Amped Kitchens (ampedkitchens.com) held a ribbon-cutting at its new 117,000-square-foot, multi-tenant, commercial kitchen complex in Chicago's Belmont-Cragin neighborhood. Amped is the first-of-its-kind high-end, production-oriented, multi-unit kitchen facility in Chicago. Along with partner Chicagoland Food & Beverage Network, Amped Kitchens will celebrate its diverse base of food makers and introduce the space to the Chicago food-making community.
Amped Kitchens began the $25 million renovation of the long-vacant Zenith factory at 5801 West Dickens Avenue in late 2019. This facility offers 64 private kitchens (from 150 square-feet to almost 2,000 square-feet). Each lease includes key amenities needed by growing food businesses: refrigerated, frozen, and dry storage -- as well as office space, meeting rooms, attended shipping docks, packing rooms, and an on-site USDA office. In addition, Amped Kitchen tenants have access to expedited government approvals and easier certification pathways, including organic and kosher. Amped's “plug-and-play” kitchen model offers tenants huge time and capital savings versus building their own space.