Guides
Guides to Renting a Commercial Kitchen
Short pages on renting a commercial kitchen and on running one. Each page answers one question and links to the kitchens.
Every guide answers one question a food maker asks before the first booking. The figures in them come from the kitchens on this site, read from each kitchen's own website.
Rules differ by county, by state, and by kitchen. Where that is true, the guide says who to ask.
For renters
You want to cook, bake, or pack in a kitchen somebody else owns. These pages cover what the kitchen is, what it asks of you, and what you sign.
What Is a Commissary Kitchen?
A commissary kitchen is a licensed commercial kitchen where food businesses prepare and store food. It gives you licensed equipment, clean cooking…
Cottage Food vs Commercial Kitchen
A cottage food law lets you sell low-risk food made at home without a commercial health inspection. You move to a commercial kitchen when your sales,…
What a Food Truck Needs From a Commissary
A commissary kitchen is a licensed commercial kitchen where mobile food vendors prep food and service their vehicles. A food truck needs prep space, bulk…
Shared-Use Kitchen vs Incubator Kitchen
A shared-use kitchen rents licensed cooking space by the hour, while an incubator kitchen pairs that space with business training.
How Much Kitchen Time Do You Need?
Kitchen time is the scheduled block of hours you reserve to make food in a licensed facility. You need enough hours to finish one batch run, clean your…
Commercial Kitchen Insurance for Renters
Commercial kitchen insurance protects your food business and the kitchen owner against property damage, injury, and illness claims.
What to Check Before You Sign a Kitchen Agreement
A kitchen agreement is a contract between you and a commercial kitchen owner. You may operate a food truck, a catering company, or a packaged food brand.
How to Get a Health Permit With a Commissary
A health permit gives a business legal approval to prepare and sell food to the public. You get one by securing an agreement with a licensed commercial…
For kitchen owners
You own the kitchen and rent the hours. These pages cover the rate, the empty blocks, the listing, and the paperwork you ask a renter for.
How to Price a Commercial Kitchen Rental
A commercial kitchen rental is licensed cooking space leased to food businesses by the hour or month. You set the rental rate by matching your location,…
How to Fill Empty Kitchen Hours
Empty kitchen hours are unbooked shifts on your schedule. You fill them by matching each open time block to a business that naturally works during those…
What Renters Look For in a Kitchen Listing
A commercial kitchen listing gives renters the basic terms of your kitchen before they contact you. Renters look for your hourly rate, your minimum…
How to Write a Kitchen Rental Agreement
A kitchen rental agreement is a legally binding contract between a kitchen operator and a food business renter. You write it by setting down the price,…
What Insurance to Ask Renters For
Kitchen insurance requirements protect your property when other food businesses cook inside your kitchen. Most kitchens ask for proof of the renter's own…