They're sours. Vinegar-based and very, very spicy.

"I use fresh crushed garlic to make my own blend of sour brine," Roybal said. "I have a few secret ingredients that make these pickles so bold that you can't eat too many of them. They punch you in the mouth. I get requests for more from anybody I've ever given them to."

Roybal is the new manager of the 10,000 square-foot Piedmont Food & Agricultural Processing Center (PFAP) on Valley Forge Road, near the Sportsplex in Hillsborough. The center is scheduled for an official opening later this month.

PFAP is a shared-use kitchen incubator launched with several goals, among them providing its customers with the resources and expertise necessary to start a successful business.

Under Roybal's direction, PFAPP will offer support in product development, guidance through the maze of regulations governing safe production of food products, advice on packaging and label design, and much more.

Although the kitchen will open this month, Roybal says that in September the space will take on an entirely different look and feel - and smell.

"If you popped in today you would see the final details of construction being addressed," he said. "If you pop in three months from now you could see one to four different clients making anything from bread to sauces to cakes to juice to pickles to candy to pies and more. It will depend on our clients."

There are already 120 potential applicants waiting for PFAP to open.

Currently, Roybal is the only employee, but the goals of PFAP include an expanded staff to better support clients. Roybal says staff is now arranging for instructors and small food business mentors to join the operation.

Clients will use the facility in a variety of ways.

"Our average client will use it weekly to monthly," he said. "Vendor trucks may only need an hour to set or break down for their day. A bread baker could spend hours from mixing to packaging. A caterer may spend all night for a big event the following day. Every business will be unique."

Roybal brings a diverse skill set to the food center, including experience in small scale farming, specialty food product development, natural foods marketing and food processing facility management.

Roybal worked for Weaver Street Market as a project manager, helping to open the Hillsborough Foodhouse. The bulk of his food training, though, was with Whole Foods, near his home in Illinois, where he worked for more than 13 years in various capacities.

Although his mother runs a sustainable farm in Illinois, Roybal does not call himself a farmer.

"I am a chef, businessman, foodie, with a great respect for farmers, but I am not a farmer," he said. "My family are farmers. They wake up every day knowing the hard day ahead of them. Helping them on the farm has just opened my eyes to the challenges of sustainable farming."

As part of his role, Roybal will help small farmers in 22 counties bring their products to market much more cheaply by providing a facility for packaging and storing their products.

"Any business startup is hard, but food ventures come with their own set of challenges," Roybal said. "First, there are the state and federal regulations. Then you face the expense of space, equipment and tools. And that's before you even get to marketing a product."

The Piedmont Food & Agricultural Processing Center, a joint venture between Alamance, Chatham, Durham and Orange counties, operates mainly with state-supported grants, with Orange County serving as the fiscal agent (and Roybal's employer).

The bulk of funding for the $1.3 million center comes from the Tobacco Trust Fund, Leaf Foundation and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Economic Development Initiative.

The center will contribute to Orange County's economic development goals, said County Manager Frank Clifton.

"The Piedmont Food and Processing Center will help small family farmers and other growers seeking ways to create value-added food products, which provide higher profit margins than commodity crops," Clifton said. "The kitchen and support services will be available to area growers, caterers and food entrepreneurs for a modest hourly rate, so that family farms and startup food entrepreneurs can make a better living without making cost-prohibitive investments in large-scale facilities and production equipment."

Hillsborough Mayor Tom Stevens said the facility will be an asset for economic development for the region.

"Community leaders were very impressed with the successful 'kitchen incubator' they saw on our last inter-city visit in Asheville," Stevens said. "They thought it was a great idea, and were surprised Orange County already had one in the works here in Hillsborough.

"I've talked to several folks who are eager to make use of the commercial kitchen facilities. There's an excitement about the potential for people getting their businesses off the ground or getting more value from what their farm produces."

Roybal is eager to start working with clients.

"Everything an individual or group needs to transform an idea into a business will be available at PFAP," Roybal said.