Downtown Kitchen expands event space in Wenatchee, plans summer pop-up dinner series

A ribbon-cutting event at Downtown Kitchen began new collaborations between Wenatchee food entrepreneurs, as tenants connected through the shared kitchen's expanding event space and programming.

Downtown Kitchen, a co-op kitchen space founded by Barb Andre-Van Lith and located at 249 N. Mission St. in Wenatchee, hosted the event April 9 to introduce new indoor and outdoor rental space and highlight opportunities for chefs using the facility.

Sugar and Slices owner Francis Montes, a tenant who specializes in cheesecakes, began showcasing some of her cakes at the ribbon cutting and met fellow tenant Michelle Ballou of Smois, who specializes in chocolate almond butter crunch candy.

"It was beyond my expectations. It was exciting and new for us. I ended up meeting a few other business owners who also are tenants for Downtown Kitchen, I normally don't see them since we are on different schedules," Montes said.

The meeting led to a collaboration between the two businesses, including a pop-up event featuring cheesecake creations paired with Ballou's candy.

"We also had a private event pop up to showcase her candies with my collab cheesecake creations, and the support from the community was incredible. I'm in talks with her to create more flavors using her habanero flavor and non spicy flavor so everyone can get a taste," Montes said.

"We actually did a pop up and we'll do some more collaborations where she made a version of her cheesecake after one of my spicy versions of chocolate almond butter crunch," Ballou said.

"I sampled her work at the grand opening, and immediately knew I wanted that on one of my cheesecakes so I created a Mexican hot chocolate infused cheesecake and added her chili flavor chocolate almond butter crunch as the crown," Montes said.

The pair continued discussions about additional flavor collaborations.

Downtown Kitchen's expanded event space, introduced during the ribbon cutting, includes a small interior gathering area that can accommodate up to 30 guests and access to the outdoor garden, which can host up to 100 people for private events.

The facility now has the capacity to host private dinners, small weddings, workshops and community events.

The shared commercial kitchen portion of the business has been open since August 2025 to chefs with a business license, food handler permits for all staff members present, liability insurance and a security deposit. The 570-square-foot kitchen currently has seven food businesses scheduling time to use the space.

Downtown Kitchen is also planning a pop-up dinner series from June through September, where invited chefs will curate formal, ticketed dining experiences using the new event space.

Guest chefs and Downtown Kitchen will collaborate on menu design, preparation, staffing and ticket sales depending on the event format. In some cases, chefs will independently manage menu planning and service while using the venue, while other dinners will be produced jointly with Downtown Kitchen staff.

Specific participating chefs were not announced by press deadline.

"I am currently excited about hosting chefs around the valley for pop-up dinners in the garden," Andre-Van Lith said. "We have had chefs reach out about Indonesian food, Peruvian food and Middle Eastern food. I love the idea of a variety of different cultural foods being offered."

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