How to Design a Commercial Kitchen Layout

When it comes to designing a commercial kitchen, there are limitless possibilities, and while this task may seem daunting, a few key principles will help you plan your commercial kitchen’s layout.

We spoke with KaTom’s Design and Build team to discover some of the most important aspects of planning a commercial kitchen layout. Read on to learn about how to plan your kitchen and see four of the most common kitchen layouts to help get you started with your own kitchen design.

Start with Your Menu

The most important step before planning your restaurant kitchen design is deciding upon your operation’s focus. "Your menu is going to drive the design of your kitchen," KaTom design manager Michael Holbert said.

After planning your menu, consider your workstations and what items you'll need to fulfill your menu. All commercial kitchens have at least five distinct sections: the cookline, dishwashing area, prep area, storage, and the expo area where food is plated and sent to the dining room. Some kitchens also have a beverage area, while others place this section in the front of the house.

Know Your Parameters

Limiting factors, such as space, cost, and location, help determine the position of each item in a commercial kitchen layout. The goal is to fit every section in a way that's effective for your operation and its location.

1. Space

The size of your kitchen is one of the largest factors to consider when creating your restaurant kitchen layout. Some professionals recommend the "60-40 Rule," where 60 percent of a restaurant's building is dedicated to the dining room and 40 percent is dedicated to the kitchen.¹ However, many restaurants don’t get to choose their kitchen size and are instead beholden to the existing space they've purchased or rented.

Operators often need to find creative ways to fit all necessary items into their kitchen, and one helpful tip involves using vertical space.

"The vertical aspect of kitchens can be easy to overlook," Holbert said. "If you're able to find solutions to reduce footprint while maintaining functionality, you can reduce your cost."

2. Cost

The cost of equipment and renovations impacts your kitchen design. Though some restaurants may want a large kitchen overhaul, others are looking to design their kitchen on a budget and need a simple restaurant kitchen layout.

Operations seeking to save money will likely use the existing spaces and outlets to expedite development as quickly as possible, but it's important to leave options for potential improvements should your restaurant grow.

3. Infrastructure

A kitchen’s existing electrical and plumbing fixtures are also an important consideration. Some kitchens will have an up-to-date infrastructure with the correct fittings, outlets, and drains, but it’s likely operators need to alter or upgrade these before installing appliances. Before drafting the initial design, operators should look at the kitchen's fixtures and determine their capacity; make sure you know where you want your equipment before making any changes.

4. Location

A kitchen’s location within a building often determines how it’s operated. In a multi-level building like a hotel, having a kitchen on the bottom floor is much easier than on an upper level.

"It makes it easier to install and easier to get to when there’s issues," designer Hannah Phillips said.

5. Safety

Employee safety is an essential factor that may not always be apparent when designing a kitchen. Workers need ample space to prepare, cook, and transport food to avoid collisions and potential injuries. It’s helpful for restaurant operators to install separate "in" and "out" doors to their kitchens, avoiding dangerous traffic bottlenecks. Before finalizing any design, restaurant operators should review local kitchen safety regulations to ensure compliance.

6. Flow

No matter the style of your kitchen, product circulation plays a huge part in its design. A streamlined, intuitive kitchen flow helps your employees work as a cohesive team.

"The food is either coming to the cooking equipment or then going out," Holbert said, "And making sure that that flow is ideal, that’s really the name of the game."

Selecting a Commercial Kitchen Layout

While no two kitchen layouts are the same, the type of your foodservice operation often plays a deciding factor in which overall kitchen style is best for you. The following are four of the most common layouts for commercial kitchens:

Assembly Line Layout

Assembly line kitchens are often segmented by specific people performing a set task. They usually have tight floorplans designed to accommodate a smaller building. This creates an assembly line or galley kitchen method, where dishes are moved through prep, cookline, and expo as efficiently as possible. Most assembly line designs provide straightforward workstations without much specialized equipment.

This kind of layout is ideal for fast food or fast casual restaurants, which must rapidly produce large amounts of food and have smaller kitchen spaces.

"Fast-casual restaurants don’t want to spend a lot of money," Phillips said. "Their goal is just to get it up and running."

Open Layout

Open kitchens are often found in high end restaurants or establishments with limited space. Since these restaurants are made with the kitchen next to the open dining room, they are ideal for entertaining guests, but often require creative designs to ensure safety.

Restaurants with open layouts can create a home-cooking atmosphere and often have fresher ingredients and more personalized dishes than fast food restaurants, so they may require specialized items in their cookline.

Zoning Layout

While all commercial kitchen styles employ zoning to an extent, a zoning design method focuses on keeping workstations separate, which is especially helpful when you offer vegetarian or gluten-free options and must prevent cross contamination.

Zoning kitchens also help keep prep, cookline, and dish areas separate, ensuring specific staff have ample space to do their designated job. This method often costs more to start up, but can be a great design for more industrial kitchen layouts looking to maximize large amounts of space.

Island Layout

Island kitchens allow for more working space while putting the meal at the heart of the kitchen. Holbert says this layout style is more popular in fine dining restaurants with cooking in the center and prep on the outskirts.

"You're going to end with a reverse doughnut," he said, since the most important part is in the center. This design requires more floor space but also allows several chefs to work on the same dish while creating more storage space for ingredients or specialized appliances.

Summary

These top tips for commercial kitchen design will help you layout the ideal kitchen for your operation. Nevertheless, these are general principles and design examples, and each kitchen will have its own unique layout challenges. Finding a style that works for your operation and menu is critical for your long-term success.

To learn more about how KaTom can help you design your own kitchen, visit our design and build page.

References

^{1. The TGP Guide: The Unwritten Rules Of Fine Dining Restaurant Interior Design TGP International. Accessed November 2024.}