How much does a Food Truck Commissary Kitchen cost to buy?

A typical Food Truck Commissary Kitchen sells for 2x to 5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $99K, expect to pay roughly $198K to $495K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Food Truck Commissary Kitchen?

Startup costs range from $150K to $900K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Physical

Food Truck Commissary Kitchen

The boring back-of-house toll booth for mobile food

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Food truck commissary kitchens rent approved prep, storage, parking, dumping, and wash-down space to mobile food vendors who need health-department-compliant facilities. The surprising buyer angle is that the trucks get the Instagram attention while the commissary collects recurring rent from every operator who needs a legal home base.

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Acquisition score

Margin · multiple · SBA data

52Strong

Avg revenue

$450K/yr

$120K–$1.8M range

Profit margin

22%

~$99K SDE

Multiple

2–5×

of SDE

Est. buy price

$198K–$495K

startup: $150K–$900K

How It Works

Operators rent monthly kitchen slots, cold storage, dry storage, overnight truck parking, water fill, grease disposal, and cleaning access. Revenue comes from membership fees, hourly kitchen rentals, parking, storage lockers, event-prep packages, and add-ons like procurement or bookkeeping support.

BizBite verdict

Watch / verify

Food Truck Commissary Kitchen has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

52Strong

low data confidence · 40/100medium financing fit

Why it may work

No strong positives yet. More verified data needed.

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No SBA category enrichment yet
!No category operating model yet
!Low data confidence

Deal Calculator

Priced off $99K SDE — can this deal service its own debt?

1.97×

DSCR · Lender-comfortable

Purchase multiple — 3.5× SDE ($345K)

Category range: 2×–5× SDE

Down payment — 10% ($35K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.50%

Typical SBA 7(a) range: 9.5–12% (prime-based)

Loan term — 10 years

Standard SBA 7(a): 10 years for business acquisition

Purchase price

$345K

3.5× of $99K SDE

Cash to close

$45K

$35K down + ~3% closing

Debt service

$4K/mo

$50K/yr on $311K loan

Cash-on-cash

109%

cash back in ~12 mo

Debt service coverage · what the lender sees

1.97×+$4K/mo after debt

Most SBA lenders want ≥1.25× coverage; 1.5×+ is a strong file.

SDE = revenue × margin estimate for this niche; it includes owner compensation, so budget your salary out of cash flow. Excludes working-capital injection, capex reserves, and taxes. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower.

Pros

+Recurring monthly revenue from multiple food vendors
+Health rules can make commissaries mandatory in many markets
+Can monetize underused industrial kitchen or warehouse space
+Sticky if parking, storage, and inspection paperwork are bundled

Cons

-Food safety, zoning, and landlord constraints are real
-Buildout and equipment costs can be high
-Utilization management gets messy when vendors peak at the same hours

Best For

Commercial-kitchen operators, caterers, ghost-kitchen owners, industrial landlords, or food-service buyers

Operating Costs

Costs include rent or mortgage, hood systems, refrigeration, utilities, cleaning, pest control, insurance, repairs, permits, and staff to manage access. Profit improves when overnight parking and storage are sold alongside kitchen time.