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Jonas Singer and Cullen Gilchrist, the founders of Union Kitchen, realized that for many food industry entrepreneurs, the cost of commercial real estate was keeping them from pursuing their dreams. So in 2013, Union Kitchen opened its first co-op cooking facility in Washington, D.C. The business model provides upstart butchers, bakers, chefs and caterers with the kitchen and storage space they need, at a price they can afford. Union Kitchen also helps distribute products made by its members so they can build their passions into viable businesses.
Womble Carlyle attorney Pam Rothenberg has provided Union Kitchen with the legal know-how to support its growing efforts. Rothenberg writes about the Union Kitchen success story in a new Forbes article, including how she and Womble Carlyle helped Union Kitchen find legal solutions to meet its specific business needs.
“A franchise would not allow, excuse the pun, the flavor of a shared kitchen facility in Atlanta or Boston to reflect the local communities that kitchen will serve – and these will naturally be distinct from Union Kitchen’s DC facilities,” Rothenberg writes. “Working closely with Jonas and Cullen over many months, we settled upon a “buffet” of distinctive legal structures Union Kitchen can employ on a customized basis with local kitchen operators in cities in the U.S. and even internationally.”
Pam Rothenberg counsels companies in the growing Impact Economy, ranging from large legacy businesses to newly formed entrepreneurial ventures, to facilitate their participation in Impact. She also has extensive experience in a wide range of commercial real estate transactions, having worked with clients to acquire, sell, develop, lease and finance major commercial, multi-family and mixed-use projects. Rothenberg serves as Managing Partner of Womble Carlyle's Washington, D.C. office and the leader of the Impact Practice at Womble Carlyle.
