If you like barbecue, chances are, you’re gonna love Lakeland's newest business project. This week, a smoky start-up called the "Cultivated Pig" became the first restaurant to take up residence in the city’s business incubator space called Catapult. Kevin Aydelott and Jimmy Fox were originally a couple of Texas boys with a passion for barbecue. Now, after years of competitions and pulled pork pop-ups, their Cultivated Pig concept is a full-fledged restaurant. “This is huge for us,” Aydelott said. “This is gonna be great for us to grow our business. Get out of the kind of pop-up mentality working in a professional kitchen now.” The Cultivated Pig is the first to be chosen as a resident restaurant at Lakeland’s Catapult, which is a business incubator that aims to help entrepreneurs like Kevin and Jimmy succeed. “We want to make Lakeland better. We believe Lakeland is better when there’s good food to eat. So, if we can help people who have an idea for a food-based business, create that business, scale, and eventually be able to launch in their own space that we’ve kind of done our job here,” Catapult’s Assistant Kitchen Manager Elena Schillinger said. Fox added, “We don't just come in and use the kitchen and go. We come in and use the kitchen, get advice, get help with our taxes, get marketing help. You know, all those different things.” Catapult, a privately funded non-profit, has been around for about a decade now, offering businesses workspace and expert guidance. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/money/business/cultivated-pig-lakeland-catapult-restaurant/67-8e9f8903-535c-487d-81db-985fc7b272a9 ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay