Real Good Kitchen in Numbers- Our First Nine Months

Dear Friends, 

We opened the doors to Real Good Kitchen on January 8, 2021. We had 3 businesses use the kitchen that day, and the following week we added 2 more. By April, we had 14 member businesses. Ten months in, and we’re still going strong! 

To date, we’ve worked with 30 member businesses, each with its unique vision and its very own story.  

The illustration below (by the very talented Ayumi Bennett) helps define some of the progress we’ve made and some of our impact. If you look closely you’ll see that 60% of our member businesses are brand new, over 70% are owned or co-owned by women and 30% are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) owned or co-owned. To me, those numbers are so exciting and offer so much promise. 

RGK in Numbers December 2020- August 2021

• 60% New Start Businesses (18/30)

• 30 Memberships Sold

• 135 Kitchen Tours

• 30% Businesses are BIPOC Owned or Co-Owned

• 235 Hours of Individual Coaching

• 73% Businesses are Owned or Co-owned by Women (22/30)
  

In the few months we’ve been open, Real Good Kitchen is already proving that we can help create opportunities, that we can build a collaborative and welcoming community, and that we can contribute to a more equitable and inclusive food industry. 

The real victories, though, are the ones that we celebrate every day with our members--the courage they show, the new recipes and processes they develop, all the markets they attend, the challenges and mistakes they overcome. Owning a small business is an incredible amount of work. Starting something new is scary, and then figuring out how to grow it is, in many ways, even harder. 

The very best thing about Real Good Kitchen is our shared successes (and our lessons learned). Our members are learning and collaborating with each other, and we’re working and learning alongside them to provide the very best space and resources to help them thrive.

Together we’re building some of the most exciting new food businesses in Knoxville. Thank you for your interest in Real Good Kitchen and for supporting our members.

We’re already making change through food, and we can’t wait to share with you what’s next. 

With gratitude,

Bailey - Real Good Kitchen Founder