Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Casey Steele. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Casey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

My 18 year old self decided I wanted to be an architect so I moved to Fargo, North Dakota immediately after high school to pursue my Masters of Architecture degree at North Dakota State University. In 2008 I had an internship that made me rethink things a little but I was so close to graduating that I decided to complete my degree and graduated in 2009.

The employment opportunities were dismal at that time but I wasn’t too upset as I didn’t know what my future in the architectural field involved anyway. So, I found myself a job at a local daycare. The time I spent working with children made me appreciate childcare staff, teachers, counselors and more for guiding and providing for the future generations. I ultimately knew this path was not my calling either.

Architecture was very much in the rearview mirror and I needed to sit down and think hard about what I wanted to be when I grew up. The daycare had a commercial kitchen that was not used in the evenings and I had a love for baking. I decided, what the heck, let’s start a delivery-based bakery.

At that time you could not sell products made in your home in North Dakota and were required to operate out of an inspected commercial kitchen. My employer was onboard with me renting their kitchen in the evenings to sell my baked goods. I went for it. I catered to weddings, parties and business events. My little Prius and I delivered baked goods throughout the Fargo metro area. Word of mouth and a wedding show helped things take off.

From this experience I met others who wanted to start a food business but weren’t interested in the high risk associated with starting up a restaurant or retail location. That got me thinking. What if we had a facility in Fargo that could be used as needed and provide start ups the opportunity to be licensed, inspected and sell their product with minimal overhead and significantly reduced risk? Hello Square One Rental Kitchen & Events.

It took some convincing the health department and the bank, but in 2012 Square One opened its doors. What started out as a few clients now offers shared kitchen space to over 30 businesses from caterers to bakers to waffle-on-a-stick makers.

Casey, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m originally from a small town in Minnesota and moved to Fargo for college. At that time I was convinced I was going to be an architect. I helped my parents design a couple rooms in their house and I took a drafting class in high school. Those few things gave me a sense of direction.

I really enjoyed my college experience and I wouldn’t take it back; even if I knew beforehand I was going to pursue a totally unrelated path. My college years brought new perspectives and thought processes and I also learned all-nighters are not sustainable. It’s best to tackle deadlines in a more timely fashion.

In 2009 I graduated but was positive I wasn’t going to become an architect. I had a very fantasized image of the job in my mind. My senior year I had an architectural internship that showed me that there’s a chance I’m not cut out for this line of work. I grew up with a family business and that’s all I really knew. Deep down I wanted to be self-employed and I couldn’t see myself running my own architectural firm.

Working at a daycare after college, I noticed they had a commercial kitchen that sat empty every evening and night. I also noticed I was baking constantly and had been for years. Any chance of the littlest excuse to bake something up, I’d take it. Did you let my dog out for me while I was at work? I better bake you some sweet bread and cookies as a thank you. Am I getting married and should I make my own wedding desserts? Of course!

The wedding desserts really are what made the idea of becoming a baker come to light. I would bring in all my test batches for co-workers to try. They would devour them and repeatedly comment on how I should start selling my baked goods. I started documenting my processes, my recipes and cost information. Things were slowly becoming apparent that I might want to be a baker.

So, I started renting the kitchen at work in the evenings and overnight. I kept my day job as long as possible, took orders online and delivered as I didn’t have a retail shop for pick ups. It grew steadily and I really enjoyed the flexibility provided by not having a retail operation to staff and manage.

This led to opening a shared commercial kitchen in Fargo in 2012. Square One provides certified commercial kitchen space that is rented by the hour for food startups to utilize to sell their products as a licensed, inspected and legit operation. We took an 1980s office building and converted it to 2 kitchen stations, a prep station, dish room, seating area and storage for clients’ products, ingredients and equipment. We’re currently in the process of converting our seating area to a flex space for events and food production to meet the demand for space.

The opportunity to start up a food business through a commissary kitchen reduces risk substantially and provides startups a space to test their product and perfect their practices. Restaurants and food related ventures are high risk in nature. Profit margins are slim and the chance for failure is quite high. Shared kitchens like Square One let business owners start their food business with flexibility, minimal overhead and without a long lease commitment. I’ve worked with catering startups that get going and realize after a few months that catering isn’t their cup of tea and that’s OK. By utilizing Square One, they aren’t in a tricky financial situation or stuck in a 3-5+ year lease. They can simply say this isn’t working and move on to whatever is next.

Square One is designed in a way to foster a community of food entrepreneurs and collaborations but also provide those who want to come in and just do their own thing to be able to do just that. It’s balance of accommodating different business ideas, personalities and even comfort levels operating in a commercial kitchen setting.

I am very proud of the reputation I have built. I care about the people I work with and their success and my goal is to help them achieve their goals. Currently I’m developing a program for new businesses to move Square One in the direction from a rental kitchen to a business incubator. Over the years I’ve realized my favorite part of this job is being a resource for our clients and sharing what I’ve learned from operating my own food business for 12 years. Last fall I sold my baking business to focus solely on Square One and have found a new sense of energy knowing I can give this business my all.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

New Years Eve of 2016 was the first time I rang in the new year wishing good riddance (I used much stronger language) to an entire year. In 2016 an oily rag at Square One spontaneously combusted and destroyed the entire interior of our building. I remember the fire department calling me and my husband late at night. We drove quickly to the kitchen and found ourselves walking through the dark, soot covered remnants of our business.

The first two years of operating Square One were slow and rough. I spent endless hours there fixing equipment, cleaning and making the best go of things I possibly could. Tears were shed. I questioned if this was a very bad idea.
After 2 years, it started to gain traction and things were going well. We were offering great cooking classes and had several wonderful clients who were utilizing our kitchen to grow their businesses. I finally found my groove.

Then we had a fire.

If it had been a couple years earlier, I don’t know if I would have wanted to rebuild. We had done so much of the initial work ourselves with the help of our friends. We did our own demolition, framed new walls, sealed floors and assembled so many work tables, shelves, cabinets and chairs. It was heartbreaking watching our hard work destroyed in just a few hours.

Then I thought about the people that utilize our kitchen. Their businesses needed us to come back. I needed us back in action, too. I finally felt at home with my business and was really getting a firm grasp on how to operate a successful shared kitchen. Fortunately we were able to temporarily relocate the active businesses that utilized Square One and we got back to work.

The building was stripped down to the studs and put back together, piece by piece. A few minor changes/improvements and a few months later we were back at it. Our doors were open, ovens fired up and the smell of delicious food was back in the air. My architectural knowledge came into play as I acted as my own general contractor and kept a pretty swift timeline for getting back in business.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

For 10 years I operated two businesses. I had my baking business, Love in the Oven Bakery, that I started in 2010 and Square One, which opened in 2012. I thought I was managing these both pretty well but as each grew, I started to have this sinking feeling I really wasn’t on top of everything but it was fine. I was managing well enough. I could handle it. Someday I’d get to all these ideas I had and implement them. Some day…

Then we started a family. Being pregnant didn’t really stop me from keeping up well enough with both businesses but we weren’t able to secure daycare until our son was one. I knew I wanted to have a decent time for my maternity leave but I hadn’t anticipated a full year. That year brought a lot of things into perspective.

Firstly, it made me employ someone for Love in the Oven beyond just a here-and-there, random part time person. I became responsible for scheduling and relaying orders, expectations and instructions. This was such a beneficial experience. I revisited all my recipes for clarity, trained an amazing employee and then I had a baby. Basically, when my son arrived, my employee was on her own. She did amazing and that really boosted my confidence that I could show someone the ropes, they could be successful and I can step away from the day-to-day of baking.

Preparing for maternity leave and becoming a mother changed my perspective. I didn’t mind stepping away from baking. I actually enjoyed stepping away from it so much that I sold my baking business in the fall of 2022. I have no regrets over this decision. Sure, I miss being physically in the kitchen making baked goods but I also fully enjoy having more flexibility to be a mother (especially now that I had a 1 month old daughter as well and my son is nearly 2) and to best manage Square One.

Having a year to spend with my son was magical. I did struggle with balancing the business to-dos that still were my responsibility and tending to a growing, engaging little human being. I never would have thought of myself as spending this much time at home but it showed me another side of myself that was very well hidden from me. As I write this I’m on maternity leave with my newborn daughter. This time around I’m toting her around to meetings at the kitchen and keeping up on things much better because I’m not juggling two businesses and being present for my family.

Becoming a mother has made me a better business owner. I’ve learned my priorities and how to manage my time in a way where I’m more productive with the time I allot for Square One. Only having one business to focus on has put me in a position where I can execute on the ideas I had been talking about for years. It took being overwhelmed by 2 businesses and my first child to realize I was actually holding back the potential of both businesses and myself.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.squareonekitchens.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SquareOneFM

Image Credits
Head Shot: Britta the Photographer All other photos were taken by Square One.