The Loop continues to grow food-based businesses with opening of CoMoCooks new home

Charles Dunlap, Columbia Daily Tribune
·2 min read
James Roark-Gruender, third from left, The Loop Community Improvement District board president, welcomes Columbia Chamber of Commerce ambassadors and others to the official opening of The Loop's CoMoCooks shared kitchen space at 14 Business Loop 70 E.
James Roark-Gruender, third from left, The Loop Community Improvement District board president, welcomes Columbia Chamber of Commerce ambassadors and others to the official opening of The Loop's CoMoCooks shared kitchen space at 14 Business Loop 70 E.

Columbia, with an estimated population of 125,000 people, did not have one thing several comparable cities in Missouri could boast for a long while: a commercial commissary kitchen space.

That changed Thursday afternoon with the official opening of the CoMoCooks shared kitchen at 14 Business Loop 70 E, its new permanent home, from The Loop Community Improvement District.

Originally housed a stone's throw northwest on The Loop in the basement of Mizzou North, the kitchens had to move downtown for roughly one year to Walnut Street when the University of Missouri announced the demolition of Mizzou North.

The Loop started welcoming back clients to the permanent kitchen location in March, with many providing treats and eats at the Thursday ribbon-cutting.

The food-based business incubator would not have happened without "the City of Columbia and the grant they gave us," said James Roark-Gruender, Loop board president, recognizing both current and former council members and mayors, as well as the building's landlord for all his assistance.

The Loop Community Improvement District Board President James Roark Gruender and Executive Director Carrie Gartner prepare to cut the ribbon Thursday on the ComoCooks shared kitchen space at 14 Business Loop 70 E.
The Loop Community Improvement District Board President James Roark Gruender and Executive Director Carrie Gartner prepare to cut the ribbon Thursday on the ComoCooks shared kitchen space at 14 Business Loop 70 E.

CoMoCooks development timeline

January 2021: Cooking, baking, sharing — COMO Cooks kitchen rental space opens on The Loop

January 2022: What the planned demolition of Mizzou North means for the CoMo Cooks program

August 2022: The Loop starts construction on 'super usable' permanent CoMo Cooks shared kitchen

March 2023: The Loop ready to ramp up use of newly finished CoMoCooks kitchen

A view of the CoMoCooks kitchens hot production line featuring hot food storage, deep fryer, grated grill, commerical eight-burner range with two ovens, flat top grill and commercial double oven.
A view of the CoMoCooks kitchens hot production line featuring hot food storage, deep fryer, grated grill, commerical eight-burner range with two ovens, flat top grill and commercial double oven.

Another ally in brining businesses to the CoMoCooks kitchens is Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services, Roark-Gruender said.

"When they find people out and they go and do inspections and find people who are not cooking in approved environments, they give us a call," he said.

The thread of the idea for CoMoCooks started in 2019 through Loop board meetings, Roark-Gruender said. The project took collaboration, and when it first opened in January 2021 the Loop worked with Regional Economic Development Inc., Missouri Women's Business Center and Small Business Development Center to onboard clients.

Nearly 30 people have created food-based businesses from the CoMoCooks shared kitchen program from The Loop Community Improvement District. A small selection provided samples to try Thursday at a ribbon-cutting for the new, and permanent, commercial kitchen business incubator.
Nearly 30 people have created food-based businesses from the CoMoCooks shared kitchen program from The Loop Community Improvement District. A small selection provided samples to try Thursday at a ribbon-cutting for the new, and permanent, commercial kitchen business incubator.

CoMoCooks' client base has grown to nearly 30 and now also features a section called The Packing House for farmers to break down produce into value-added products for retail and wholesale purchases. The Packing House is supported through the Root Cellar and Greenbelt Land Trust.

The Loop also wants to make sure disadvantaged individuals can utilize the space and grow a food-based business. This can include baked goods, catering, food trucks or even jarred or bottled sauces, among others.

"We have a minority scholarship, so if you don't have the funds for the $17 per hour (kitchen rental fee), you can apply for a scholarship and come in here and cook," Roark-Gruender said, adding this program is supported by Central Bank of Boone County. "You all here know how empowering owning a business can be to your life. That is what this kitchen is like."

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: CoMoCooks shared kitchen space officially opens on The Loop