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Renting kitchen space by the hour

post #1 of 12
3/18/11 at 8:30am
Thread Starter 
Does anyone know if there is anywhere in the St. Louis area that will rent commercial kitchen space by the hour? I am trying to start a business and can't afford to rent a store full time. I just need a place to do my baking instead of my kitchen at my house. I have been waiting to hand out my business cards and website until I do. I don't want to get in trouble from the health department.
Thanks!
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post #2 of 12
3/18/11 at 10:36am
There is a small business development center in STL with a shared commercial kitchen available:
http://www.stpatrickcenter.org/programs/employment-training/bnvc/
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post #3 of 12
3/18/11 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Yeah I looked at them but I wasn't too sure how they work. St. Patricks is a charity that helps homless people. I saw that they have a program that helps incubate small businesses but I am not too clear on how it work. Its also in a bad part of down town St. Louis.
I will just have to keep looking.
Thanks
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post #4 of 12
3/18/11 at 6:39pm
A culinary incubator is actually a pretty good fit for an organization like St. Patrick's, given that it allows those with limited means and education to start a food service business relatively easily. Their web site doesn't mention pricing but given their mission it would probably be very low, I would at least stop by and take a tour (unless the area is so bad you don't feel safe there).
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post #5 of 12
3/18/11 at 8:26pm
This is actually a fantastic program. There is pricing info online. I know the man who set this up. His name is Jan DeYoung. I am considering doing it myself. I'm just in the beginning stages of this. I believe it is $100 a month including 15 hours of kitchen time. $7 an hour beyond that. Then there are misc. charges for storage, trash, and stuff like that. They also provide business counseling and education. It really is a great program. I have a couple of banking customers that started there. I really is worth a look. You could also try your local church. With all of the Catholic schools that have been closed down over the years, many of them have cafeteria kitchens that are no longer being used. That is the route I am working on...
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post #6 of 12
3/18/11 at 9:47pm
This is actually a fantastic program. There is pricing info online. I know the man who set this up. His name is Jan DeYoung. I am considering doing it myself. I'm just in the beginning stages of this. I believe it is $100 a month including 15 hours of kitchen time. $7 an hour beyond that. Then there are misc. charges for storage, trash, and stuff like that. They also provide business counseling and education. It really is a great program. I have a couple of banking customers that started there. I really is worth a look. You could also try your local church. With all of the Catholic schools that have been closed down over the years, many of them have cafeteria kitchens that are no longer being used. That is the route I am working on...
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post #7 of 12
3/21/11 at 8:36am
Thread Starter 
I found a little more out about St. Patricks. One of the
stipulations is that you have to hire a St. Patrick's person to help you.
Which is not something I am interested in doing. Do you know if I can just have the customer sign a waiver stating that the cake is made in my home.
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post #8 of 12
3/21/11 at 9:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by and_then_there_was_cake

Do you know if I can just have the customer sign a waiver stating that the cake is made in my home.


You can certainly have the customer sign a waiver, but it would be a worthless piece of paper since a contract agreeing to waive liability for an illegal activity is automatically void. Plus it's not the customer you need to worry about so much as the health department.

In fact, this is probably worse for you...if you're caught, the "waiver" shows that you knew what you were doing was illegal but you did it anyway, so you couldn't claim ignorance.

Regarding hiring someone to help you...I'm not sure how many hours you need to hire them relative to how many hours you rent, but even if it's 1:1 the $7/hour rate is so cheap you would probably still come out ahead compared to the hourly rates of other commercial kitchens.
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post #9 of 12
5/2/12 at 12:37am
I'm looking for a kitchen space in STL too...and yes i agree that the St patricks space is in a bad part of town. it's a great program, but i wouldn't want to be leaving there at night by myself walking to my car.

It's almost worth it to just rent one full time and have safe access whenever i want. ugh...
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post #10 of 12
5/2/12 at 11:43pm
I have looked around a little bit and haven't had much luck finding anything in the St. Louis St Charles area.
New to cake decorating, just here to learn.
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New to cake decorating, just here to learn.
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post #11 of 12
5/30/12 at 7:56pm
I have a catering business in St Charles with a full commercial kitchen. I would be interested in renting the kitchen by the hour and it would be perfect for a baker. We have two convection ovens and a six burner range, plus a walk in cooler.
We are close to highways and in a safe neighborhood. If anyone is interested, please send me an email at rsvpterri@yahoo.com
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post #12 of 12
5/31/12 at 3:58pm
adelines, I sooo wish you were in my area! I have scoped out so many leads and options, it's beginning to be depressing. icon_sad.gif If anyone knows of a place in the Cass Southern Jackson County or Northern Cass County area in Missouri...let me know. The two commercial kitchens (an incubator) is too far away and no one I've contacted so far want to rent their kitchen. Good luck and_then_there_was_cake!
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