When you’re here, you’re family
Our story began with a meal train.
Manny the Meal Train is the logo of our companion nonprofit, NC Meal Train Ministry. This building became a home for that mission, and for local food businesses along with it.
Sixty miles to the nearest kitchen
It began with a search.
We wanted to bring cooked meals to people in our community who could not reach the usual resources.
North Carolina law requires a licensed food commissary before you can run a mobile food unit, and the closest one with commercial kitchen space sat more than sixty miles away. Then, through a chain of events we can only credit to divine guidance, a building on Griffin Street became ours.
ThenAn open lot and a bare block shell, waiting for someone to picture what it could hold.
NowThe same lot and the same walls, with a sign above the door, a ribbon across it, and rooms that are ready for work.
Fresh daily
A home for local food businesses.
We are proud to offer local food entrepreneurs fully licensed and permitted commercial kitchens, approved by the Health Department. Our private culinary classroom lets us teach both children and adults the art of cooking, and share a little joy along the way.
ThenPlain rooms of old paneling and open block, with nothing an inspector could yet sign off on.
NowThe same three rooms, now plumbed, inspected, and licensed: a cooking kitchen, a classroom, and a prep room.
Come back to it
Room to keep what you make.
The space that was left over became storage our members can rely on. A place to set down a full run of product and return to it, instead of carrying everything home at the end of a shift.
ThenOdds and ends left where they fell, on shelving thrown together in a hurry.
NowThe same room and the same wall, now cold storage and secured member bays. Leave it here. Come back to it.
