Codey's NOLA Commissary: Create.Consume.Connect

We invite you to envision a space that will bring the creativity of New Orleans’ best food entrepreneurs to the bellies of locals and tourists alike. The place where the aroma of cajun spices, red beans with smoked sausage and occasional hints of sweet skillet corn bread overcomes the room. Flavors like this are only birthed through love and commitment. Passionate about their work, many culinary artists will say, "I just want to cook". It gives them so much joy. But the truth is that the food business encompasses so much more than passion in order to scale to the next level of success. Whether you're working from a food truck, under cottage law, or catering events, the areas of financing, legal formalization, food compliance and staffing are always lingering needs to be addressed when advancing to the next stages of growth.

According to Forbes article, "No, Most Restaurants Don't Fail In The First Year", two economists tracked single-establishment restaurants and found that most restaurants don't fail. The smaller start-ups with 20 or fewer employees fail and that skews the results of overall restaurants. Actually, restaurants with 21 or more employees have a median lifespan longer than other businesses of the same size. Now that's the epitome of bitter-sweet news! 

Codey's was created out of necessity. We will help bridge the gap between the success of larger food businesses and small ones by discovering the missing components and addressing them. We are creating programming and a system of supports around food entrepreneurs who have tunnel vision of a higher goal but are missing a few links in their network. 

Our first course of action is to provide access to affordable kitchen space and technical assistance to improve systems and operations.  With kitchen space alone, entrepreneurs will gain access to an ecosystem of other culinary artists, diverse revenue streams, and the space to train staff. No other commissary kitchen in New Orleans offers robust programming for food entrepreneurs at various stages of business.

In the second phase of build out will include outdoor food pods that will serve as a marketplace for residents to connect to fresh and affordable foods. The first black owned commissary and co-op kitchen in New Orleans, Codey's will be located in the Hoffman Triangle community. We are proud to say that it may be the first building on the block to be remodeled and placed in operation since Hurricane Katrina. A community hub, incubator and anchor, Codey’s will serve as a connector by creating a space that embodies a culture of community, reciprocity, and innovation.

Codey's is named in memoriam of Codey Lamar Taylor, a cousin of founder, Sinnidra Taylor. He was a bright-eyed, fun-loving illustrator who fell through the cracks of the juvenile justice and mental health system; this space has been created in his honor. May he rest in power and peace. March 1982- August 2013.

About Sinnidra Taylor, Founder & CEO

After 11 years in education, Sinnidra made a seemingly drastic career change after falling in love with a Hong Kong style waffle while traveling in 2017. Less than a year after her experience, she launched Crazy Waffle Bar and has been working with food ever since. Reflecting back, she soon realized that her diverse background played a significant part in her growth and success thus far.  The totality of life experiences equipped her for a future in leadership. Her love for food and avid desire to advance her communities through service and philanthropy led to the idea of a larger concept. Codey’s NOLA is a product of the barriers she has faced a food entrepreneur.

***Codey's currently does not hold a non-profit designation.