Things nobody tells you before renting a commercial kitchen
1. the price they quote you is a lie. add £400-1000/month for utilities, insurance, and cleaning they "forgot" to mention
2. london kitchens cost literally double everywhere else. manchester is half the price. birmingham even cheaper. the delivery apps pay you the same either way
3. 12-month contracts are the norm and they WILL try to auto-renew you. read the cancellation clause or enjoy your surprise second year
4. you're bringing your own equipment. that pizza oven? yours to buy. commercial mixer? also you. budget at least £2k before you cook anything
5. location > price. a cheap kitchen 45 minutes from your customers will destroy your ratings. delivery time is everything
6. "dark kitchen" and "ghost kitchen" mean the same thing. operators use whichever sounds fancier
7. most kitchens hide their pricing behind "book a tour" buttons because they don't want you comparing. annoying but true
i got tired of the opacity so i built a directory with actual pricing data: www.kitchenspacerentals.com
200+ uk kitchens. real costs. no signup required.
