I've noticed several of you say you rent kitchen space from your church. We asked about doing this and the Deacons said it would not be possible because of their "non profit tax exempt" status.
I can see their point. My question is, how does the church you rent from handle this concern ?
Can you work it out with the Deacon as a donation to the church instead of a rental fee?
I think it depends on your state. There are several churches that rent their kitchens here in Texas. I know because I currently rent from the one I work for as my day job. They also rent the facility for other events and organizations. When a non member wants to use the church for a wedding they pay a rental fee. A church I use to work for had an amazing reception hall that was their major source of income to keep the doors open. It was booked nearly every weekend.
So I am curious if the churches are already licensed as a commercial kitchen or if the person renting would have to do that??
Our kitchen is already an approved comercial kitchen. We have a K-12 school with approx. 700 students that lunch is prepared for daily. If it would have been approved for us to use it, we would have to pay to have kitchen reinspected and provide liability ins., our own business license, and proof of food-safe manager certification.
So I am curious if the churches are already licensed as a commercial kitchen or if the person renting woold have to do that??
My friend said the kitchen was not a licensed kitchen, but the HD came in to approve it "for her use", to make sure it had all of the equipment she would need as a caterer. So in her case, it didnt' matter if it was approved or not ... she had it inspected just for her. This may differ from state to state, so check your local regulations.
The HD here came and approved mine. Had to get Food Manufacturers lic., insurance showing the Church as an additionally insured, take the food safety managers cert class.
Would this work the same if I would want to rent from a restaurant. I have a friend that owns one and he said I could use the kitchen to work in but would that work?
Would this work the same if I would want to rent from a restaurant. I have a friend that owns one and he said I could use the kitchen to work in but would that work?
Depends on where in Texas you are. If the State governs your area then you need to apply first for a Food Manufacturers license with your business name, provide the name and address of the commercial kitchen you will be using, and they send the license, then come out and inspect. If you have a local county or city HD then their rules apply. You just have to talk to your local HD. I heard here recently that Harris county has made it where you cannot do shared or incubator kitchens within that county. So talk to your governing HD to find out what is acceptable in your area.
Would this work the same if I would want to rent from a restaurant. I have a friend that owns one and he said I could use the kitchen to work in but would that work?
It varies from state to state. Tons of people on here always talk about renting from churches/restaurants, but the health department here gave be a big fat no when I asked about it. 
The only option here is build or rent commercial space!
JoyRide, here's how my health dept explained it.
If I wanted to rent space in a facility that pretty much ran an all day operation, they (HD) would have to approve that there was enough space and capacity for 2 operations to run simultaneously.
For example, renting kitchen space in a Knights of Columbus that served a breakfast, lunch and dinner would probably not be approved because their kitchen is already in use full time. But to rent space in a Knights of Columbus who doesnt' serve meals and only uses their kitchen for a dinner now and then would probably be given the thumbs up.
Each state is different, so not all states may operate under this guideline. But it's all a good example of why we should check with our local HD on what those guidelines are.
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