Hi Folks,
(Sorry, long post)
I have had to put starting my Food Truck on the back burner because the realization that I had to get my knees replaced came up at the family meeting to cut the check for the truck purchase. This is a good thing, much better than getting started and then having to shut down because I couldn’t step up into the damn thing. ;<)
In the meantime I am going to look at another part of the plan, setting up a commissary and commercial kitchen rental space. Here in Nassau County NY a formal commissary is not currently required but as the Food Truck phenomenon spreads here I’m fairly sure the local HD will mandate them. Also any one who produces food for sale around here in an unlicensed kitchen is begging to loose their home if anything goes wrong. It’s TOTALLY illegal to produce any food for sale in NYS anywhere but in a licensed kitchen. So a rental kitchen space should also appeal to folks currently doing catering or any kind of commercial food production out of their homes. I have been searching high and low and cannot find anything like this in the county, plenty in neighboring NYC, but nothing here.
You are all such a collection of experienced and seasoned mobile food pro’s that I figured I’d ask you a few questions on what you want in a commissary, how things are done in your current commissary and what kind of fees you are paying. This info might also be helpful in newbie’s selecting a commissary to work out of.
OK here goes in no particular order…
What type of cooking equipment and prep equipment does you commissary offer?
How do they allocate use of the cooking equipment and make sure it is cleaned up?
What type of dry storage do they offer?
What type of reefer and frozen storage do they offer?
How is it allocated and supervised?
How do they handle washing your rigs, inside and out?
Is there a communal area for washing small wares pots and pans etc?
Do they offer dumping services and how do they handle it?
Do they offer fresh or filtered water for your tanks?
How large is your space and is it reserved for you?
Do they sell or provide free ice?
Do they sell wholesale food and beverage items?
Do you have an electrical hook up? If so how do they do it, how many amps and what type of a connection?
What else do they offer?
How do they control access to the entire facility?
How is pricing handled? (I realize this will vary greatly depending on where you are in the country,(world) so let us know your locations and type of municipality you are in. (ie rural vs: urban etc)
What didn’t I ask that is relevant?
I realize this is a gigantic question but I hope it is interesting to more than just me.
Cheers,
G
<message edited by PointGeorge on Tue, 03/8/11 9:08 AM>
