Am I buying a commercial kitchen or a commissary kitchen business?

Listings use “commercial kitchen” and “commissary kitchen” as if they meant the same thing. They can mean very different purchases. One may be an empty, well-equipped room. The other may be a shared kitchen with food businesses renting time every week. Before you compare anything, settle which of the two the seller is offering.

A space and its equipment

If the listing is for a commercial kitchen, you may be buying a lease, a ventilation system, cooking lines, cold storage and fixtures. Ask for an equipment list showing what is owned, leased or financed, and have the larger items checked. Ask the landlord whether the lease can move to you and whether the use of the space is allowed to continue.

A running shared-kitchen business

A commissary business adds people. Ask for the renter agreements, the booking system, the list of current users and how long each has stayed. Ask who handles cleaning, storage and shared supplies. Find out how the income arrives and how much depends on a few renters. Those agreements are contracts you would be taking on, so your lawyer should read them.

What changes in your questions

For a space, your questions are about the lease, the equipment and what you could do with the room. For a business, they are about renters, records and who the seller’s operator is. Ask what permits the kitchen operates under and what each renter must hold themselves. If the seller cannot separate the two answers, ask again in writing.

• A written description of what the sale includes.
• The lease and any landlord consent.
• Equipment list with ownership and condition.
• Renter agreements, booking records and permits, if it is a business.

The buyer’s guide for wholesale bakery and commissary kitchens goes further into the running-business side.