Elgin entrepreneur rents kitchen space out to restaurateurs

For years, friends and family members told Chelsea Pribyl that her cupcakes were worthy of their own store. Keith Richards' pals believed his BBQ chicken needed to be enjoyed by more than a few friends at weekend parties.

Pribyl's long-term goal, she says, is to have her own Chelsea's Cupcakes storefront. Richards hopes to have a stand-alone Hell's BBQ restaurant by 2018.

But such ventures are daunting, they say. There are the costs of renting or buying space, which experts say could be about $40,000 for a 2,000-square-foot space equipped with a kitchen. Add the cost of professional-grade equipment, and most importantly, what if after spending that money, you fail?

Both Pribyl and Richards were at that crossroads when they found local entrepreneur Kevin Echevarria's Dream Kitchen in Elgin.

Echevarria, a restaurateur with a passion for helping others achieve their culinary dreams, bought a 2,500-square-foot kitchen adjacent to his empanada company. He doubled the space at 1544 Fleetwood Dr. in 2012 and filled it with top-of-the-line kitchen equipment. Then he set up a calendar and programs to allow fledgling chefs, bakers and caterers to rent the space and equipment. And he teaches them how to use it, too.

Packages cost as little $150 a month, which guarantees clients five hours in the kitchen and a small dry-storage area. Custom packages run $1,800 a month and include unlimited kitchen time and customizable storage and refrigeration options.

“The whole idea started as a way to help serious people build their business at their own pace, while lowering the risks associated with a startup venture and eliminating the overhead,” he said.

Echevarria said it's in his genetics to help, which prompted him to act as soon as he saw a need in the community to help other fledgling business owners.

“My brother is a police officer and my father worked for the state's human services department after he was a pastor,” he said. “Helping people find the resources they need is my genes. I've got my parents to thank for that.”

Echevarria and his father, Pedro, used to own Delicia Tropical Cafe in Elgin. They sold it in November 2012 to launch their new venture under the umbrella of PKE Enterprises Inc.

He said they jumped in with no business plan and had to invest heavily during the first three years.

“The restaurant for us was our school of hard knocks. We basically had to redo everything while running the place to create a baseline from which the business could grow,” he said. “My father and I were simply capitalists at heart, looking to create a business that would generate a return while filling a gap in the market.

“But scaling out a full-service restaurant concept is no easy task, and we decided we could realize a larger return by selling and moving forward with new opportunities. I call it the learn, adapt and execute model.”

In addition to the space and the tools, Dream Kitchen also provides financial advice for those looking to grow, as well as catering supplies and event-planning assistance.

“If you don't have certain pieces, we have a team that can help you with that,” Echevarria said.

“We're there to help you grow. You grow, I grow, and we all live the dream. I have an unquenchable passion for starting something, growing it and expanding it.”

Pribyl, a Huntley resident, was growing frustrated that nearly all available incubator kitchens were in Chicago. Then she landed on Dream Kitchen's homepage.

“Within minutes I found a complete listing of everything you need to do to get a business underway. Here I was just looking to rent space and this website was giving me tools I didn't even know I needed.”

Pribyl spent the next five months getting kitchen-certified, lining up the proper insurance and everything else she needed to “get legal.” Then she got back in the kitchen, literally.

“

The Elgin facility, for the last year and a half, has provided me with a legal place to bake and all the tools I needed to grow the business into something,” she said.

“The long-term goal is a storefront of some sort. I'm not sure exactly what that will look like yet, so I'm focusing on establishing my customer base and learning about the process.”

Richards, a Montgomery resident and an operations manager for Wal-Mart, says the Dream Kitchen is ideal for someone like him who also has a full-time job and can cook only on his days off.

“Three years from now I expect a Hell's BBQ restaurant to be my full-time job, but right now this is allowing me to get my feet wet and learn from my mistakes,” said Richards, who now does some catering. “I'm also using professional equipment and top-rate supplies without risking having to pay some crazy overhead costs while I learn.”

Echevarria said 30 different companies are booked in the Dream Kitchen. And Echevarria opened a bake-only kitchen in Lake In The Hills in September.

“It's a place where our bakers can go and not have to worry about the regulations for handling meat and things like that because this kitchen is only licensed for baking materials,” he said.

Plans also are in the works for a gluten-free kitchen in Geneva and a food-truck preparation facility in Schaumburg.

“But there's more, too. I want to have a location where people can sell products and learn how to get their products into supermarkets,” he said.

“And we have a catering arm in the works where we can create menus, based on our tenants' specialties and complement it with our other services.”

Ultimately, Echevarria's goal is to franchise a profitable Dream Kitchen model.

“Our experience with both the restaurant industry and property rental,” he said, “has allowed us to build a unique business model that has never been seen in the shared-use industry.”