A previous company that I worked at had gone through this process. We shared our kitchen with another neighboring bakery. When considering sharing a kitchen space with another restaurant, there are a few obvious things that come to mind.
1. Who will be using the kitchen? We had a rigorous hiring process to attain the best and most trustworthy people. Can the new people you are sharing with also be trusted? They will have access to items that can be easily stolen or broken, so that is important to consider. It’s obvious the other establishment would have to be responsible for their actions and their employees as well. Then, if that situation ever comes up, how does that conversation go?
2. Rules of conduct. In my previous experience with this, the other employees who were using the kitchen had to be shown a list of rules that need to be followed. This included the chores/tasks that needed to be done before and after each use. Verbal instructions were also given to each person who used the kitchen and a mandatory form had to be signed. This ensured compliance. The main things to consider here are sanitation, respect of property, and cleanliness.
3. What is your compensation? If you own a restaurant or kitchen and want to do a favor to help someone out, that is your prerogative. 'I scratch your back, you scratch mine' is a code we live by in the restaurant industry. However, if this is a long-term situation, some type of compensation should be discussed. You would essentially be renting out your kitchen to someone else. People normally get paid for that...
4. When would they need your kitchen? This is a very important point. Would this interfere with your business? We had rented ours in the morning to a bakery, so there was no problem because we were a dinner and lunch restaurant. Although there were times when we would also need it for prepping for things such as a big party. So that should be discussed ahead of time as well. If you lose out on any revenue whatsoever, you had better be getting paid. Because the opportunity cost of that time can be extremely valuable to a profitable business.
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