Commissary kitchen requirements in Mecklenburg County, NC

Part 1

What a commissary is for

A commissary is the permitted base of operations for a mobile food unit or pushcart. The truck returns there for supplies, cleaning and servicing, and it uses the commissary's water, storage and waste disposal.

• The county's rule of thumb. Mecklenburg County's mobile food unit plan review form says a unit works out of a commissary the Health Department approves, and it asks you to submit a commissary approval form with your plan.
• The state option. Since a 2012 law change, North Carolina lets a mobile food unit act as its own commissary if it meets the commissary requirements. The state suggests talking to local environmental health staff first, and a permit can come with conditions. Ask the county whether that fits your truck.
• Not your house. A private home cannot be used in connection with a food establishment, so your home kitchen cannot be your commissary.

Sources: Mecklenburg County Health Department plan review form (September 2014 revision); NC Division of Public Health memo on mobile food unit commissaries (December 3, 2012).

Part 2

What a commissary must provide

The state's list of what a commissary needs includes:

• Storage for food supplies, utensils, equipment and employee belongings
• Facilities to store food that needs temperature control, at the right temperature
• Protection against contamination of food and equipment
• Warewashing and cleaning facilities, with maintenance tools and supplies
• Refuse storage and disposal
• Enough potable (drinking-safe) water, with water heating
• Wastewater disposal
• At least one accessible toilet

The truck has its own minimums too: space to store supplies, protected potable water faucets, approved solid and liquid waste disposal, and a way to flush and drain the sewage holding tank.

Source: NC Division of Public Health memo on mobile food unit commissaries (December 3, 2012). It cites the 2009 Food Code and state rules in effect then, so ask the county for the current requirements.

Part 3

Daily servicing

Mecklenburg's form says the unit must report to its commissary daily for supplies, cleaning and servicing. A commissary form from another North Carolina county, Caldwell County's commissary form, cites the state rule on pushcarts and mobile food units (15A NCAC 18A .2670) for the same "at least daily" requirement.

That matters when you shop for a kitchen. Daily servicing means the kitchen has to be somewhere your truck can get to every day, with room to park and a place to fill and dump water.

Sources: Mecklenburg County Health Department plan review form (2014); Caldwell County commissary form.

Part 4

The commissary approval form

The kitchen has to agree in writing to serve as your commissary. Mecklenburg asks for a completed commissary approval form with your plan. We could not find the county's current form online, so ask the county for it.

For a sense of what these forms cover, Caldwell County's commissary form asks the commissary to confirm:

• The days and times your unit may use the facility
• Whether the water supply is municipal or private (a private supply needs health department evaluation)
• Whether waste goes to a sewer or an on-site system (an on-site system also needs evaluation)
• Which services you can use: utensil and prep sinks, cooking equipment as needed, refrigerated or dry storage, an approved potable water connection, and an approved way to discharge gray water into the facility's sewage system
• How long the agreement lasts, with signatures from both the kitchen and the truck operator

Source: Caldwell County, NC commissary form. This is an example from another county, not Mecklenburg's form.

Part 5

If the kitchen uses a septic system

A kitchen may be on a septic system instead of city sewer. State guidance says a new or expanded mobile food unit or commissary on an on-site wastewater system needs an application to the local health department, and that all wastewater, including what you flush from your tank, must go to an approved system. If a kitchen is on septic, ask whether it has been evaluated for truck wastewater.

Source: NC Division of Public Health position statement on wastewater for mobile food units and commissaries.

Part 6

What Charlotte listings say, and do not say

Our kitchen directory lists 10 kitchens. 8 of them list food trucks as a business type. Here is what the listings tell you, and what they leave out:

• Water fill and wastewater dump. None of the listings say whether a truck can fill with potable water or dump wastewater. Ask every kitchen.
• Who certifies the kitchen. Listings say USDA certified room (T's Commissary Kitchen, Brookshire Commissary Kitchen Rental, and Gaston Commissary Kitchens 1 and 2), Health Department certified (Charter 1 Kitchen and Charlotte Commissary Kitchen), or NC Department of Agriculture only (Sweet Spot Kitchen, which says it cannot host businesses the Health Department governs). Alternative Chef, The City Kitch University, and The City Kitch West End do not state it. A listed certification does not by itself mean the county will approve the kitchen as your commissary, so check with the county.
• Parking. Several listings mention parking, and T's Commissary Kitchen lists truck parking with its shared prep plan. None say whether trucks can stay overnight.

For the kitchens that publish a price, see the cards in the directory. If you are choosing between kitchen types, read commissary vs. shared vs. ghost kitchen.