Pilotworks has a startup feel with on-demand kitchen space » Dallas Innovates

Pilotworks brings the startup world's leading coworking and incubator space to the food preparation industry.

“PilotWorks is a new kind of business with a mission to change the landscape of the food industry, helping aspiring food entrepreneurs launch and succeed,” said William Judge, general manager of PilotWorks Dallas. ” he said.

The company is the largest operator of on-demand kitchen space in the U.S., building a fast-growing chef's food business with six kitchen facilities, including locations in Brooklyn, Chicago, Newark, Portland, Maine, Providence, Rhode Island and Dallas. We support growth and expansion. At six locations, he can support approximately 1,000 companies and 2,500 jobs, and Pilot Works Dallas' plan is to provide space for more than 150 companies at its 24/7 facility.

[Photo: Merissa De Falcis]

“As Dallas' population has grown in recent years and for the foreseeable future, we needed a place to bring all these great ideas together.”
william judge

Companies selected for Pilotworks' program will have access to flexible hourly kitchen space, tutoring, distribution coverage, and educational events and workshops with Pilotworks' community of culinary experts.

“PilotWorks Dallas offers a collaborative community of culinary professionals who all have the same goal: changing the way we think about food,” Judge said.

Dallas Pilotworks is located in the former Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School on Webb Chapel Road.

Judge said many factors were taken into consideration in choosing Dallas as the Pilot Works space, including a vibrant and emerging food scene and growing food manufacturers creating world-class concepts both locally and behind the scenes. he said.

“Dallas' population has been growing in recent years and for the foreseeable future, so we needed a place where all these great ideas could come together,” Judge said.

Pilotworks uses internal design, extended team

Considering the space previously housed a culinary school, Pilotworks had the basics in place and used an in-house design and expansion team to complete the renovation and ensure the company's design and operational standards for each facility were met. Did.

The judge said Pilotworks also believed it was important to include design elements more directly relevant to the local market.

PilotWorks Dallas includes eight shared kitchen spaces ranging from 1,200 square feet to 1,600 square feet, one demonstration kitchen, and 32,000 square feet of restaurant/special event space that can accommodate 120 people, each with up to 25 students. There are three 1,500 square foot classrooms available. Featuring dedicated office space and over 1,500 square feet of coworking space. The layout includes dry, refrigerated and frozen storage space and a shared meeting room.

Pilot Works has eight shared kitchen spaces.

[Photo: Merissa De Falcis]

“Our space is designed so that manufacturers from different industries (baking, consumer goods, catering, cooking classes) can have their own space.”
william judge

“Our space is designed so that manufacturers from a variety of industries (baking, consumer goods, catering, cooking classes) can have their own space,” the judge said. “We also have co-working spaces, dedicated office spaces, a restaurant/special event space with a bar, and demonstration classes. These spaces include artisan baking, concept and menu testing, mass production, culinary and educational We have the flexibility to meet different needs, including classes.”

Plans call for converting more than 3,000 square feet of space into light industrial manufacturing, providing product production capacity to food manufacturers with high-volume production needs. We are also considering providing a studio and test kitchen for concept creation and food photography.

[Photo: Merissa De Falcis]

“Our goal is to become a food hub for DFW by fostering education, innovation and job growth,” the judge said. “This includes, but is not limited to, product distribution, employee training, small business education startup programs, cold storage, and manufacturing/bottling.”

About Pilot Works

Company Name:Pilot Works

main office: Pilot Works Brooklyn

Co-founder: Nick Devane and Michael Dee

Company type: private

Established: 2015

2017 sales/revenue: Not applicable

Pilotworks has 32,000 square feet of event space. [Photo: Merissa De Falcis]

Pilotworks has 32,000 square feet of event space and 1,700 square feet of restaurant seating space. [Photo: Merissa De Falcis]

Products and services: Offerings include educational classes and workshops, access to a national mentor network and customized membership program, pop-up dinners, cooking classes, space rentals for food photography, and more. Most importantly, PilotWorks Dallas offers a collaborative community of culinary professionals who share the same goal: changing the way we think about food.

Specialty equipment is available, including double convection ovens, deck ovens, rotary ovens, proofers, large mixers, tilt skillets, tilt kettles, and char broilers.

building: We inherited the existing infrastructure and applied some minor interior renovations to better align with the business. When it comes to interior renovations, most, if not all, of the renovations were done in-house by the company's design and expansion team.