Since opening as Crop Circle Kitchen in 2009, culinary incubator CommonWealth Kitchen has been churning out success stories: Alums include Roxy’s Grilled Cheese and Batch Ice Cream, and new members like Farmhouse Burger Co. are already finding retail space. But the Dorchester-based nonprofit is also growing, expanding from providing commissary space and help with permitting and recipe scaling into contract manufacturing for clients that range from Mei Mei, which is producing sauces for retail sale, to Boston Public Market purveyors. The money those clients bring in should help executive director Jen Faigel subsidize other endeavors, like a forthcoming venture fund that’ll help eliminate some worries for businesses ready to leave the nest. “It’s a way to give them a graduation plan,” she explains. We talked shop with a few CommonWealth-based companies in different incubation stages.

Starting Out…

Commonwealth Cold Brew Coffee

Who: Co-workers Olin Nelson and Mark Deming, who started brewing out of a Mass. Ave. apartment.

What: Their nights and weekends are spent on product development—and bottling and labeling hundreds of drinks by hand.

Where: They hope to open a cafe someday, but in the meantime, sip the coffee on your couch when keg deliveries debut in March and at the South End Farmers’ Market starting in May.

commonwealthcoldbrew.com

Popping Up…

Top Shelf Cookies

Who: Heather Yunger, a Bruins season ticketholder who turned her pregame baking superstition into a business.

What: Yunger has been busy expanding beyond the original Black & Gold—dark chocolate with peanut butter chips—with new flavors, including one made with fellow CommonWealth member Alex’s Ugly Sauce.

Where: After a successful holiday pop-up at Boston Public Market, she has her sights set on round two in April.

topshelfcookies.com

Setting Up Shop…

Miam Miam Macaronerie

Who: Jennifer Turner and Nicole Raukohl, whose love for French macarons inspired a delivery service that got its start in the incubator’s kitchen.

What: Since opening a brick-and-mortar shop in November, they’re spending days developing products and getting face-time with customers.

Where: Macarons are served Thu.-Sun. at the South Boston space they share with the Juice Box. (Keep an eye out for booze-inspired St. Paddy’s treats.)

miammiammac.com

More Food Finds

CommonWealth isn’t the area’s only culinary incubator. Here’s a look at two other spots for new crops of culinary creatives.

Nibble

Operated in partnership with Union Kitchen, this Somerville Arts Council
initiative launched in 2015, offering kitchen space and business workshops in multiple languages to immigrant entrepreneurs from Mexico, Colombia, India and beyond, plus cooking classes and pop-ups for the public (including a March 10 class on vegetarian curry).
somervilleartscouncil.com/nibble

Stock Pot

This Malden incubator has had a strong focus on food trucks since opening in 2014, helping ventures like mobile Middle Eastern kitchen Sheherazad with everything from bookkeeping to social media strategies. Residents Chicken & Rice Guys and Taco Party have gone on to open brick-and-mortar locations, and the Stoked Pizza truck will likewise put down roots this spring in Washington Square.

stockpotmalden.com