An application has been filed by 1033 West Glebe Road ALX LLC to establish a commercial kitchen in an 8,000 square feet portion of 1033 W. Glebe Rd.
The large commercial building is currently the corporate offices and production center for Bread & Chocolate, a baking and gourmet food company which also operates two retail locations in the region. There was a location at 611 King St. in Alexandria, which closed in 2018.
According to the application, the proposed commercial kitchen “provides space for restaurateurs to prepare food for off-site consumption” and there will be no dinning allowed on-site. The kitchen will operate 7 days a week with the majority of loading and unloading taking place between the hours of 7 a.m.- 6 p.m. and expected to occur anywhere from 15-20 times a day.
The application also estimates that there will be an average of 20-30 people working out of the kitchen at any given time. The application allows for 12 parking spaces for employees as well as a loading dock and additional spaces for unloading and deliveries.
Commercial kitchens like the one proposed are also known as ghost kitchens and they allow restaurants and food entrepreneurs to prepare delivery orders. Ghost kitchens grew in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic when many traditional restaurants were forced to close and the demand for take-out increased.
There are a number of commercial kitchen spaces in the DC area including, Frontier Kitchen which operates a location in nearby Lorton. Frontier Kitchen specializes in helping culinary entrepreneurs get started in the food industry including Alexandria’s Gregg Linzey, who owns The Chewish Deli.
Fairfax County is considering the creation of its own culinary incubator in the Original Mount Vernon High School on Richmond Highway, which is currently in the process of being redeveloped.
