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Shipping Container Restaurant

Get in front of customers quicker with a cost-efficient shipping container restaurant. Use these modular spaces for a permanent location, various test sites, and events across the nation.

Our fully-integrated team provides you with a high-quality kitchen seamlessly tailored to your needs. We can scale these units to fit in specific space requirements and build the interior with equipment customized to your menu.

rockwell brewery shipping container restaurant

Mobilize your food and drink products to festivals, sports events, specific test locations or wherever your customers are located! Shipping containers offer large interiors for equipment and staff for the flexibility to serve large numbers of people quickly and efficiently.

Start your planning process with us! As expert shipping container restaurant builders, we can help you from step 1 of initial design to create a fully functional kitchen to prep, cook, and serve your menu.

Custom Shipping Container Restaurant Examples

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3101 Elm Point Industrial Drive

St. Charles, MO 63301

1.800.373.3575

What is a shipping container restaurant?

Shipping container restaurants are empty metal shipping containers that have been completely overhauled and then outfitted with all the latest kitchen equipment to serve the culinary requirements of its customers. These containers are focused on sustainability and offer an amazing industrial take on modern restaurant design. 

What are the benefits of kitchen shipping container restaurants?

Besides the eye-catching industrial look that a kitchen shipping container will provide to your restaurant's design, there are many benefits that may get overlooked. The price of converting an old shipping container into an upbeat trendy restaurant can be very affordable and can allow a new restaurateur on a smaller budget to operate in a more traditional workspace. The cost of fabricating a kitchen container is often lower and the timeline is much quicker versus launching a new brick-and-mortar space. Another great benefit is mobility, this allows owners to change the location of their restaurant as quickly as a few days. Lastly, with mobility comes expansion, by stacking or combining multiple containers together can expand your kitchen shipping container restaurant's space. 

Common benefits of shipping container restaurants:

  • Mobility
  • Less time to get started
  • Affordability
  • Better pest control
  • Unique look
  • Better brand awareness
  • Easier renovation
  • Energy efficient

What materials are used for restaurant containers?

The containers are mainly made of Corten steel. Although the restaurant container itself isn’t very intricate, you can create almost anything around these containers that is sure to drive impressions. Some shipping containers have been equipped with glass roofs and timber frames around them that is used to drive a fresh, open-air concept. Others utilize solar panels which they mount on the roof to minimize their carbon footprint. 

How long do they take to make?

When building a shipping container restaurant, gauging how long it will take to complete is based on a few different factors. Those factors consist of, complexity of the design, scale of the project, materials needed around the unit, and the location of where these containers will be installed. Getting all of this information will help drive the development of your production schedule and should give you a great foundation on how long your build will take.

Common steps in building a shipping container restaurant:

  • Choose the right unit size
  • Decide on desired aesthetic
    • If you just launching, create a unique brand to launch
  • Pick a strategic location(s)
  • Contact a container provider
  • Consult a manufacturer and/or architect

What is the typical price range of them?

Standard container sizes are ten, twenty, and forty feet in length. With varying sized containers, pricing will be based on a per build structure. Expenses will also depend on if the unit was repurposed or if you are buying a new unit. When looking over your build with an expert engineer, you will most likely accrue cost from the conceptual renderings, layout and interior drawings, architectural and engineering reviews, makeup air calculations, and compliance. You will also need to budget for any desired modifications including all kitchen equipment that will need to be installed in the container. Lastly, you will have transportation expenses, these will depend on the unit's size and the distance from the provider's facility to your drop-off location.

Common cost factors of shipping container restaurants:

  • Design
  • Utilities
  • Size of unit
  • Condition of unit 
  • Transportation