When Bonnie Henderson decided to return to entrepreneurship after a corporate layoff in August 2008, she says the puzzle pieces Tea Towelseemed to fall into place like answers to her prayers. Her mother was in Bread Basket a position to lend her some startup funding, Dish Cloths for instance, and friends found a terrific location for her restaurant.

But the most fortuitous accident came about when her partner, Betty Miller-Henderson, stumbled across a brand new commercial kitchen  in May 2009. Not only was it convenient and affordable, but it was also more than just a kitchen facility.  It was Mama's Small Business Kitchen Incubator,  a Pasadena (Calif.) facility that exists to educate, encourage, and nurture budding food businesses.

"We had worked out of some commercial kitchens further away, but that was a real trek. So when we heard about Mama's, it was a godsend," says Henderson, whose Bonnie B's Smokin barbeque business started catering and delivery in 2009 and—just last week—staged a grand opening at its new restaurant in Altadena, Calif.