Delivery for the stars, from your Los Angeles commercial kitchen

The prerequisites to opening a restaurant in LA will differ depending on location, building status, and restaurant type (for instance, a brick-and-mortar restaurant vs. a commercial kitchen). Los Angeles has strict rules regarding food safety and business regulation. At the very least, you will need:

- A business license, granted by the city

- A food service permit, granted by the County Department of Public Health

- The proper zoning and building permits

- Passing grades on all relevant inspections

When you work with CloudKitchens, you gain expert assistance navigating complex permitting, licensing, and inspection processes in your location. In fact, most of the work is already done. We take care of safety & health inspections and are properly zoned for move-in to make life easier for restaurateurs.

A ghost kitchen is a professional kitchen that’s built to serve a delivery-only customer base. Ghost kitchens do not have attached dining rooms for in-person dining, public-facing signage, or storefront space. In fact, you’ve probably walked by some before without even realizing it. For this reason, they’re sometimes also referred to as “dark kitchens.”

CloudKitchens’ shared-use modular kitchen facility takes the pain out of opening a delivery-only business, with dedicated facilities for each food business, onsite staff to help with fulfillment and maintenance, and proprietary technology that streamlines the whole process. These shared kitchen areas provide entrepreneurs a professionally equipped cooking and storage space without the need for a traditional brick-and-mortar setup.

Investment-wise, you can get started with CloudKitchens for around 30k for a commercial kitchen rental in Los Angeles. You and your staff (usually 4-6 people) will be able to keep costs low as you focus on creating your menu and brand identity.

Thanks to their comparatively low overhead, commercial kitchens have the potential to turn an incredible profit. A commercial kitchen’s profitability depends on several factors, like the location, branding, and operating systems at play.

Operating a commercial kitchen concept and business model allows restaurant owners to serve a wider clientele while minimizing overhead. Commercial kitchens also give you the flexibility to try out new menus or even new restaurants, all within one commercial kitchen space.

The cost of opening and operating a commercial kitchen will vary. When you work with CloudKitchens, you can get your ghost kitchen up and running with an investment as low as $30k (compared to the average $1 million for a brick-and-mortar, traditional restaurant).

Opening a commercial kitchen in Los Angeles can vary based on the neighborhood and size of the kitchen space. The cost can range anywhere from $40,000 to $200,000. 

The cost of an LA commercial kitchen will be determined based on a number of factors including: 

• The neighborhood that the commercial kitchen facility is located in. Densely populated areas in Los Angeles will typically have higher permitting and costs to build than surrounding suburbs and smaller cities. 
• Leasing a commercial kitchen space in LA is typically the cheaper alternative in comparison to buying a space, which can require up to a 10% deposit upfront. 
• Commercial kitchen equipment. Depending on the concept and cuisine type, the cost will vary depending on the equipment you will use to run your food business. You can often save on costs by exploring used equipment items. 
• Licenses and permits. These are a requirement but can vary in cost and type by location.

In order to set your Los Angeles commercial kitchen up for success, you’ll want to first ensure that you’re meeting all local permitting and license requirements before you’re up and running. There are a few vital steps as you get started: 

• First, you’ll want to obtain the required Food Handler Card as well as licenses to ensure your commercial kitchen space is up to code. 
• Your commercial kitchen space in Los Angeles will need to fully comply with local food safety practices, ensuring the food prep and storage are keeping all of your dishes at a safe temperature. 
• Once your commercial kitchen space is up and running, you’ll want to begin marketing your LA restaurant across top delivery apps, such as Grubhub, Doordash and Uber Eats to maximize visibility. Testing out promotions such as BOGO or Sponsored Listings can help drive your restaurant to the top of the sort within each delivery app.

In order to get started with an LA commercial kitchen space you’ll want to begin with at least 3 to 5 back of house staff members to ensure enough team members are available to cook and prep each incoming order. 

An LA commercial kitchen space can help you save on labor costs for your restaurant by: 

• Only requiring back of house staff members to get started, given that there isn’t a front of house component. 
• Streamlined operations, where you can prep more delivery orders for new customers, with less overhead cost.