New food and beverage incubator to be built in Avondale

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -Jefferson Parish leaders are working on a new building to help small businesses grow.

It’s called a food incubator, and parish leaders believe it will help the parish in the long run.

Its planned location is in Avondale at the Churchill Technology and Business Park.

Once complete, small businesses focused on food and drink can rent space in the 15,000-square-foot building.

“Once you get to a certain stage in your business, you may need a little more room, a little more space,” says Southern Fixings owner Natasha Jones.

She specializes in pralines and uses a building like the one planned in St. Charles Parish. However, Hurricane Ida damaged the building beyond repair in 2021.

Jones says she is excited about the new building in Jefferson Parish.

“We make pralines so we needed a kettle, not a regular stovetop because of the amount of pralines we have to make each week, this is perfect for that.”

Jones says she makes 10,000 pralines a week, and the space is much needed.

“They can’t wait to be tenants because this is such a much-needed asset in our region,” says Lacey Bordelon, Vice President of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission. “This is the only building of its kind, and we desperately need it.”

She says this four-million-dollar investment will help the parish in the long run.

“The idea is that you provide them the support and one day they will be at that point where they are moving out, renting space, buying building, buying their equipment on their own,” Bordelon says.

The incubator will have three industrial-sized kitchens, loading docks, cold storage, and freezer space.

“There is no true university or master’s degree that you can get in food manufacturing. I think this will fill that void,” says Kristen Preau, owner of Jambalaya Girl.

Half the money to build this building comes from the bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Senator Bill Cassidy helped negotiate that bill and wants to see the businesses that enter the space come out ready for the global market.

“Now, with the internet, you now have the ability to sell out of Waggaman, out of Lafitte, out of any place in JP to around the world. I gave examples of people in Louisiana doing that. That brings income and jobs, and frankly, it contributes to our vibe. We want the Louisiana vibe to be around the world,” he says.

Preau’s business has been around for more than a decade, and she says this will allow her to expand and grow her products.

“In order to start with a family recipe, into a packaged product that is sold on the shelf at national retailers. It takes so many resources. I’m self-funded; I’ve grown this from the ground up. I’ve worked with the JEDCO Small Business Development Center to help find those resources. There really hasn’t been a facility to really start developing those products when you’re just at the first step of it.”

The incubator is expected to help create 55 new construction jobs and keep 420 food and beverage jobs in Louisiana.

“That’s what catches my eye. How do we give the potential that’s within our state the avenue to go outside of our state,” said Senator Cassidy.,

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