Food Truck Commissary Kitchen

Commissary kitchens provide essential infrastructure for food truck operators who need licensed commercial kitchen space for food preparation, storage, and cleaning.

Health departments typically require food trucks to operate from licensed commissaries rather than home kitchens.

You provide rental kitchen space with commercial equipment, dry and cold storage, vehicle parking, and facilities meeting health code requirements.

Commissaries charge $400-$1,500 monthly per operator depending on usage, amenities, and location, or hourly rates of $25-$50.

With facility serving 15-40 food trucks, revenue reaches $150,000-$500,000 annually with 30-45% margins after facility costs.

Initial investment includes commercial kitchen space ($100,000-$400,000 for build-out), commercial equipment and appliances, health department approval, storage infrastructure, and parking area.

Target customers include new food truck operators needing commissary membership, established trucks using commissary for prep and storage, catering companies needing commercial kitchen access, and food entrepreneurs testing concepts.

Success requires meeting all health department commissary requirements, providing adequate space and equipment for multiple users, scheduling to prevent conflicts during peak prep times, maintaining cleanliness and organization, and potentially offering additional services like ingredient sourcing or business support.

Leading commissaries create community environments where operators help each other, offer 24/7 access for flexible schedules, provide business development programming, maintain relationships with health inspectors, and potentially add revenue through ingredient sales and shared services.

The business provides stable monthly recurring revenue and serves essential need in food truck industry.