DAYTON, Ohio — Entrepreneurs in the food industry will soon have a new space for their startups. The 6888 Kitchen broke ground in Dayton and will impact business owners across the area.

A project in the making for over three years is finally starting to come to fruition in downtown Dayton. The 6888 Kitchen has officially broken ground.

Lisa Coleman is in the business of making waffles.

Lisa Coleman is the owner of IQuisine's. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

Coleman is the owner of IQuisine’s, and thanks to the new 6888 Kitchen and their educational program Sharpen the Axe, she is well on her way to growing her business. 

“Without you, I don’t know how far I would actually be right now," Coleman said. "But now that I have more of a ground understanding of exactly what it is that I need to go out there and capture, I greatly appreciate you guys taking the opportunity to even give us the advice and the ability to be able to move on with what we have.”

Coleman is a member of the first graduating class of Sharpen the Axe. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

Those opportunities are thanks to the founders of 6888—Charlynda Scales, Dabriah Rice and Jamaica White. The three ladies are also entrepreneurs in the Dayton area and knew there was a need for not only an incubator kitchen but also for educating business owners in the industry.

Rice (left), White, and Scales (right) celebrate the groundbreaking of 6888 Kitchen. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

“How do you get into Kroger? How do you get into Dorothy Lane Market?" Scales said. "These are steps that the local food entrepreneur needs to know that aren’t covered in your average education program."

The kitchen has raised over $3.5 million in funds, including $750,000 from the Dayton Recovery Plan, funds used to emerge from the pandemic to create long-term impacts on the community. The founders also hope the kitchen will be able to combat the food desert in the area and help Dayton bounce back. 

The Dayton Recovery Plan helps businesses after the pandemic. (Spectrum News 1/Katie Kapusta)

“If you make a small business successful, you will make the city more successful," Scales said. "So we wanted to make sure that as we’re addressing these things, that it replicated throughout the area, throughout the local economy.”

“The kitchen is taking business owners that want to use the space. Click here to learn more. 6888 Kitchen is set to open in about a year and is located in the historic Arcade building in downtown Dayton.