A new culinary commissary space is set to open soon, and the team at YVR Prep hope to become one of North America's most progressive food hubs.
The 12,00-square-foot Fraser Health-approved space sits in an industrial zone in Burnaby, and when YVR Prep opens for business on November 1, 2017, it is going to be a real game-changer for Vancouver's food artisans and entrepreneurs.
Josh McWilliams, Jason Wong, and Ryan Mackay look in on the build-out progress inside YVR Prep (Lindsay William-Ross/Vancouver Is Awesome)
Jason Wong, Josh McWilliams, and Ryan MacKay are the team behind YVR Prep. They've had the keys to the two-level space since February 2017, and have been making major renovations to the space as well as inroads with the food community--and the community in general--to get the project going.
While central commissary kitchens are not revolutionary, as McWilliams explained on a recent meet-up at the site, YVR Prep plans to take the notion of a shared food prep space to a whole new level.
"There's nothing like the one-stop shop quite like this," says McWilliams.
That's because the facilities will include event space suitable for co-working, meetings, tastings, parties, and other gatherings; product storage; potential pop-up retail and cafe space; and separate working zones for hot and cold production.
YVR Prep's massive commercial kitchen space will boast state-of-the-art equipment bordered by rented and fixed stations. Members can sign up for a variety of packages granting all levels of access, from daily to weekly, or even hourly, with management making sure there is no station overlap (or a dozen bakers vying for crucial oven space all at once).
Lindsay William-Ross/Vancouver Is Awesome
Members will then also be able to make use of the storage space for finished product, and when the event space opens in the new year on the second floor, use the venue for demos, workshops, dinners, tastings, meetings, and anything else the food crafters might need to make their business a success.
With affordable event space hard to find for new and small companies, what YVR Prep will be able to provide for the industry is unlike what any other commissary currently offers.
While the main kitchen is for cooking, a temperature controlled cold room will be where food producers doing "no stove" production (think kombucha or cold-pressed juices) will be working.
The power of a venue and program like YVR Prep means that members can get access to significantly deeper purchasing discounts because the commissary will be buying as a whole unit--a savings that can make a big difference to someone starting out in the food production business.
Lindsay William-Ross/Vancouver Is Awesome
As a group, YVR Prep members will get to take advantage of networking, both within their own ranks, as well as under the umbrella of the program and its growing community connections. McWilliams, Wong, and MacKay have been working closely with the City of Burnaby for months to tap into resources like the local farmers market and other food system programs to which they can connect their members for further opportunities.
Ultimately, it's all about scalability, says McWilliams, whose other full-time gig is as a chef at nearby BBQ restaurant Whiskey Six. "In Vancouver to get into a [farmers] market is easy," McWilliams elaborates, noting that food crafters, like bone broth makers, bakers, and the like often struggle to take their product and business to the next level because they lack access to the right kind of facility.
Right now, the partners say, YVR Prep is filling memberships, but expects to be at capacity with a waiting list by the end of the year. The three will be hands-on with the operation, and also watching to glean what their members need--like if there's a demand to use the facility's front room as a pop-up shop for members' retail goods, or operate a small cafe.
"Yes, we're building a commissary, but we're also building a lot more," says McWilliams.
YVR Prep is located at A6-5279 Still Creek Avenue, Burnaby
