The Clovis Chamber of Commerce will honor Clovis Culinary Center with its Community Impact Award at the annual Salute to Business luncheon on Thursday.

The event honors Clovis business leaders, volunteers, organizations, and entrepreneurs.

The culinary center is a community commercial kitchen and business incubator dedicated to helping food entrepreneurs launch successful businesses in the central San Joaquin Valley.

It serves start-up caterers, food truck operators, bakers, small manufacturers of specialty foods, legal street vendors, wholesalers who sell to retail markets, and others starting part-time food businesses by providing business counseling and market development.

“The Clovis Culinary Center is honored to be recognized by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce,” said Shawn Miller, a founder and ongoing board member for the kitchen, in a news release. “This particular award is meaningful because it means the Culinary Center has made an impact with its clients and customers in the community — which has been the goal from Day 1.”

Created 600 Jobs Since 2018 Opening

Since opening in 2018, it has served 130 clients, helped launch numerous successful food businesses, and created 600 jobs.

The Brioche Lady, The Grazing Table, and The St. Francis Homeless Project are among the center’s success stories, the latter winning a $10,000 award during the Pressure Cooker competition at the MADE Central CA trade show in 2022. Another client, Saint Goods, won second-place honors at MADE in 2023.

Other recent successes include Dads Cookies, which has grown to include three brick-and-mortar locations, and Miguel’s Salsa, which was recently named the No. 1 place to eat in the Central Valley by Yelp.

There are currently 80 clients working out of the kitchen, many from historically underserved communities. The center also hosts cooking classes, workshops, fundraisers, and private dinners led by its chefs and members.

The program is funded through the city of Clovis, federal Community Development Block Grants, and private donations. For more information about Clovis Culinary Center and its programs, visit clovisculinarycenter.com.

Other Salute to Business Award Winners

The awards luncheon, which is sold out, is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District-Liberty Ballroom. The event honors Clovis business leaders, volunteers, organizations, and entrepreneurs.

This year’s recipients:

Einar Cook Leadership Award: Florence Dunn, president, California Health Sciences University

Business Person of the Year: Helder Domingos, president/CEO, Westech Systems, LLC, and Sol-Tek Solar

Business of the Year: Wawona Frozen Foods

Community Impact: Clovis Culinary Center

Clovis Chamber Director of the Year: Corey Stone, Cedar Avenue Recycling & Transfer Station

Clovis Chamber Ambassador of the Year: Joe Tabangcura, Tabangcura Insurance Agency