Coming January 2023!  Mill River Eatery, our new Pop-Up Dining Hall       LEARN MORE
  • Commercial kitchen with an entrepreneur chef cooking at the stove

    MILL RIVER COOKERY

Mill River Cookery

Control production costs with shared commercial
kitchen space

One of the biggest challenges for food entrepreneurs is where to produce your products. Acquiring your own facility requires a huge capital investment for property and equipment. As an early-stage business, you’ll likely want to avoid taking on such a significant financial risk so you can focus your capital on growth related activities like sales and marketing. 

Sharing production space with other entrepreneurs is a great way to manage your risk and minimize your production costs. The Mill River Cookery is a fully licensed, shared commercial kitchen space perfect for food start-ups located near Chicago’s western suburbs. You can rent space on a full or part-time basis, and there are also both short and long-term rental options. This means you can control your costs based on the size of your business. You can rent more space as you need it to support your growth. Contact us for current rates and availability.

The Mill River Cookery has everything your business needs:

  • Reach-in coolers & freezers
  • Washing, prep, and hand sinks
  • Storage space for dry, refrigerated, and frozen items
  • Shipping and packing area
  • Prep stations
  • Convection ovens
  • Gas ranges
  • And more!

Entrepreneurs who would like to rent space at the Mill River Cookery must meet the following requirements:

  • Business established in the state of Illinois
  • Proof of business liability insurance
  • Employees who work in the facility must hold an Illinois food sanitation certificate
  • A permit from the DeKalb Health Department for retail sales. For wholesale, permitting is done through the Illinois State Health Dept

Interested in joining our kitchen

If you manufacture a food product or own a food service business we’d love to take you on a tour of the Mill River Cookery.
Simply fill out this application and we’ll contact you to arrange your tour. Or, just give us a call at (815) 991-5505.


 

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