Hi all. I hate to even ask, but I've spent hours trying to find info on the NC Dept of Agriculture site, the various NC small business site, etc, and I can't seem to find the answer to this, so I'll just put it out there and see what happens...

Does anyone know if this will work:
I have indoor pets, so I know right off the bat that I can't legally make cakes in my home kitchen.

However, my dear sweetie wants to close in the carport, with no entrance to the house (and therefore no possibility of the animals getting inside), and it's own air-handling system. In short, there would be no way that food could become contaminated by the fur-babies.

Does anyone know, right off hand, if this is something I should even keep working on, if it will 'fly' with the health board, etc? My sweetie is being incredibly supportive... he's seen what I can do, and though it's not nearly as good as a lot of stuff on this site (yet! I'm thinking positively!), he's sure that there's a need for it in my community.

He wants to close in the carport, buy me several ovens and a large mixer, a huge decorating table and cabinets and such... everything I could need. And he wants to put in a bay window, so I can put cake dummies out and folks traveling down our road can see 'how awesome you are' (his words, not mine! LOL) The added kicker is that there is a middle school less than a mile from my house, and I envision last-minute drop-ins before and after school, to get cupcakes, cookies, etc.

Does anyone have a clue as to whether this is something I can do or not, or if we should be looking at the bigger picture and working towards a 'business district' establishment?

None of this will happen for a little while, unless we win the lottery (hah!), but he wants to really get the ball rolling, so that we don't do a lot of work and buy equipment for nothing.

Bottom line... does anyone know if I can have a separate baking kitchen, as long as the animals can't get in?

Thanks in advance for any help, even if it's other threads where this has been asked before. (And yes, I did start with the 'so you want to start a cake business' article... the link to the NC page takes you to a very confusing place, and even after calling several different departments, no one seems to know exactly what the rules are for a separate kitchen. Sheesh! I'm about to pull my hair out....)

or maybe I"m just having a serious air-head moment and not getting what things are telling me. I wouldn't rule that out...

thanks folks. Any help will be much appreciated.

I am not in NC, so hopefully someone from there can step in with some advice, but you might find this link very helpful:

http://www.agr.state.nc.us/fooddrug/homebiz.htm

I appreciate it, but that's the site that leads to either dead links or lots of confusing stuff that I can't seem to dig through to find the part that applies to me. I've got a call in to the local small business center, but the guy's on vacation until monday. Isn't that the way it goes??

Thanks, though! I've bookmarked that one, so I can come back to it when I have a clue! LOL

Doni, let me see if I can find my information from the Dept. of Ag with the phone numbers of contacts...I'll post it as soon as I find it. Hopefully, they'll be able to answer any questions that those of us here on CC may be unsure of. Any time that I've had a question or concern, they've bent over backwards to find the appropriate and correct answer for me. Bear with me...I'll get it up on this post asap...

Amy

thanks so much! I know you're really busy right now, so don't stress... I just want to get my head on straight, so I know what I'm dreaming about as we're dreaming. Ya know?

You could try to contact Lorimoms here. She's also from NC and know more about D of A rules. I do remember her saying something about her parakeet birds that she had to give it to her daughter due to birds are considered as "pest" and not acceptable for home bakery business. Try to email her here. I believe she lives in Apex area. I hope she can help you with that.

I was in the same situation like your's, until my precious cat died suddenly and I decided not to have a new pet because of my home bakery business that I'm still working on.

I'm also from NC (Johnston County). I wish you best of luck and hope your dream will come true!

Thanks! I'll see if I can find her.

I have a dog and three cats, all indoor, the dog is indoor/outdoor. And they're all under 4 years old. We're NOT giving them up, as they're our 'kids'... we can't have children, so these are our babies until we can adopt.

That's why we're talking about closing in the carport... the way we're looking at it, there'd be no access to it from inside the house, and we'd have a separate air-handling system, so no chance of pet dander getting in through the A/C-heating system. I just want to know if that will suffice, before we start building walls and bricking over doorways. I know I talked to someone recently who had a bakery in her basement. She had pets, but they never came downstairs, and the bakery had access to the outside, so product was never brought through the house.

I guess it's time to light up some phone lines, if I can find the right numbers to call! LOL

Thanks so much, and holler anytime.

You will probably be okay with the closed in carport. I have spoken with my contact with the Dept. of Ag about a garage kitchen in Durham County, NC and there is no problem. The main thing is no animal access. We have three indoor cats that are also our children along with our 5 mostly grown children, so I know how you feel. The people at the Ag Dept are great, they just want us to be sanitary and follow their simple rules. Surfergina is right, try to pm Lorimoms in Apex, most of the rules should be consistent statewide and not vary that much by county.
Good luck! Like you my DH is very supportive of my hobby and that's why we will building our garage within the next year!!
Leslie

DoniB - let us know how things go after you hear from D of A. We'll be thinking of you!

Thanks so much, to all of you. It's such a wonderful thing, being able to ask and share and just find people who love what you love! LOL

I've been decorating all day... fighting with fondant and stuff... Nice to sit down and find good news on here!

Oh DoniB, I hope this works out for you!!!!! So exciting!!!!
I understand what you mean about the websites being so very confusing!! I have tried to decipher them (just in case there ever comes a day...) and I end up more confused that when I began. It isn't easy to understand!

I have 4 indoor cats and cannot stand the thought of them leaving and my husband will not part with one inch of the garage...so it's not in the cards for me....but I will keep my fingers crossed for you!

And if I ever make heads or tails of requirements I will happily pass the info along!

Jeffer, if I ever get it up and running, you can rent space in my kitchen. -grin-

I just hope I can get it together and make it happen. Probably wont' be for awhile yet... but hey, I can dream, right???

Glad I'm not the only one who's confused, though! I don't feel so bad now.

Doni,
You will want to contact Joan Sims at the NC Dept of Ag. The number for her is 919 733 7366. Most likely you will have to leave her a voicemail and wait for her to call you back. I was told as long as you have a seperate air system and the pets cant get into that area you should be ok, I have two birds. But whatever Joan tells you she will send you information and who to contact when your ready for your home inspection.

You will also need to contact your city to see about a home occupancy permit, which states you are zoned to have a business in your home. If you are out of city limits, then you need to get that permit from the county. You also need to check the county regulations on a home bakery, you should be able to do this at the same place where you get the occupancy permit.

If you have any more questions you can PM me and I'll try to help you.

Randi

Randi, thank you so much!!!!! I will call her first thing Monday and start figuring all this out!! AWESOME!!!

I am outside the city limits... my only snag might be that we're technically in a subdivision. I'll have to see if that means no bakery. I know that I can have a business... I've had one since we moved in. But I'll double-check, just to be on the safe side.

You are all wonderful!!!!

Hi there again, regarding to subdivision, I think you shouldn't be too worry about it. I also lives in a strict subdivision (golfing community) and their rules are:

*no advertisements on the property, meaning no business signs on the house, etc. Magnet sign on a car is fine.

*no "heavy" traffic to my house.

That's about all they said, for my subdivision. Every subdivision has their own rules, so check with them and make sure.

Doni, I agree with Surfergirl...she nailed the restrictions of a subdivision. I live in a subdivison, as well. The requirements are as she stated...not bad at all. I haven't had a chance to look for that number. Sorry!!! I'll have some time shortly though. Been up to my eyeballs in grad cakes and cookies.

Talk to you soon,
Amy

DoniB...FOUND IT!!! I was inspected by Chris Packer. He's a Food Regulatory Specialist with the NC D of Ag...VERY, VERY nice man!!! His number is (919) 270-4190. If you have any questions, he'll be able to answer them for you. Sorry that it took a hundred years to get his info. to you!!!

Good luck and let us know what you find out...
Amy

Amy, thanks! That will help a great deal. Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to get it for me. When last I saw you, you were up to your eyeballs in cakes and weddings. Hope you're calming down a little without calming down too much! LOL

Did you know about the cake shop in Newton, BTW? Not sure if you saw the post or not.

I'm so excited... I feel like there might really be a chance I can get this going, now! Not immediately, as we dont' have the funds for that, but heck... maybe a year from now? Hmmm.... it'll take me that long just to get my icing smooth, so no worries. It'll happen when it happens, right???

Thanks so much, everyone... you're all just fantastic! I love this site.

For anyone still subscribed to this thread who cares a hoot *grin* I have been offered the use of my best friend's kitchen.

What happened was this: I've already been asked about doing several shower and wedding cakes, along with being contacted by an office that wants me to do cookie bouquets for their clients for christmas. Well, all of those were friends or family, so I didn't worry too much.

But this past weekend, I was asked by a lady at a store I frequent, to consider doing 'hospitality' for a gathering she's having. It would be a hospitality room, set up for 200... three times!

Well, that's a lot to turn down!!!! So I'm going to be making a lot of calls tomorrow, and trying to find out what I can do, legally.

I'm hoping that if things work out and I can get my friend's kitchen inspected (might not, but who knows? She keeps a cleaner house than most eating establishments I've worked for in the past), I might even be able to sell bouquets and other goodies at an up-coming craft show.

So if you're still hanging around, paying attention to this, send me some good juju, that we can get this worked out and I can finally get something going!

Thanks for all the support you've already given. It means a lot!

Nothing but positive thoughts from me!!! Lots of good waves and juju and I know this will work!!!