Yesterday we had our second meeting to provide feedback on a new licensing ordinance for shared kitchen users.  I attended the City Hall meeting with Alexis and Tonya, owners of Kitchen Chicago and Splice Kitchen respectively.  The ONLY reason we were at the table is due to Alderman Gene Schulter.  If you ever have the pleasure of meeting Ald. Shulter, THANK HIM.

He’s provided a wonderfully collaborative and fair-minded atmosphere and welcomes our contributions. He is understanding of the pressures small businesses face and is in my view a champion of food entrepreneurs.

I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to him.  Before we began speaking to Ald. Schulter, it took five weeks to have Dept of Business Affairs to accept our invitation to come out to see a shared kitchen.  These were people that were going to write the law for licensing its clients. After the tour, I continued to reach out, but no one responded to my calls.  No opportunity for dialog existed until Ald. Schulter stepped in. 

I’m honored to be able to participate in this process, to advocate for our clients and all the food entrepreneurs in this City.