About Us
The Culinary Square is more than a shared commercial kitchen - it's the heart of a community-centered food ecosystem. Our mission is to create spaces where local food entrepreneurs can thrive while reconnecting our community with the joy of cooking, the value of local ingredients, and the power of shared meals.
Through our business support, culinary classes, event opportunities, and pop-up experiences, we're building a web of opportunities that helps small food businesses succeed while teaching families to fall in love with cooking.
About Our Founder
Hello, I’m Gretchen Moran. After 27 years of building software companies, I discovered that my true passion was investing in the people and communities we created. In 2023, while retraining in the Culinary Health and Healing program at Maryland University of Integrated Health, I uncovered food's profound role in weaving together community, wellness, and human connection—and saw how we often surrender our agency over something as fundamental as what we eat.
This revelation sparked an audacious dream: to build communities around food, health, and connection through The Culinary Square, a shared commercial kitchen that serves as the center of revenue and support opportunities. From culinary classes that help people fall in love with cooking again to pop-up events that amplify multiple food businesses, my mission remains unchanged—creating spaces where people can thrive together, one meaningful connection at a time.
Charting Our Course
We’ve Dropped Anchor …
The Culinary Square has a home: 625 Greenway Road SE in Glen Burnie. The keys are in hand, the buildout is underway, and we’re opening the doors for construction tours so you can watch it come together.
Up next: buildout, inspections, then opening our doors in early 2027.
Q4 2026
Q3 2026
Making it Real
Behind the scenes, we lined up the financing, plans and partners to turn a building into a kitchen.
We also stood up for our community: in October we testified before the Anne Arundel County Council in support of fair rules for local food trucks.
Q2 2026
We Found It
After a long search, we put 625 Greenway Road SE under contract in March. The county confirmed the property is zoned for what we’re building.
Q3 2025
Taking it to the Streets
We met food makers where they were, at the AACC Spring Fair, farmers markets and food truck rallies, and began the search for a home.
Q2 2025
Listening and Learning
Our survey results showed just how big the need and the opportunity were, and we started sharing that data with partners and supporters across the county.
Q4 2025
The Quest Begins
As we looked toward the final quarter of 2025, our mission remained clear: find the perfect location and continue building our community.
We saw talented Anne Arundel County food entrepreneurs blocked by a lack of kitchen space, support and community. So we started asking questions, with help from Anne Arundel Community College and the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation.
Q1 2025