A step-by-step guide for kitchen owners to earn extra revenue by renting their commercial kitchen during unused hours.
Written by
Justin Andrews
Justin Andrews is a chef-turned-founder who has spent the last decade working across farms, markets, restaurants, nonprofits, and academic research. He’s now the CEO of Food Web, a platform built to unlock underused commercial kitchens and strengthen local food systems. Justin writes about food, entrepreneurship, and the work of building resilient local economies.
Where meals are made.
If your kitchen is empty during evenings, weekends, or slow seasons, you’re paying for a valuable space that isn’t earning you money.
Renting your kitchen during those off-hours can create a new revenue stream, and it can also support local food entrepreneurs who are looking for a part-time place to cook.
The opportunity is real: there’s growing demand for a commercial kitchen for rent, especially from small food businesses that need a few hours at a time, not a full lease.
This guide is for kitchen owners, managers or operators who want a clear, practical path to monetize their empty kitchen without turning it into a headache.
Looking to rent a kitchen instead?
This guide is for kitchen owners. If you’re a small food business looking to rent a certified kitchen click here.
Before thinking about permits, pricing, or listings, the first question is simple:
Can another food business actually work in your kitchen without getting in the way of your own operations?
This is less about specific size and more about having functional space.
Almost every renter will need some fridge space, even for short bookings. Ingredients need to stay food-safe while they prep, cook, and clean.
Ask yourself:
If the answer is “a bit, but it’s not organized yet,” that’s very normal, and very solvable.
Even short-term renters arrive with:
For recurring renters, the question often becomes:
Food Web makes it easy to charge an extra fee for storage. Perhaps you have minimal space, or need to buy a new fridge to start renting. You can set a cost for storage so you can recoup that cost and earn extra revenue.
Health inspectors will not like seeing your food mingling with other businesses. There needs to be space for clear separation, and labeling is crucial. Keeping your space organized, as well as keeping health inspectors friendly to kitchen sharing, you'll need:
At minimum, most kitchens will want to confirm:
If you already have a permit for your kitchen, these are all things you'll already need to have. But making sure everything is up to date is a good idea.
Food Web supports this step by making it easy to keep key documents organized during onboarding, so you’re not chasing paperwork later.
If you rent your space (or operate inside a larger facility), it’s worth confirming your lease allows shared-use. Many owners find this step easier when they can communicate clearly and professionally.
Food Web provides a landlord notification template designed to explain shared kitchen rentals as a structured, compliance-first model (not informal subletting).
Not every renter is the right fit, and you don’t need to accept everyone. This step is about choosing what works for your space.
Common options include:
Food Web helps by letting you define the kind of renters you’re looking for and setting expectations clearly in your listing.
You control what is allowed in your kitchen. Examples:
Clear boundaries save everyone time and reduce conflict later.
As discussed in Step 1, Renters usually need at least:
If you want to monetize storage (dry, fridge, freezer), that can become an additional revenue stream, but it needs clear labeling and rules. Food Web supports this by letting you list storage options and charge for them as add-ons.
Make a simple call:
Food Web supports this by helping you document equipment rules in one place so renters aren’t guessing.
Some kitchens have real limits that renters should know, such as:
You don’t need to write a technical manual, just be clear enough to prevent problems.
Kitchen owners usually start with:
You can also decide:
Food Web supports this by letting you set availability windows and keep scheduling clean and trackable.
Decide if you want to charge:
If you want to estimate what your kitchen could earn based on your available hours, use the Food Web Revenue Calculator.
This step is about lowering risk so you feel confident.
Many kitchen owners require renters to carry their own liability insurance (with a minimum coverage amount). This is one of the easiest ways to protect the kitchen and make expectations professional.
Food Web supports this by allowing you to specify what level of insurance is needed, and has renters upload their proof of insurance to the platform so everything is well documents.
Deposits work best when they’re tied to clear standards:
Food Web supports this by making allowing you to customize the amount you require for a deposit
Clear rental agreements protect both you and the renter. They make expectations explicit and prevent misunderstandings around use, cleaning, liability, and access.
Food Web facilitates clear, standardized rental agreements by ensuring:
This removes the need for informal, one-off agreements and gives kitchen owners confidence that every rental follows the same rules.
Even great renters fail in a new kitchen if they’re not shown how things work. Orientation reduces accidents, confusion, and stress.
Most orientations cover:
Food Web provides templates and guidance you can adapt so you’re not building this from scratch every time.
This is where shared kitchens either run smoothly, or fall apart.
Cleaning standards vary by kitchen, so “leave it clean” isn’t enough. Owners who succeed define:
Food Web supports this by providing cleaning checklist templates you can customize.
Make Check-In / Check-Out Easy to Follow
A simple checklist for arrival and closing prevents 90% of problems:
Food Web supports this with check-in & check-out templates you can include for your renters.
Things happen. Equipment breaks, small damage occurs, misunderstandings happen. The goal is to deal with it quickly and fairly.
Choose a clear point of contact:
Make sure these contact numbers are posted somewhere in your kitchen and clearly visible. They will also be to the renters within their Food Web Dashboard.
When issues are documented, they’re easier to solve. Food Web supports this with incident reporting that can be logged digitally so there’s a clear record of what happened and when.
Monetizing a kitchen works best when it’s structured. The goal is simple: earn extra revenue when you’re closed, support local food businesses, and protect your space at the same time.