Atlanta, GA, Food truck commissary in the works

Trying to gauge the level of interest in Atlanta for a facility for the following:
 
Food Trucks Commissary
Catering Company Kitchens and Shared Spaces
Test Kitchens
Show Kitchens
Product Showroom Space
Prep Kitchens
Overflow Kitchens for Restaurants and Caterers
Cooking Schools
Food Shows TV Programs
Photo/Film Shoots

Commissary and Catering Kitchens with Roll up doors in a Climate Controlled Environment
Commissary Spaces with roll up doors in a Climate Controlled Facility
Shared Kitchen Space for lease by Monthly Contract
Shared Kitchen Space for Lease on an Hourly Basis
 
This is not my company or idea....but the business plan is written by a restaurant industry veteran and he is looking for an investor or two.  I'd like to help give him an idea about the level of interest from possible tenants.
 
Thanks

I am interested. I am trying to get approved in Henry county using a second kitchen in my home as a base of operation and Atlanta said they would honor Henry County's permit but I would love to see a food truck commissary in Atlanta and could invest if the business plan is solid and investigation has been done.

First thing you need to do is to get involved with the Atlanta Street Food Coalition. This group has already laid the groundwork for the street food culture in Atlanta. They have been working hard with Kevin Jones (Fulton Co. HD) and a couple of local officials to get the street food culture rolling. I also believe one of their members, Yumbii Food Truck, is also trying to get a commissary approved. Fulton County (City of Atlanta) has gotten friendlier towards the street food vendors than most other Georgia Counties with the exception of Athens / Clarke County. The City of Atlanta has a contract with General Growth Partners to manage all the vending on City Right of Way. Basically what this means is that you must operate from two approved private property locations.
 
Shared Kitchen Concepts LLC has a membership type of program for caterers only. I believe that they have three commercial kitchens in the Metro Atlanta area. I have talked with them on the phone but have not visited them. They do not allow mobile food vendors to use their facilities. (They are not set up to service trucks, trailers or carts.)
 
Most of us believe that a shared commissary would work provided it is located in a central location to the downtown Atlanta area. Obliviously monthly cost would me a big factor in determining if it is feasible for a mobile food vendor. Not being able to operate on public right of ways also means additional cost for your private locations.
 
Definitely keep us posted as we are interested in being part of a shared commissary of street food vendors.

I forwarded the thread to the guy trying to get this off of the ground......thx

We are allied with Greg Smith of The Atlanta Streetfood Coalition and the State of Ga DHR on creating a facility that will be able to work with Catrerers, Food Trucks, Specialty Food Producers and others in a rental kitchen/time share kitchen/exclusive use 'pods'.  We will be centrally located in the Brookwood split area.  Currently we are in the planning stage and plan to be open by late summer or early fall.  We based our monthly rental rates on a cost that Greg said that he had figured into his operational expense for the Westside Creamery Truck.
 
Currently (and most probably in the future) the DHR views the Food Trucks as "Restaurants on Wheels" and require that they have a fixed base of operation.  Which essentially means that they have to lease an entire restaurant facility.  The monthly rents and startup costs for these locatiuons will be triple what it would cost to use our facility with shared resources.  I have a web page where you can see somemore info for Streetfood Rules and Regs in Georgia (the link isn't going to show up since I haven't been a member for 30 days so go to FoodServiceResource dot com, pick Georgia and then click on the Foodtruck.) .  You can also download the DHR 290-5-14 Foodcode Interpretation Book here .  Look for the link on the State of Georgia page called "Interpretation Manual for Food Code 290-5-14", It's a large file (3.74 MB)

We are building a commissary inside a 10,000 sq ft warehouse to store our food trucks in Cobb County.   We have all the permits.
 
Some of the counties outside of Atlanta allow food trucks.  That's why we are building in Cobb County.  We will eventually offer "kitchen condos" for other brands.  But it can be "pricey" since the requirements dictate for separate commissaries for each brand and may require additional grease traps. People who don't do their homework before they invest in this concept will be in for a big surprise. It can be done but they need to have a pretty big space and the wherewithal to understand the ins and outs of putting it together. It needs good planning and funding up front.

Champion is right; you have to be in it for the long haul. If you can do enough sales per day then it might be feasible to open you own base of operation. The biggest problem with vending in Atlanta is going to be the dual cost, the private location(s) you are paying for and the commissary you are paying for. Your total cost could come close to the rent on a brick and mortar if you are not careful.
 
Remember that in Fulton County your base of operation is one permit and your food truck / trailer / cart is another permit. Your unit can be permitted to perform most of the cooking and serving requirements. You base of operation would only require what the unit can not perform. I have looked at some closed restaurant spaces and mini warehouse spaces for a base of operation. The build out is not too bad considering what I what to sell. Unfortunately my monthly cost of the private locations and the base of operation would easily exceed $1900 / month. (Private locations would be something like a parking lot downtown Atlanta – 3 spaces per day x 5 days per week.) (This includes a space for trailer, space for serving, and a space for a vehicle.)
 
This double cost is what is really what is holding back the street food movement in Atlanta. Best case scenario is to find a friendly existing restaurant that will allow you to use their facilities for a few hundred dollars per month. Maybe do a few events for them per year to offset cost. Most areas outside of downtown Atlanta do not have the density to support a mobile food operation. You have a lunch time window of opportunity to make it or break it. (I am not interested in night time locations.)
 
For a commissary / base of operation to be feasible for someone like me there are two factors that must be addressed. One would be the location and the other would be the monthly cost. The location might not be as important if there is storage for my unit. (Tow vehicle gets 10 miles / gallon with trailer.) The other would be a total cost that would have to be around the $300 / $400 month for the commissary. If I can keep my weekly cost of the commissary and private locations around $350 / week then the numbers might work.