There's an auction online for a Garland Master 450 commercial double gas oven. I wonder if anyone can say if this brand of commercial oven is good or not.
Also, I've heard from some people on here that if you have a home business, that you don't necessarily have to have commercial kitchen equipment. Is this true for Michigan home businesses? I'd hate to buy the commercial oven to only find out that I can just use a regular oven. Thanks.
I"m not 100% sure about this, but often times when they say commercial equipment, commercial-grade equipment is also OK. Meaning you probably can't buy the cheapest oven you can find, but maybe not necessarily the full-blown stand-alone commercial ovens.
Have you been in contact with the state licensing department at it yet? I just found their number:
Department of Agriculture, Food and Dairy Division;
(517) 373-1060.
I am in Massachusetts, so I am no help with your Michigan Laws. I just want to pass on a couple of things I learned while looking for a commercial oven for my home business. I looked at both Baker's Pride & Garland at first. Get the exact outside dimension measurements and make sure it is going to fit into your house through your door openings. I was close to the Baker's Pride and then we measured the door openings and there was no way it was going to fit. Also, check to see if the model is a good "baking" oven, if it doesn't have heating elements between EACH rack, it won't bake that great. As with your home oven, if it doesn't have seperate elements, when you place a cake on an upper rack above a lower cake, the lower cake will not rise & brown evenly because the upper cake is blocking the top heating element. I ended up going with a Deluxe brand oven. They let me decide how many racks to have, the distance between each rack(if I was baking cookies, less space is needed between pans, so more racks could be used or if I were baking high cakes like angel food or bunt cakes, more space is needed between the oven racks. EACH rack in the oven has it's own heating element so everything bakes perfectly. It also holds a full sheet pan without a problem. I have had this oven for about 7-8 years and never had a problem with it. If you go with electric like I did, it can also be made for phase 1 or 3, so you aren't forced into commercial electricity as with some ovens. It cuts down so much on what time I used to need using 2 regular home ovens. I used to bake 2 days straight (10-12 hrs each day) when I got into my busy season. Now even if I have 10 weddings and a few party cakes on a weekend, all baking can be done in just a few hours.
Hope that helps,
cfao
According to my info, in Michigan we are not allowed to have in-home bakeries, we must rent a kitchen. The health department won't even come to your house to inspect your kitchen.. 
I have a friend who is in the catering business and she has to rent a church kitchen.
I'm not sure about the oven but I found this online.
"Bakery (In home)
Required State License(s):
Anyone who prepares food in their home for sale elsewhere should be licensed with the Department of Agriculture as a Food Establishment. This includes baking cakes, preparing jellies, sauces, etc.. A residence should be inspected as part of the licensing process. Contact the Department of Agriculture, Food and Dairy Division; (517) 373-1060.
Other Possible License(s):
If the product being prepared contains meat, a license with the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], Food and Safety Inspection Area Offices may also be required. You may contact Madison, Wisconsin (60
240-4080. For products that are available for sale to the public, a Michigan sales tax license is required. You may call the Michigan Department of Treasury at (517) 636-4660 and request a Registration For Michigan Taxes form (51.
Further Information:
Contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA] at (24 968-0230 for information about the poultry meat processing law. Many new businesses of this type "rent" space in other licensed facilities rather than adapt their residence to meet licensing requirements. Possible contacts include churches, VFW Halls, etc. which already have licensed kitchens.
Revised: 4/2005"
here is the link:http://www.michigan.gov/statelicensesearch/0,1607,7-180-24786_24788-78996--,00.html
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