After years of delays, Barelas Community Kitchen set to open
Jan 16, 2025
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – After years of waiting, a place dedicated to cultivating culinary careers in Albuquerque is putting the finishing touches on its new home. "This is going to be our new home," said Tina Garcia-Shams, executive director, The Street Food Institute.
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The Street Food Institute is excited to finally get its own dedicated space. "We've kind have been in everybody else space doing our work that started 11 years ago, and we are super grateful for the partners that we have, and we are working out of CNM right now," said Garcia-Shams.
The nonprofit started 11 years ago, offering a place for aspiring culinary professionals and entrepreneurs to learn the trade.
Now, they're expanding from Central New Mexico Community College to a brand-new facility on Fourth Street in the Barelas neighborhood. This was made possible through a partnership with Homewise which built the facility.
It will not only offer a state-of-the-art kitchen for small businesses to use, but it will also be a place for people to learn about culinary arts and entrepreneurship. It even includes space for people to set up a temporary storefront. "We really just work with people that have an idea and a dream of opening their own food business and we just help them through that process," said Garcia-Shams.
"We are 95 percent of the way there," said Isaac Hammond-Paul, director of community development, Homewise.
After breaking ground in 2022, they expected the project to be done in the spring of last year, but supply chain and other issues set them back. Now, they're set for an opening this March. "We had to update utilities on this site so there have been a number of things that have been fairly common with large rehab projects like this combined with the new construction of this building," said Hammond-Paul.
While it's been a long wait, leaders of the Street Food Institute said they're ready to hit the ground running.
"We can see all the potential that this space has to offer," said Garcia-Shams
"We are incredibly proud to be working in Barelas,” said Hammond-Paul.
Homewise said they plan to sell the space to the Street Food Institute in seven years.