Commercial kitchens are essential for every restaurant business to succeed. Unlike any other kitchens, commercial kitchens have the necessary space, equipment, storage, and hardware to cater to hundreds of people. As a small restaurant owner or maybe a humble businessman who has a share in a restaurant business, this thought might have crossed your mind. You might be thinking right now about how you can build a commercial kitchen at minimum cost. If you’re planning to make one, here’s what you need to know.
Renting Vs. Building
Renting a commercial kitchen can be the best way to go if your business is primarily centered on deliveries. It’s excellent during the pandemic and has helped many small online food businesses to grow. But just like renting any piece of equipment or retail store, it will eventually become less cost-effective in the long run. As a result, renting will ultimately hinder your growth because prices will eventually soar higher than you can afford.
This is why you should think proactively into the future. If you’re planning to stay mainly online and stay small, then continue to rent commercial kitchens. However, if you’re planning to grow and expand your business, you’re better off building a commercial kitchen for your food company.
Cost of Building a Commercial Kitchen
There are many types of commercial kitchens, each with varying purposes. You can make one primarily for renting. You can also make one for your restaurant. Some commercial kitchens are meant for creating processed food. However, regardless of its purpose, you’re still going to pay a hefty amount of money to get one built from scratch. It’s estimated that building a commercial kitchen can be between $25,000 to $100,000. If you add the expenses of operating it, you’re going to spend much more than that. This is an essential expense that you’ll have to pay for when building a commercial kitchen. Here are the essentials.
What You are Going to Need
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Commercial Refrigerator
Commercial kitchens are mainly built to produce and store food more efficiently. This is why you’re going to need a commercial refrigerator. If you have money to spend, spend it on this. A commercial refrigerator will ensure that your ingredients will never go to waste. Some commercial refrigerators can even flash freeze some food and ingredients. This is great for food processing. It’s also great because it’ll save you a decent amount of money on flash freezing.
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Professional Equipment
You can’t build a commercial kitchen without having professional equipment for cooking. This includes stainless steel cookware, industrial stoves, and dishwashing equipment with multiple sinks. The professional equipment you choose will make or break your commercial kitchen, and you must choose the right one for your business.
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Epoxy Floors
If your commercial kitchen is producing processed food, then you must install epoxy floors. A good epoxy floor for food processing can do your business wonders. It can help you save money when it comes to maintenance (you might never need to maintain it), and it will also keep the commercial kitchen clean at all times, hence, fewer expenses on cleaning. Epoxy floors also have the best protection against microscopic particles, so it’s great for sanitary purposes.
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Registration and Licensing
Lastly, you can’t have a fully operating commercial kitchen without registrations. Registrations for commercial kitchens can usually be found in the department of health in your state. They will inspect your newly constructed commercial kitchen and see if it fits with health regulation standards. This is why you should review the health code in your state before building one. You can also consult with professionals to help advise what you need to have in your commercial kitchen.
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Getting Quotes and Choosing a Contractor
You must get multiple quotes from different contractors. Also, do your research when it comes to your contractors. Make sure that they have experience building commercial kitchens because this kind of facility is unlike any other. It has strict regulations to follow, and if you choose an inexperienced contractor, you might end spending more money than you need. On the other hand, if a contractor is expensive but has built commercial kitchens before, then you know it’s worth the price because you know you’ll be getting less hassle from their work.
Investing in building a commercial kitchen can be very expensive. You can certainly consider renting one for now if you want to save money. But eventually, you’ll have to build one if you’re going to expand your operations and grow your business. So it’s better than you do it as early as you can to save yourself the trouble down the line.