The Estimated Cost for a Commercial Kitchen in a Small Business
by Devra Gartenstein, Demand Media
The more complicated your commercial kitchen design, the more expensive it will be.
Installing Equipment and Infrastructure
The big ticket items for a commercial kitchen are plumbing, ventilation and refrigeration. These leasehold improvements are considerably more expensive than the equipment you will purchase to hook up to them; as of 2013, the cost of installing plumbing for the hand, mop, prep and dish sinks required by most local health departments will cost about $10,000, while you may only pay $2000 for all of your sinks. Ventilation can be very expensive as well, costing at least $1000 per square foot of hood area. Finding a space that has been a commercial kitchen in the past can save you large sums of money because many of the leasehold improvements you will need should be in place already.
The big ticket items for a commercial kitchen are plumbing, ventilation and refrigeration. These leasehold improvements are considerably more expensive than the equipment you will purchase to hook up to them; as of 2013, the cost of installing plumbing for the hand, mop, prep and dish sinks required by most local health departments will cost about $10,000, while you may only pay $2000 for all of your sinks. Ventilation can be very expensive as well, costing at least $1000 per square foot of hood area. Finding a space that has been a commercial kitchen in the past can save you large sums of money because many of the leasehold improvements you will need should be in place already.
The Extras
In addition to the cost of setting up your commercial kitchen, you may need to pay a damage deposit that likely will total about a month's rent. Your landlord may also ask you to pay your last month's rent along with your first month's. You may have to pay rent for at least a few months while you are making your kitchen production-ready, and you will also have to pay a health department licensing fee, which can range from less than a hundred dollars to nearly a thousand dollars depending on the county, state and licensing agency.
In addition to the cost of setting up your commercial kitchen, you may need to pay a damage deposit that likely will total about a month's rent. Your landlord may also ask you to pay your last month's rent along with your first month's. You may have to pay rent for at least a few months while you are making your kitchen production-ready, and you will also have to pay a health department licensing fee, which can range from less than a hundred dollars to nearly a thousand dollars depending on the county, state and licensing agency.
Renting a Commercial Kitchen
Renting a commercial kitchen allows you to avoid the large capital outlay of outfitting your own space. Churches, businesses and nonprofit business incubators lease space to startup food businesses. The cost of renting a commercial kitchen usually runs $10 to $25 per hour as of 2013, although some commercial kitchens offer unlimited access packages for $600 to $800 per month. Although renting a commercial kitchen saves money, it does usually limit the space and time you have available for kitchen production.
Cottage Kitchen Opportunities
Cottage kitchen laws enacted in many states allow you to sell food items that you produce in your home kitchen, as long as you produce them in limited quantities and they are not potentially hazardous. Non-potentially hazardous foods include most baked goods, as well as items such as pickles and jams produced with high acid canning methods. Using your home kitchen for a commercial food business will save money in the short term, although it will also limit your company's potential for growth.
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