ScratchDC—the service that delivers pre-chopped, measured, and marinated ingredients to help people cheat in making a home-cooked meal—is moving into a new 8,000-square-foot warehouse in January that will allow it to expand its offerings.
The business, which launched in 2012, currently operates out of the kitchen at Bobby McKey's Dueling Piano Bar in National Harbor. But because of the limited availability of that space, which is less than 1,000 square-feet, ScratchDC only does deliveries Monday through Thursday.
The larger digs at 2619 Evarts St. NE—dubbed TasteLab—will allow ScratchDC to begin deliveries on Friday. "We think it could be a busier day than any of our current days, and we don't even have it offered right now," partner Joe Kennedy says. ScratchDC is also looking to some new weekend options like brunch or grilling supplies. They'll also have more room to bake things, offer desserts, and generally expand their repertoire beyond dinner kits.
The company previously experimented with offering its "bundles" (the packages with all the ingredients for a meal) at half a dozen retail locations. That's temporarily on hiatus while they find better packaging and streamline the process. But Kennedy says they're working to bring back the retail option sometime next year.
ScratchDC plans to only use about half of the square footage at the new location. The rest they will be rented out to other food operations. Unlike Union Kitchen or Mess Hall, however, the shared space isn't exactly a "food incubator." Kennedy says they're looking for "more mature" businesses that are expanding, not necessarily starting.
"It's going to have a lot of fun stuff coming out of it and just add to the food community in D.C.," Kennedy says.
Photo by Jessica Sidman