Food is the Foundation for Prosperous Communities
Food is the foundation of healthy living and the key to building prosperous communities. Food and prosperity are intricately linked making it imperative to establish and cultivate community based food systems. This begins and ends with entrepreneurs and their commitment to sustaining the food system. Farmers and food producers are at the front of the food supply chain providing the raw fruits, vegetables and meats. The food is then processed and stored before distribution to grocery stores, local food distributors and restaurants. Critical to each part of this process is food entrepreneurship and it’s important we identify the components to enable a sustainable community based food system.
Block Eatz was launched with a mission to to support local food entrepreneurs, from ideation to commercialization with quality training, food production space and brand development. The broader vision of Block Eatz is to establish a network of food production facilities, food hall incubators, kitchen commissaries, local food producers and food startups committed to delivering quality food experiences.
Genesis Block has three principles that guide our strategy in how our organization can advance food entrepreneurship and help the region build a community based food system
Low Cost Business Models
One of the biggest hurdles facing early stage food entrepreneurs is finding permitted commercial kitchen space to legally produce their product. The rising costs of food, labor and operating expenses contribute to the financial challenges entrepreneurs face in the food industry. Block Eatz establishes shared used models that significantly lower the operating costs for food entrepreneurs in the region. This drastically reduces the financial barriers that prevent the launch of potentially successful food ventures.
Speed to Market
The typical costs to open a small restaurant is between $750,000 — $1.2 million dollars and could take anywhere from 12–18 months to open. The length of time it takes to generate cash flow negatively impacts restaurateurs and makes profitably a longer process to achieve. Block Eatz food network model significantly reduces that time and positions food entrepreneurs to immediately have their products in the market contributing to higher success rates.
Flexible Commercialization Opportunities
Whether it’s developing a new food concept at Block Eatz McKeithan, providing meals through catering or establishing your food truck in the area, Block Eatz offers flexible food service models to support the commercialization of food entrepreneurs. Block Eatz combines flexible product to market models along with quality training, food production space and brand development to increase the success rate of food ventures.
Central to the core values of Block Eatz is to establish business models that are designed to correlate with the success of the food entrepreneurs. The Block Eatz ecosystem works to establish business models that not only ensure the sustainability of the brand but also provide a profitable model for the entrepreneurs.
Here are the services that operate under the Block Eatz brand.
Block Eatz at McKeithan Center
Block Eatz is a launchpad for culinary entrepreneurs, offering a comprehensive support system encompassing various aspects of restaurant operations. Genesis Block in a groundbreaking partnership with Cape Fear Community College, established Block Eatz to foster innovation and support for aspiring local entrepreneurs in the culinary industry.
The food hall incubator provides a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to test the viability of their restaurant concepts. This incubator is the first of its kind in our region and is an initiative to encourage small business owners and boost economic growth within our community.
Since its grand opening on September 19, 2023, Block Eatz has serviced over 5800 customers on the north campus of Cape Fear Community College and the surrounding Castle Hayne community. Students, faculty, staff and community members enjoy a wide variety of meals from local chefs and aspiring food entrepreneurs.
In addition, the food hall incubator serves as a pathway to CFCC’s Culinary Program. By providing a shared space where aspiring chefs, entrepreneurs, and food enthusiasts can come together. Chef’s Vision, is a monthly meetup hosted at Block Eatz that provides a casual environment for food industry students, professionals and chefs to connect and collaborate.
Block Eatz Catering
Block Eatz Catering is a food service established at Block Eatz that provides catering services for networking events, workshops, seminars, corporate events, educational events and all special occasions. Customers choose from a variety of menus to determine which is the best fit for their occasions. The local chefs and catering companies in the Block Eatz Catering network, service the events with the safest and highest quality food standards.
Block Truckz
Block Truckz is a network of food trucks that supports the Cape Fear region. Food trucks have become very popular and provide a great balance of affordability, local cuisine and intimate interactions. Block Eatz partners with local food trucks to integrate their concept into its network of construction sites, off site facilities, events and outdoor activities.
Chow Now
Block Eatz partnered with Chow Now to establish a mobile application for the restaurants at Block Eatz. Customers can now order Block Eatz online and have it delivered to their residence or at the office. This provides entrepreneurs in the Block Eatz food network, mobile and delivery capabilities for their food ventures providing even more cost efficient revenue streams.
What is the next step in the development of the Block Eatz Food Entrepreneurship Ecosystem?
Food Innovation Campus
North Carolina has the 9th largest agricultural output state in the U.S. over $14.9 billion in receipts and the Cape Fear region is home to the states largest port. Genesis Block is working to build a collaborative to develop a Food Innovation Campus in Wilmington to serve as a regional hub for food innovation. The Cape Fear region needs a food innovation campus to support space for food businesses to grow, production facilities for testing and development and consumer packaging goods processing environments for businesses.
The Port of Wilmington is ranked as the most productive port in North America according to the Container Port Performance Index (CPPI). The Food Innovation Campus could serve as the physical infrastructure to support the integration of these existing economic assets to build a sustainable food system for business growth and community prosperity.
For information on how you can become part of the Block Eatz Foodiez network as an entrepreneur or if you need any of our food service offerings contact us at info@genesisblockilm.com.
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