Fork Food Lab, the 6,000-square-foot commercial kitchen incubator in Portland, will not close after all.

The Sustainability Lab, a Yarmouth-based nonprofit, has acquired the kitchen incubator from New York-based Pilotworks. The Sustainability Lab assumed control of the business effective Oct. 1.

Bill Seretta, president of The Sustainability Lab, has been working to secure a deal to keep Fork open since Pilotworks announced in July that it would close the business at the end of September. At the time, Pilotworks claimed the business model was unsustainable. Its decision to close Fork came just one year after it had acquired the business from its original founders, Eric Holstein and Neil Spillane, who opened Fork in September 2016.

The transaction was a complex one, Seretta said. While Pilotworks owned the Fork brand and operated the kitchen incubator, the building and all the kitchen equipment is owned by the landlord, Forq LLC, which consists of a group of investors, including Justin Alfond, a former president of the Maine Senate; Holstein, and Spillane. There were a lot of moving parts that needed to perfectly align for this deal to come together the way it did, Seretta said.

Because it didn’t involve the real estate or equipment, Seretta said the acquisition cost roughly $150,000. To make it happen, he said he took out a large personal loan.

Forq LLC issued a statement about the news:

“Over the last two months, Forq LLC entertained a handful of offers to take over the business. Today, we’re extremely happy to have found an excellent partner in the Sustainability Lab. They have a history of helping the greater Portland region food economy and align with our goal of Fork Food Lab being a hub for food entrepreneurship. We are confident they will bring back the programming and excitement that was present when Fork Food Lab opened.”

Getting to ‘break even’
Bill Seretta, president of The Sustainability Lab, the new owner of Fork Food Lab as of Oct. 1, 2018. (Photo/MSI)

Seretta, who is a serial entrepreneur and a former professor of social entrepreneurship at Hampshire College, said the plan is to operate Fork as a nonprofit.

The shared commercial kitchen space, located at 72 Parris St. in Portland’s West Bayside neighborhood, is currently home to 20 food and beverage companies, representing roughly $3 million in sales, according to Seretta.

Seretta said his first priority is raising $250,000 to eliminate debt.

Seretta said the ideal breakdown of income would be 85% coming from membership fees with the rest coming from events and sponsorships.

His efforts will be helped by the fact the landlord, Forq LLC, is invested in the success of Fork. While Pilotworks had signed a 10-year lease, Forq LLC provided a two-year lease to The Sustainability Lab to provide it more future flexibility. Seretta said the lease is considered “market rate” and is likely just allowing Forq LLC to break even.

“This is a community investment for them,” he said.

Holstein, one of Forq LLC’s members, confirmed that they are breaking even on the rent it’s collecting and considers it a community investment.

“We’re so lucky that we have investors who are from Maine and invested in the success of Maine’s food economy,” he said.

Adrian Espinoza, a Fork member and owner of Empanada Club, speaks with Jenn Stein, Fork’s general manager. (Photo/MSI)

Besides raising money, Seretta said recruiting more members will be necessary to build a sustainable model. While there are currently 20 members who pay monthly fees to use the shared commercial kitchen and equipment, Seretta said the “break even” target number of members is 45.

Jenn Stein, Fork’s general manager, who will stay on in the position, said she had put her recruiting efforts on hold after this summer’s announcement from Pilotworks.

“It was like watching my snowball melt,” Stein said.

Now that the uncertainty about the space’s future is gone, she plans to hit the ground running again. She said there were three members prepared to join this week and roughly 20 more in the pipeline.

“I’m so happy it’s coming back to local ownership and is in stable mode,” Stein said.

Nina Murray, owner of Mill Cove Baking Co., a member of Fork, said she was extremely happy about the new chapter.

“Fork Food Lab is a beacon for startup businesses, and the support that members provide each other is extraordinary,” she said. “Keeping Fork going, and keeping management local, is a significant show of support for our food-based startup community.”