Gary caterers sing praises of incubator program

Kimenique Jones and her husband, Frank, are the operators of a catering company that currently has one client, but they dream of the business growing.

As far as Gary city officials are concerned, the Joneses are the reason the city invested in creation of ArtHouse: A Social Kitchen, 411 E. 5th Ave., and the cultural programs staged there.

The one-time barbecue and soul food restaurant has extensive kitchen facilities, and in recent weeks has held its first Creative Business Incubator program where people with dreams of working in the food service industry could gain experience.

The Joneses participated in the first class and were among 24 people who received certificates Thursday acknowledging their completion in the six-week program, which exposed them to the ways of working in a kitchen and also to the business realities of operating one.

“I’ve always been a cook, it was good getting information about the other elements of running a business,” Kimenique Jones said.

Frank Jones, said he most appreciated the fact that the program presented detailed information about the business “in a simple enough way that everybody could understand it, but also detailed enough to prepare us.”

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