'Kickstarter Kitchen' In Works For Downtown Tulsa

A group in Tulsa just announced plans to open a "Kickstarter Kitchen" downtown. Organizers hope to create a space for people to try their ideas out before they hit Tulsa's growing food scene.

The old kitchen in the basement of the Sun Building is about to get a makeover to become Kitchen 66.

Soon, it will be home to some food entrepreneurs, restaurant owners and chefs who want to try out new ideas for Tulsa’s food industry.

Adele Beasley and her team at Kitchen 66 are bringing the new concept to Tulsa.

"What we're doing is creating a shared space for existing food companies to grow their concepts and also new food companies, so, people that have ideas to start their companies here," she said.

The goal of the kitchen is to create a hub for the food startups long before they invest in a restaurant space or food truck.

Beasley said, "They need kitchen space, they need a space that's health code compliant and they also need help with their finances, with also just the confidence of, 'hey you can do this.’"

The Kitchen 66 concept, according to Elizabeth Ellison, is fueled by a recent study by the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation, which looked at creating opportunities for food entrepreneurs.

"We really wanted to help food businesses have a place to prepare food and also teach people the things Adele and I had to learn the hard way about marketing and scaling your product," Ellison said.

As of now, 15 people have already applied to be in the program. One day, their idea could be cooked up in a food truck and sold at your favorite festival.

"We're ready to get this thing going and people in the door," Beasley said.

The program is still taking applications. They hope to start training people at the start of the year.