Cullen Gilchrist
Cullen Gilchrist | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | United States |
| Citizenship | American |
| Alma mater | Dartmouth College |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Known for | chief executive officer and founder of Union Kitchen |
Cullen Gilchrist is an American restaurateur, economist and entrepreneur. He is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Union Kitchen, an accelerator of food businesses.[1]
Education and career
[edit]Cullen obtained his high school diploma from Dartmouth High School in 2003.[2] He attended Dartmouth College and earned a degree in Economics and Sociology in 2007.[3] After graduating, he began his career as an intern in finance before switching to food business.[4][5]
Cullen worked as a general manager and Area Food Safety Manager at Sodexo in Boston.[6] In 2010, he relocated to Washington D.C. and worked at Think Food Group as a manager. In 2012, Cullen and Jonas Singer co-founded a pop up coffee shop called Blind Dog Cafe on Florida Avenue.[7][8] In 2023, he was a speaker at the Good Business Summit[9] and was part of Entrepreneurs in Residence 2023 held by Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship.[10]
Union Kitchen
[edit]In 2012, Cullen co-founded Union Kitchen to partner with food businesses and link the founders of the businesses with resources, capital, and networks needed to grow their businesses.[11][12][13] The company started in a 7,300-square-foot space shared commercial cooking space in a Northeast Washington warehouse.[14][15] The company introduced a food business acceleration process. The accelerator is built out into four phases; Launch, Product Market Fit, Growth, and Scale.[16] In 2022, Cullen established the Union Kitchen Fund 1, a $20M Series A investment fund.[3][17]
References
[edit]- ^ Davis, Susan. "Union Kitchen mixes good food with smart business". USA Today. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Cullen Gilchrist – CEO and Founder at Union Kitchen". THE ORG. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ a b Nolan, Cornell. "Cullen Gilchrist". Cornell Nolan. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ idolloff (2018-09-25). "Cullen Gilchrist". U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Cullen Gilchrist – The Next Willy Wonka... Building and Scaling Food Businesses". The Founder's Mind. 2018-09-30. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Expert Insights: Quick Tips on Food Entrepreneurship from Cullen Gilchrist, CEO and Founder of Union Kitchen". Life. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Seven game-changers who will transform the Washington scene in 2014". The Washington Post. 2023-05-17. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Meet Cullen Gilchrist and take a tour of Union Kitchen's culinary accelerator". tasteMAKERS. 2019-12-31. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Speakers". Good Business Summit. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Nolan, Cornell. "Entrepreneurs in Residence". Cornell Nolan. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Carolan, Michael S. (2018-11-15). The Food Sharing Revolution: How Start-Ups, Pop-Ups, and Co-Ops are Changing the Way We Eat. Island Press. ISBN 978-1-61091-886-2.
- ^ How did Union Kitchen get started? Hear from founder Cullen Gilchrist on the incubator's origins., retrieved 2023-10-16
- ^ Rothenberg, Pamela (2016-06-20). "Union Kitchen: A Case Study On The Best Legal Structure For Local Businesses Looking To Go National". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
- ^ Ravindranath, Mohana (2023-05-18). "Union Kitchen: A cooking space for start-ups". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ Cooper, Rebecca. "Union Kitchen food incubator to shutter one of its locations". The Business Journals. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ "Cullen Gilchrist Named Entrepreneur in Residence at Cornell University". unionkitchen.com. Retrieved 2023-10-16.
- ^ anita (2023-06-09). "Union Kitchen- HOW A FOOD BUSINESS ACCELERATOR IN WASHINGTON, DC IS PAVING". Innovations of the World. Retrieved 2023-10-16.