Starting a restaurant, café or any other business that involves food preparation will require you to build a commercial kitchen—and yes, this means investing a good chunk of your budget on it. A basic commercial kitchen can range from 200-1000 square feet and typically at least 25% of the total square footage of your establishment. If you’re running a restaurant, for instance, you will need to calculate 5 square feet for every dining seat. This means that for a 50-seat capacity restaurant, you will need at least a 250-square foot kitchen.

Building a commercial kitchen is a tall task since you have to consider things like your restaurant hood, appliances and accessories to ensure that your kitchen is fully functional and meets the standards required by your jurisdiction. A typical small commercial kitchen can cost from $15,000 to $100,000 depending on your needs. To ensure that your kitchen doesn’t cost more than you can afford, it’s very important to keep these considerations in mind:

Learn about the Legal Requirements for Kitchens in your Area

Before doing any work, make sure to drop by the department of health to ask for a list of requirements in building a commercial kitchen. Some inspectors will go out of their way to check your proposed kitchen area to see if you have any trouble areas that need to be addressed before construction begins.

If they don’t, it’s best to hire a consultant who can advise you on potential issues that could hurt your budget if not addressed early on and guide you through the process of building your kitchen—from choosing the right restaurant hood to outfitting the rest of the space. Sure, you will need to pay for consultations but it costs much less than having to remove things or change work that has already been done because they don’t meet building requirements.

Know Exactly what you Need

Different kitchens have different functions, which is why it’s very important to know what you need to make it easier to find the right equipment for your kitchen. When it comes to choosing your restaurant hood, for instance, you need to think about the food that you’ll be preparing, the type of appliances that you need and the amount of time that your kitchen is operational every day to pick the right hood to cater to these needs.

Be Flexible with your Budget

Even if you already have a budget in mind after considering your needs and legal requirements, it still pays to have some extra funding ready in case you need to spend more on something that will make your kitchen better. You may also realize that you need things that are not on your initial plan and may need to pay extra for contractors to cover any extra work. To make sure that you don’t delay the construction of your kitchen due to budget issues, make sure to have a line of credit ahead of time to cover for these extra expenses if they come.

So, if you’re ready to start building your commercial kitchen, contact Exhaust Hood Depot today for all of your restaurant hood needs.

Exhaust Hood Depot is proud to offer its services Nationwide and to the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland and their major cities and surrounding areas: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Erie, Baltimore, Frederick, Annapolis, and Rockville