Renovations underway for shared commercial kitchen on Evansville’s south side

Work is underway to transform a century-old tavern at 1201 S. Bedford Ave. into a shared commercial kitchen on Evansville's south side.

Renovations at Bedford Collab—in a building that previously housed the Bedford Tavern—started in May.

The business plan includes a shared-use kitchen downstairs and a food preparation area upstairs. The initiative is the brainchild of Merrick Korach and DeAndre Wilson, whose not-for-profit, Impact Evansville, will own the building and equipment. Bedford Collab will lease the space.

"We’ll have a space that will be at or below market rate to rent from, that is fully furnished with zero debt to our name, which allows us to then turn around and provide that space at a discounted rate for startup, growing, thriving foodpreneurs who will be coming in that we would be subleasing it to," Korach told Inside INdiana Business.

With the project three years in the making, the Tepe Park neighborhood natives are eager to start construction.

"Our contractors have taken this enormous jackhammer, and it's busting up the floor to be able to put the plumbing in. So that's going on right now. The contractor is also ordering all of the parts for plumbing, and then electrical will start any day now," Wilson said.

And to help the community—and especially people interested in food production—learn more about the project, organizers have planned a public meeting for 6:30 p.m., June 30, a the Teppe Park Clubhouse, 1212 S. Garvin St.

Project background

The idea for Bedford Collab stemmed from Wilson's recurring issue with his food and catering company, Turn Table. His business kept getting displaced every time a kitchen shut down or was used for another purpose.

"That's a common theme for a lot of the foodpreneurs in the Evansville area. There isn't a shared-use kitchen for people to access. Although there are some coming now, it's still about accessibility to it," Korach said.

Korach learned of Wilson's story through his neighborhood revitalization work with Community One, a not-for-profit community organization in Evansville. When the pair decided to move forward with their vision for a shared commercial kitchen, they chose to renovate Bedford Taven—a 1919 relic—instead of building a new structure.

"This is a historic piece in our neighborhood, one that sat vacant for many years of our youth, as we grew up," Korach said. "So what better thing to do than to bring this thing back to life?"

Austin Maxheimer agreed. The neighborhood revitalization director with Community One said Bedford Collab is just the type of project the community has been craving for years.

"One of the highest priorities besides housing and youth engagement was to see economic revival come to the south side," Maxheimer said. "Bedford Tavern was one of the only commercial spaces in the neighborhood still existing that hadn't been torn down."

Struggles and support

Though plans for the shared-use kitchen evoked enthusiasm throughout the neighborhood, Maxheimer knew it wouldn't be easy to put the project in motion.

"It's extremely difficult," he said. "It takes a risky investment because the normal indicators of what would create a successful business in an area that's economically depressed—people aren't necessarily as willing to take on that risk. You have to find community partners that think philanthropically and understand decades of disinvestment, even some of the social justice issues that come to play on a project like this."

Bedford Collab found a partner in a program called CreatINg Places. The public-private partnership facilitated by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority combines state money with local support to fund community investments. Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch said the program has contributed to more than 200 projects across the state.

"We’ve seen alley activations. We’ve seen parks," Crouch told Inside INdiana Business. "One community did playground equipment for Hoosiers with disabilities, making it more sensory-focused for those that have autism or Down syndrome. We’ve seen trails."

So far, CreatINg Places has funded seven projects in Evansville. Crouch said the Bedford program is helping neighbors continue their efforts to bring new growth to Tepe Park—and it can do the same for other communities.

"As long as it can be demonstrated that [the project] improves the quality of life or the quality of place in the community, we’ll be supportive of it," said Crouch. "And if it's a good vision, the community will rally behind it and support it."

Maxheimer said the community's full backing of the Bedford Collab initiative has been key in getting the project rolling.

"It's been a beautiful thing to watch," Maxheimer said. "Once things were aligned, the community rallied around them and the project itself on several levels. Everything from the city to personal investments by community members who have positions of influence to Merrick and DeAndre's vision and excitement catching on to the wider community to the neighbors themselves showing support."

It's no surprise for Crouch to see people in her hometown unite for an initiative to improve Evansville and southwest Indiana.

"It's just that part of the state where that's what people do," said Crouch, a Republican who is running for governor. "They work together as a community. They collaborate, and they’re very connected and caring."

Outlook and advice

With help from CreatINg Places, Bedford Collab raised $53,595 from 117 community members and received an additional $50,000 from IHCDA. Thanks to other donations, Korach said the effort has raised $600,000 with a goal of $1 million.

The shared commercial kitchen is expected to open later this year, but there are still ways for the community to contribute to the project and other revitalization initiatives.

"Anyone who believes in this sort of work and is in a position of influence—whether that's financial or social capital—we need your help," Maxheimer said. "We need your expertise in economic development. We need your best self to come to the south side and join us in the vision that residents have said they’d like to see."

Maxheimer believes Bedford Collab is just the beginning of great things to come in the Tepe Park neighborhood.

"Hopefully, we’ll look back 10 years from now and say, ‘This was the early investment that made economic revival happen on the south side," Maxheimer said.

Korach and Wilson are on board with that idea and already brainstorming future improvements.

"A project we’ve thought of is a market we can have locally," Korach said. "We don't have anything local that you’ll be able to get fresh produce, things of that sort. You’re going to have to go to the north side, east side, west side to hit some of those bigger stores to get anything fresh. So we would like a market, even if it starts small."

The business partners have advice for others who want to start an initiative like Bedford Collab: They need a vision, but they also need money.

"Do they have the funds to tackle a project?" Korach said. And Wilson admitted, "I knew going into it that we don't have the equity collateral, the assets, liquidity, things of that nature to be able to get traditional funding."

Korach suggested partnering with a not-for-profit for fundraising and looking into Community Development Financial Institutions Funds, which foster economic opportunity in distressed communities. He also advised asking an internal question.

"Do you have the grit to stick it through? We’ve had to pivot several times. We’ve been told that it's not going to work," Korach said. Wilson added, "You really have to truly want to see it happen to do this work."