Summary
1) 8’ x 8’ Micro Café / Coffee Shop Dishroom
Best for: Coffee shops, bakeries, dessert cafés, break rooms
Dish machine: Undercounter
Status: Tight but often approvable with AHJ pre-review
One-Way Workflow
Dirty Drop → Scrape → Pre-Rinse → Undercounter Dish Machine → Air-Dry → Clean Storage
Why This Passes
- Separate hand sink
- Dedicated air-dry zone
- Trash at scrape point
- Linear dirty → clean flow
Design risk: Limited drying space = towel-drying temptation (common violation if not managed tightly)
2) 10’ x 10’ Ghost Kitchen / Small Restaurant Dishroom
Best for: Ghost kitchens, small restaurants, church kitchens
Dish machine: Door-type (hood)
Status: Smallest footprint that reliably passes most inspections
One-Way Workflow
Dirty Drop → Scrape Table → Pre-Rinse → Three-Comp Sink → Hood Dishwasher → Air-Dry → Storage
Why This Passes Reliably
- Full emergency manual warewashing
- Proper dirty/clean zone separation
- Dedicated drying
- Inspectors can visually track sanitation flow
This is the layout I recommend most often for “small but safe.”
3) 8’ x 12’ Food Truck Commissary Dishroom
Best for: Food truck bases, shared kitchens, startup commissaries
Dish machine: Door-type or undercounter
Status: Designed for high turnover + daily batch washing
One-Way Workflow
Truck Drop-Off → Sorting → Three-Comp Sink → Door-Type Dish Machine → Drying → Rack Storage
Why This Works for Mobile Ops
- Supports multiple trucks
- Handles bulk utensil loads
- Keeps mobile units simple
- Passes commissary inspection standards
Ultra-Compact Design Rules That Apply to ALL 3 Layouts
- Dirty and clean never cross
- Hand sink never blocked
- Air-dry space always dedicated
- Indirect drain + air gap required
- Trash + scrap located at scrape point
- Clean storage off the floor
- Test strips stored at the machine
