetic,” he says. He'll accomplish that with a big curving metal pot rack that will be a centerpiece for the kitchen; clean white walls; and green and gray tiles, along with other accent elements.
The metalwork inside is a theme that will be echoed in a wire mesh bound for the building’s exterior.
Additionally, the exterior is getting a full makeover. It'll be repainted to a browner shade, while most of the front will be covered by a rust-colored metal façade.
The custom metal façade, which a local artist through the
Arts on Chicago project will fabricate, will be shaped like a cityscape, reflecting nearby architecture. “The building will probably recede more. I’m playing down the cinderblocks,” he says.
Separately, the place will soon get a bike rack, and Gosselin hopes that the building might get some sort of bike-delivery system going, he says. The location works well for that, he explains, adding, “I’m excited about how vibrant it is,” and the potential for collaboration with people from all different backgrounds, he says.
“I’m sure it’ll go places I’m not envisioning right now,” he says.
Gosselin hopes to open in the space in mid-May.
Source: Journey Gosselin, City Food Studio
Writer: Anna Pratt