Entrepreneur Hopes to Kickstart Kitchen Concept

Two years ago, Romeoville resident Steve Buresh turned his love of cooking into a business, that now provides desserts to numerous area residents and mail-order customers.

Now, he wants to help make other culinary entrepreneurs’ dreams come true.

Buresh said he is scouting potential locations to open up a shared commercial kitchen right here in Romeoville.

“There’s a demand for this,” he said. “This gives these entrepreneurs a chance to get going in a different type of business.”

Buresh said he realized there was a lack of commercial kitchen space in the Romeoville area when he found out the kitchen he rents in Homer Glen is closing.

“Looking into these kitchens, it just wasn’t existing in this area,” Buresh said. “There’s no shared-use kitchens in [the Romeoville] area.”

But in order for small food-based businesses to make a living, they have to have a health department-certified, commercial kitchen in which to whip up their culinary creations.

“Say you have a great idea for hot sauce,” Buresh said. No matter how great your recipe is, “You can’t make it at home and sell it. It didn’t really occur to me until I lost this spot that there’s really nowhere else to go.”

To fill the niche, Buresh said he’s turning to Kickstarter.com, a Web-based platform that allows entrepreneurs and artists to pitch creative ideas in need of funding.

Buresh has submitted his plan for Kitchen Share Romeoville to the site and hoping to start fundraising soon.

But there’s one catch: Kickstarter.com has a strict all-or-nothing policy, meaning unless Buresh hits his fundraising goal of $30,000, he won’t get a dime for the project.

That’s how much he estimates it will cost to renovate a space and outfit it with appliances like ovens and sinks.

Even so, the optimistic entrepreneur has already been scouting locations along Route 53 to house the commercial kitchen.

“it’s going to have to be equipped from the ground up,” Buresh said.

He believes the shared kitchen could help create possibilities such as a Romeoville farmer’s market, not to mention job opportunities.

“If you think about somebody making something, then they start to sell it and it takes off,” Buresh said. He explained the growing business would eventually need additional employees or even its own storefront.

Already, Buresh said, his idea is generating interest.

“Friends of friends were contacting me and saying, ‘This is a really good idea,’” he said. “I’m already up to seven people that have emailed me saying, ‘Hey, you need to do this.’”

Cooks will be able to rent out the space on an hourly basis, or become shared kitchen members. Fees would be based on how many hours per week members would use the kitchen, along with their gas and electricity usage.

Clients wil be required to have their Illinois sanitation license and business license. But if they don’t, Buresh said he’s available to help them through the licensing process.

“It’s just a way for me to help out,” he said. “So many people have helped me over the past year, I have to give back.”

Buresh said he’s committed to bringing the shared kitchen to Romeoville.

“I’m only looking at places in Romeoville,” he said. “I love Romeoville, I live in Romeoville, I want to stay in Romeoville.”

For more information on plans for Kitchen Share Romeoville, visit www.kitchenshare.co, become a fan on Facebook or email Buresh at steve@kitchenshare.co.

Stay tuned to Patch for updates on the Kickstarter.com fundraiser.