How do I know if my market needs a Commercial Kitchen?

[laura schneider]

I am researching the idea of starting a shared commercial kitchen (with the hope of turning it into an incubator as time goes by). There are none in my immediate area. I don't know if that's a good thing (untapped market) or a bad thing (not financially viable). How and where can I connect with professional chefs and bakers to see if there is a need? 

 

[flipflopgirl]

Welcome to Chef Talk, Laura!

You may need to troll the underbelly of the business.

Caterers working from uninspected kitchens (cause they cannot meet the standards of even the local cottage industry) are sometimes tired of having to duck the laws and praying that no one will get sick before they can save enuf $$$ for a legal kitchen.

Same with the cake ladies altho IME most will never be willing to pony up the fees you will charge (because then they would be unable to under cut the B&M bakeries).

I would start with FB and try to read between the lines and mssg those likely to be interested in coming into the light.

You would be doing your area a huge service by cleaning up even just a few of those mentioned.

mimi

 

[laura schneider]

Mimi,

Thanks so much for your feedback and idea! I will start looking into FB. Most appreciated. 

 

[mlejeune]

I would check with your local chamber of commerce and any other community organizations as well as the city you live in to see if they have any business development programs.  In our community, they are running business boot camps and the people in charge of those camps are working with the local chamber and a "downtown growth" organization.  Those people know literally everyone that is trying to start a business or in business.  They also typically know all of the needs of those people as well.  In our community, they are super friendly and have social media pages where they are very willing to share that sort of question or idea.  So I would definitely check those places.

Pete

Head Chef and Community Blogger for:

http://champaigncatering.com

 

[granola girl]

Hi Laura,

Although it may depend on what county you are in, I can tell you my Los Angeles County info. I am a Cottage Food Operation Granola company. I also own a brick and mortar bakery. Long story as to why I own both, and am paying for health permits and insurance on both. The LA county health inspector came to my home to check my kitchen and I asked her about my wish to start a shared kitchen and use it as an incubator kitchen to help others. The cost of doing it is so high that the special permit is outrageous. My B&M bakery has a permit fee of 1K to operate it as a wholesale bakery ups the fee to 2K to have a shared kitchen with multiple work stations ups it to 3K. And that is just the permit fee. The plans for the shared kitchen have to be approved by different department and there is another fee for that. So, i decided not to go forward with that idea. I'd rather invest in a vacation rental by the beach. Hope this was helpful.

 

[laura schneider]

This IS helpful. Thanks so much for weighing in. I'm waiting to hear back from the licensing agency here in Florida to understand costs. I hope I don't have the same challenge. Thanks so much for your feedback. 

Laura

 

[ashleylovesfood]

I am researching the idea of starting a shared commercial kitchen (with the hope of turning it into an incubator as time goes by). There are none in my immediate area. I don't know if that's a good thing (untapped market) or a bad thing (not financially viable). How and where can I connect with professional chefs and bakers to see if there is a need?

Hi Laura,

I wanted to provide you with a treasure trove of resources that may be helpful to your journey.

• The Shared Kitchen Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Planning, Launching and Managing a Shared Use Commercial Kitchen is a comprehensive 166-page guide to starting a new shared-use or incubator kitchen and managing day-to-day operations. It provides an overview of emerging kitchen models and highlights opportunities to enhance the community impact and financial sustainability of shared kitchens.
• Opening Community Facilities to Food Entrepreneurs: Guidance for Communities and Facility Operators is a 27-page guide that focuses on the opportunity for existing kitchens in community-serving facilities (such as religious buildings and community centers) to provide kitchen access to food entrepreneurs. It provides practical steps for establishing a rental program, profiles Kitchen Connect programs, and highlights ways stakeholders can support kitchen access.
• Network for Incubator and Commissary Kitchens is a private community of shared use kitchen owners, operators, managers, and community advocates who exchange best practices, share frustrations, offer encouragement, and solve problems together.
• The Food Corridor is a custom software-as-a-service built by the shared use kitchen community to streamline kitchen scheduling, billing, and client management.
  
• Shared-use Kitchen Resouces is a collection of publications, case studies, feasibility studies, business development tools, and funding sources meant to serve the emerging shared-use kitchen community.
• The Food Corridor Blog provides weekly posts on best practices, highlights kitchens in the community, and the news of the day.
• The Food Corridor Newsletter is a monthly update of all the news and resources the shared kitchen community needs.
• The Kitchen Door is the most accurate, up-to-date site to post, find, and compare available shared use and incubator kitchens to rent.

Cheers,
Ashley

 

[azenjoys]

Just realized this thread is super old, but I already typed my reply, so...

Do you have any experience working in or managing a professional kitchen? A shared space/incubator gets 10x the wear and tear of a restaurant kitchen, and running one successfully ends up being all about logistics and details. Without an industry background, I think it would be extremely challenging to do well.

My business is based in an incubator, and the founder/director seems like a superhero to me. He knows literally every food person in the city and is constantly helping us find opportunities to increase our sales. He answers emails within minutes, even at 1 AM, so we never feel worried about issues with the space impacting our ability to produce. He can personally fix almost every piece of equipment in the kitchen, so the 40+ businesses that work in the kitchen don't have to put projects on hold or fight over access to working equipment. But all of those things are what it takes to create a space that really works for food businesses and attracts businesses that treat the space and each other respectfully. There are several other incubators in the city that do not do nearly as good a job, so it's definitely not an easy business.

Also, many health departments don't really understand shared kitchens and are not set up to inspect them, so definitely have a very long and extensive talk with the health department before getting started. Our health department's confusion and constantly changing policies have made life extremely difficult for some of the other business owners I know who work out of the same kitchen as my business.

 

[granola girl]

Hi Laura,

I wanted to provide you with a treasure trove of resources that may be helpful to your journey.

• The Shared Kitchen Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Planning, Launching and Managing a Shared Use Commercial Kitchen is a comprehensive 166-page guide to starting a new shared-use or incubator kitchen and managing day-to-day operations. It provides an overview of emerging kitchen models and highlights opportunities to enhance the community impact and financial sustainability of shared kitchens.
• Opening Community Facilities to Food Entrepreneurs: Guidance for Communities and Facility Operators is a 27-page guide that focuses on the opportunity for existing kitchens in community-serving facilities (such as religious buildings and community centers) to provide kitchen access to food entrepreneurs. It provides practical steps for establishing a rental program, profiles Kitchen Connect programs, and highlights ways stakeholders can support kitchen access.
• Network for Incubator and Commissary Kitchens is a private community of shared use kitchen owners, operators, managers, and community advocates who exchange best practices, share frustrations, offer encouragement, and solve problems together.
• The Food Corridor is a custom software-as-a-service built by the shared use kitchen community to streamline kitchen scheduling, billing, and client management.
• Shared-use Kitchen Resouces is a collection of publications, case studies, feasibility studies, business development tools, and funding sources meant to serve the emerging shared-use kitchen community.
• The Food Corridor Blog provides weekly posts on best practices, highlights kitchens in the community, and the news of the day.
• The Food Corridor Newsletter is a monthly update of all the news and resources the shared kitchen community needs.
• The Kitchen Door is the most accurate, up-to-date site to post, find, and compare available shared use and incubator kitchens to rent.

Cheers,
Ashley

Thank you a very extensive list of sites to reference. Given the current Covid situation. I have decided to build out a cloud kitchen. Semi private shared/incubator model. Hopefully LA County sees my plans as a way to employ folks and keep a family food business alive.

 

[granola girl]

Just realized this thread is super old, but I already typed my reply, so...

Do you have any experience working in or managing a professional kitchen? A shared space/incubator gets 10x the wear and tear of a restaurant kitchen, and running one successfully ends up being all about logistics and details. Without an industry background, I think it would be extremely challenging to do well.

My business is based in an incubator, and the founder/director seems like a superhero to me. He knows literally every food person in the city and is constantly helping us find opportunities to increase our sales. He answers emails within minutes, even at 1 AM, so we never feel worried about issues with the space impacting our ability to produce. He can personally fix almost every piece of equipment in the kitchen, so the 40+ businesses that work in the kitchen don't have to put projects on hold or fight over access to working equipment. But all of those things are what it takes to create a space that really works for food businesses and attracts businesses that treat the space and each other respectfully. There are several other incubators in the city that do not do nearly as good a job, so it's definitely not an easy business.

Also, many health departments don't really understand shared kitchens and are not set up to inspect them, so definitely have a very long and extensive talk with the health department before getting started. Our health department's confusion and constantly changing policies have made life extremely difficult for some of the other business owners I know who work out of the same kitchen as my business.

Thank you for that information. What city are you in?