FOR SHARED KITCHEN AND COMMISSARY OPERATORS

Shared and commissary kitchens that run well, earn well, and pass inspections.

I spent 5+ years building and running the systems behind a shared kitchen that grew to 100+ food businesses. Today I help shared kitchens and commissaries nationwide with the parts that make or break them: operations, tenants, new revenue, funding, and the compliance behind all of it.

Book a discovery Call

Get the Readiness Scorecard

Alhen Drillich, PCQI (FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food)

HACCP & GMP trained, Cornell University

Contributing author, The Shared Kitchen Toolkit v2

5+ Years operating a shared kitchen incubator serving 150+ businesses.

Compliance advisor on active grant & build projects

Remote + on-site, nationwide

What’s the hardest part right now?

Funding →

A grant or loan application wants to see how your kitchen runs, and the answer isn't written down yet.

Permitting →

You're about to build, expand, or add something new, and you don't know what the health department will want first.

Tenants →

Every tenant does things a little differently, and when one cuts a corner, it could land on you.

Day-to-day Operations →

Everything works because you're in the building. When you're not, things slip.

Before You Add a Revenue Line, Check What It Triggers

Nine ways shared and commissary kitchens grow revenue beyond hourly rental + the compliance question to answer before you start.

  
        Revenue line
        The opportunity
        Check first
      
        Storage & food truck parking
        Turns unused freezer or dry storage into income
        Food truck parking needs its own commissary letters, backflow prevention, and grease/wastewater discharge agreements
      
        Business consulting (licensing, labeling, costing)
        New members don't know where to start
        Licensing and labeling advice carries real liability if it's wrong — keep it separate from general coaching
      
        Special event space
        Turns an empty weekend into revenue
        Occupancy classification, ADA, temporary event permits, and alcohol licensing if sampling's involved
      
        Farmers market / demo days
        Visibility beyond hourly rentals
        Hosting non-member vendors can introduce liability your food safety plan doesn't cover
      
        Cooking classes
        Members want to teach, or it's a new revenue line
        Demonstration vs. public consumption may be regulated differently; public allergen disclosure is a different standard
      
        Meal kit pickup & retail
        Members want to sell direct without building their own retail setup
        Retail aggregation often needs its own license, plus traceability back to the right producer
      
        Copacking / labor-assisted production
        A member wants to scale but can't hire yet
        Insurance and regulatory classification can shift into full manufacturing territory, with lot-coding and traceability requirements
      
        Distribution
        Grocery placement without building the relationship yourself
        Grocers often require a Certificate of Insurance naming them additionally insured; the kitchen carries liability beyond any one tenant
      
        Mobile kitchen units
        Community wants mobile food service
        NSF-listed equipment standards, state construction codes, and often a separate Mobile Food Facility permit

Revenue line	The opportunity	Check first
Storage & food truck parking	Turns unused freezer or dry storage into income	Food truck parking needs its own commissary letters, backflow prevention, and grease/wastewater discharge agreements
Business consulting (licensing, labeling, costing)	New members don't know where to start	Licensing and labeling advice carries real liability if it's wrong — keep it separate from general coaching
Special event space	Turns an empty weekend into revenue	Occupancy classification, ADA, temporary event permits, and alcohol licensing if sampling's involved
Farmers market / demo days	Visibility beyond hourly rentals	Hosting non-member vendors can introduce liability your food safety plan doesn't cover
Cooking classes	Members want to teach, or it's a new revenue line	Demonstration vs. public consumption may be regulated differently; public allergen disclosure is a different standard
Meal kit pickup & retail	Members want to sell direct without building their own retail setup	Retail aggregation often needs its own license, plus traceability back to the right producer
Copacking / labor-assisted production	A member wants to scale but can't hire yet	Insurance and regulatory classification can shift into full manufacturing territory, with lot-coding and traceability requirements
Distribution	Grocery placement without building the relationship yourself	Grocers often require a Certificate of Insurance naming them additionally insured; the kitchen carries liability beyond any one tenant
Mobile kitchen units	Community wants mobile food service	NSF-listed equipment standards, state construction codes, and often a separate Mobile Food Facility permit

Shared kitchens and commissaries have different pressure points

Incubator-style shared kitchens:

Lots of small food businesses under one roof, each with its own habits and paperwork. The work is getting everyone to the same standard: onboarding, allergen and cross-contact control, and rules that hold up without relying on fees alone.

Commissaries:

Food trucks and mobile units rely on you for prep space, storage, water, and waste. The work is the paperwork behind that: parking agreements, wastewater and backflow, and the letters the county expects from the commissary.

Ways to start

Scope and pricing are confirmed before work begins. These are the real, tested prices behind the work above.

Compliance Readiness Assessment

$1,200

A full look at how your kitchen runs: a gap analysis against your county's health department requirements, an FSMA assessment for any manufacturing tenants, and an audit of your SOPs. You leave knowing exactly what would get flagged.

Revenue Diversification Audit

$950–$2,250

Apply the nine-stream framework above to your kitchen's real numbers, space, and tenant mix.

Not sure where to start? Book a call.

Ongoing Kitchen Advisory

Custom pricing based on needs.

A monthly check-in on compliance, tenants, and operations, plus a trusted voice when something comes up. For kitchens that are open and have active manufacturing tenants. Options include varying hours and touchpoints per month.

Operating System & Compliance Build

Starting at $6,500

SOPs, a health-department-ready documentation layer, and tenant onboarding built for your facility — not a template you have to adapt yourself. Scope grows with your kitchen's complexity.

What this looks like in practice

Real Good Kitchen

Built and operated the systems behind a shared kitchen that incubated 100+ food businesses over 5+ years: onboarding, compliance, and the day-to-day operating cadence.

"His expertise in food and facility safety and his thorough understanding of industry regulations have been instrumental throughout my first years. … I would not be here without him."
Catherine Abbott, Owner/Chef, Silver Queen Kitchen, Real Good Kitchen member

CAV Kitchen, Birmingham AL

Designed the compliance and operating system for a planned multi-tenant commissary kitchen backed by a CDFI, for $6,500 — the real engagement behind the Operating System & Compliance Build above.

"Alhen not only has a wide breadth of industry knowledge but has real world experience as a manager/operator and user of commissary kitchens. … Having our SOPs, health department application, and onboarding procedures prepared and ready for execution, prior to construction, lifts a heavy burden for any project."
Kyle Norman, Business Advisor & Veteran Programs,
Sabre Finance/CAV Kitchen

Altru Kitchen, Norwich CT

Serving as the named External Food Safety & Compliance Advisor of Record on Altru's USDA Local Food Promotion Program grant application, on a monthly retainer.

Our Team

Alhen Drillich

Founder

PCQI-certified food safety and operations consultant who spent 5+ years running a shared kitchen that incubated 100+ food businesses before founding Alhen Consults. He works with shared kitchens, commissaries, and food manufacturers; remote and on-site, nationwide.

Manny Beck

Consultant

Focused, approachable, and driven by results, our sales manager is all about building strong relationships. They help connect people to the right solutions—with clarity and care.

Get the Shared Kitchen Compliance & Operations Scorecard

Frequently Asked Questions

Templates get you started. A template still leaves you doing the work of adapting it to your facility, your tenants, and your inspector. We build for your kitchen, not generic.
No, I build the compliance and operating layer around whatever software you already use.
No. I provide the compliance credibility and technical content a grant needs; a specialist grant writer handles the application mechanics.
Yes. Most of the work like documentation, SOP systems, review calls all happens remotely. Site visits are available, they are scoped and priced separately when a project needs one.