The Great Hall
Need advice for new Commercial Kitchen


WebFoodPros.com: The Great Hall: Need advice for new Commercial Kitchen
By Egoodell (Egoodell) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 10:27 pm: Edit

Hello all,
My husband and I are building a bed and breakfast inn. We are starting with 5 suites and if all goes will are zoned for up to 10. I have a marketing background, he is a burnt-out restaurant manager.

We need advice - we are trying to research for a great gas stove-4-6 burners, griddle, two ovens, hood with fire supression system, Good dishwasher, commercial fridge. Want to get appliances that are reliable, and will make the health inspector happy. What brands do you all prefer?
Many thanks!
Erika Goodell
Arcady Vineyard
Charlottesville, Va

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Thursday, January 23, 2003 - 11:30 pm: Edit

Vulcan on stoves, Taylor on fridge, DW Hobart
Try E-bay, they have a new restaurant supply sale site. Unless you have tons of $$$ and want all new.


try

By Corey (Corey) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 04:53 pm: Edit

Wolf Grills!

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Friday, January 24, 2003 - 10:00 pm: Edit

and extended warrenties on everything if you can get it, OR insurence for the eguipment so if you do have a problem it won't be an arm and a leg.
just a finger. a small one.

By Egoodell (Egoodell) on Monday, January 27, 2003 - 08:33 am: Edit

Thanks for your input, everyone. Especially the fact that extended warranties are worth the $$. I had not thought of that, since most B&Bs are so small we usually purchase regular equipment but cannot get the warranty due to the fact that we are a home business. But since we are putting in a commercial kitchen, of course we can use them there. Great advice!!!
Best regards,
erika goodell
arcady vineyard

By Egoodell (Egoodell) on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 12:45 pm: Edit

Hello again, all!
Still working on the research for the commercial kitchen for the B&B. I'm now trying to get pricing on range hoods - the range will have probably 6 burners and a griddle, one regular and one convection oven, 60 inches(5 ft) wide. My husband was assuming we should get a 6 foot hood. Can we get by the inspections etc with a 5 foot hood? Do any of you have any brands that you recommend for hoods and/or fans? They are not easy to locate on the Web - I see one brand on ebay that is selling them now - brand name is "Superior Hoods". We will probably be putting in Ansul for the fire protection - found a guy in the area that will put it in and get it approved all in the price.

As usual, thanks very much for your help - I'm getting lots of valuable info from your discussions about equipment!!

Best regards,

Erika Goodell
Arcady Vineyard
Charlottesville, VA

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 01:52 pm: Edit

The price will depend if you get stainless steel, (if seen by the public), or galvanized steel, out of public sight.
The cost will run approximatey $800-1000 a foot.
You must check with the fire inspector as to the regulations in your area, for example, a convection oven may just need to be vented and it won't need to go under a hood, a closed system fryer also may not require to be under the hood, also remember to plan for the future, if you are planning on growing it will be wise to buy more hood then you need now as opposed to getting a whole new system a year or two later.
Check for used hoods, they are rare but do exist, check e-bay, they have a new restaurant equipment site, watch for shipping charges though, they can kill any real savings!
Make sure the return air system is big enough for the square footage of the kitchen, get a good engine, not a small 1/2 horsepower little thing.
You'll be changing the engine often with a small engine

By Egoodell (Egoodell) on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 04:12 pm: Edit

Thanks,Chef Manny!

It will not be seen often by the public - only when we do cooking classes. And it will only be for the vulcan range. I know for a commercial kitchen in this county is is required. The Ansul installer for this area knows the regs and has included getting it properly inspected in the price, so I don't have to worry about that.

Just putting in the commerical kitchen is right now overkill as it is not required for a B&B. But most of the enforcement is by word of mouth - they don't have many regs on paper. After what I have seen with developement when we lived in California, we have just decided to put in the commerical kitchen so when they change the regs it will not affect us. We will make note of your advice about getting a big enough engine, too. Thanks very much!!

Best regards,

Erika Goodell
Arcady Vineyard

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 04:27 pm: Edit

If some things are not required and you don't want to spend the $$$ on; you would probably be grandfathered into new regs.

By Egoodell (Egoodell) on Thursday, February 06, 2003 - 08:40 pm: Edit

That's what some say, but I know a historic inn that was forced to drill into 150 year old ceilings to install a sprinkler system. And everyone tells me that the historical inns are grandfathered in.

Plus we want to do small functions, and I am sure that down the road they will want commercial. So we are just going to do it. Since we can do most of the building and finishing ourselves, we are saving thousands of dollars in labor.

Best regards,

Erika Goodell
Arcady Vineyard

By Ladycake (Ladycake) on Friday, February 07, 2003 - 11:06 am: Edit

Erika,

One thing about motor size, if it is not large enough the smell will permeate your establishment (I'm sure you have walked into a place and been overwhelmed by the smell of hot oil?) It can be very unpleasant and is best addressed at the beginning.


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