The Commissary Helps New Businesses Grow in Central Ohio [CityScene]

Located at 1400 Dublin Rd., the Commissary provides chefs with kitchen space, hot lines, prep lines, food storage, business lessons and opportunities to showcase their food. Its goal is to be “Where Food Connects Community,” and it’s clear that the food professionals who use the facility are working toward that end, but they are also using food to connect family – to which a father-son team, a mother and her two sons and a pair of sisters can attest. Let’s take a look at these family affairs and the impact their time at the Commissary has had on their businesses. North Country Charcuterie The North Country Charcuterie consists of chef James Forbes; his brother, Duncan Forbes, who works in sales and taste testing; and their mother, Jane Forbes, who deals with business and aesthetics. The Forbes began using the Commissary this past November to create their cured meats and to smoke their coffee bacon. While the food prep and storage areas are vital to North Country Charcuterie’s business, Duncan explains that there was something else the Commissary provided that their business couldn’t. “We started working there because it is an Ohio Department of Agriculture inspected facility,” Duncan says. “Without the ODA approval, North Country Charcuterie wouldn’t be able to produce meat products without building its own cost-prohibitive facility.” Like many of the businesses that use the Commissary, North Country Charcuterie take pride in sourcing 95 percent of its ingredients from Ohio businesses, including meat, cheese, herbs and spices, craft beer, and wine. The Forbes family intends to use its time at the Commissary as a launching pad to one day have its own brick-and-mortar salumeria. Until then though, members will enjoy their time at the Commissary. “We love working here,” says Duncan. “It’s an amazing resource for central Ohio.”