Starting a small food business for either a beginner or even an expert requires a great kitchen space. Renting a commercial kitchen will give you the kind of requirements you need from utensils to storage and any other facilities you may require. However, with renting a commercial kitchen, there are things that you need to put into consideration. If you don’t know where to start when renting a commercial kitchen or what you need to be looking out for, here are a few tips on how to go about it.
1. SPACE
When it comes to renting a kitchen, you need to check out the space being offered. This depends on the size of the business and your preferences. You can either consider sharing space with someone or rent your own space.
2. CLEANING AND DISPOSABLE FACILITIES
Another critical factor to consider is the kind of cleaning and disposable facility the kitchen you are renting offers. You should also check on the dumping and disposable facilities. This is important because, with a clean kitchen, you will offer quality and hygienic food. Moreover, a kitchen with state-of-the-art facilities assures seamless operations, quality products, and eventually, a happy client base.
3. RENTAL REQUIREMENTS
While renting a commercial kitchen, you should consider the requirements the owner has for renting the space. You should also enquire about things like whether you will be sharing the space or not, the charging of the space and the appliances that are available in the kitchen. Most importantly, you must ensure that the rental charges incurred fall within your budget. When sharing the kitchen space, see to it that their guidelines are set to guide the relationship of all renters.
4. LOCATION
The location of the commercial kitchen is vital as it will influence the thriving of your business. So while deciding to rent a commercial kitchen, you should look out for ‘commercial kitchens for rent near me’. This way you get to make a wise decision on the most appropriate kitchen location, that is, in a place where your customers or delivery services can easily access your business. A well-calculated kitchen location greatly influences customer traffic, profitability, and ease of collaboration with support businesses, such as suppliers.
5. APPLIANCES OFFERED
Depending on the kind of cooking you want to do, the appliances provided are a crucial factor to consider. This is because, with the right cooking appliances, you will provide quality food. In addition, your operations in the kitchen will be rendered seamless. Of course, there’s nothing stopping you from bringing your own appliances too if you find that the kitchen you rent doesn’t have everything you need to prepare your dishes. Something like a popcorn machine from Nella should be relatively small and easy to find space for – or you could even display it out front for customers to see!
6. ERGONOMICS
An ergonomically planned kitchen is quite advantageous in that you don’t get to move about a lot thereby minimizing the way you walk, bend or even turn in the kitchen. This mitigates fatigue or even injuries occurring in the kitchen. Therefore, while looking for a commercial kitchen to rent, be on the lookout for ergonomics in the kitchen.
7. HISTORY OF THE KITCHEN
Before agreeing to rent kitchen space, you need to run a thorough background check on the history of the kitchen, that is, check if it has the necessary documents required to run, whether it has ever been on the wrong side of the law and whether it keeps being closed down. This is very important as it will affect your business in one way or the other. For example, if it keeps on being closed down, this only means that it will negatively impact the progress of your business and, in the long run, may end up ruining your reputation in a way that you will not be able to recover.
8. LEGAL DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
To rent up a commercial kitchen, there are legal documents that you need to have. They include; food handler’s certificate, which can be obtained from the health department, your business license, and liability insurance. You also need a commercial kitchen rent agreement to ensure that you can run your business without complications.
9. CHECK OUT THE KITCHEN YOURSELF
Taking a tour of the space you are renting is important as you get to check out for yourself if it is what you are looking for. You get to check out the storage facilities, the appliances offered, like the stove or oven, whether they are of the best quality and in good condition. Checking up online for platforms that show where you can find them. Just search for a commercial kitchen for rent near me. One of such platforms is Occupyd.
