Established may 15, 2015

Lakeview Kitchen & Market, founded and operated by Wendy Grahn and Maggie O’Brien, a mother and daughter team. Lakeview Kitchen & Market is a fully equipped commercial shared kitchen in a 5,000 sq. ft. facility located at 3109. N. Broadway in Chicago’s vibrant Lakeview East neighborhood. 

Some kids sculpt with playdoh, others with clay. One of the co-owners of Lakeview Kitchen & Market used to sculpt mashed potatoes. That led to mosaics made from candy followed by buttercream frosting painting. Gradually the love for art turned into a love for baking. But starting up a new bakery is a scary idea. A brick and mortar building complete with a professionally equipped kitchen is an expensive start up business.

Walking down Broadway one day, the “For Lease” sign in the window at the old House of Fine Chocolates jumped out at Wendy and Maggie. From the window on the sidewalk it looked like a small retail shop, but from the first tour through the 5,000 sq. ft. space, it quickly became clear this could be an awesome commercial kitchen.

That’s how Lakeview Kitchen & Market came to be. Wendy and Maggie took over this space and created a 5,000 sq. ft. commercial shared kitchen, fully equipped with a Doyon convection oven with 40 racks, a 10 burner stove, a fryer, walk-in refrigerators and freezer, butcher block and stainless steel tables, Robot Coupes, Kitchen-Aids, sheet pans, racks, bowls, whisks and the list goes on and on. Everything in the kitchen is available for clients to use.

The “Market” part of Lakeview Kitchen and Market is the retail space it offers as a venue for clients to sell their products. On any given day, customers can come into the market and purchase a broad variety of items, depending on which kitchen clients have been working that day. It could be baked goods, soup, granola, jam, pickles, salsa, hot sauce, pie crusts, dog treats, chutney or salad dressing, just to name a few. The Market provides an opportunity to purchase a wide array of fresh and delicious items.