Peaks Recovery Center

Kitchen Expansion, Colorado Springs, CO

Summary

The client currently operates the foodservice for the rehab clients out of a residential kitchen. The old kitchen is being torn down and a new commercial kitchen is to be built on the existing site.

 

Framework of Success Criteria for Design:

  • New commercial kitchen vs residential kitchen
  • Functional kitchen with ample workspace to increase variety of menu options
  • Healthier food options available
  • Increased safety measures for staff and patients
  • Kitchen capacity to potentially cater for up to 100 patients

Challenges

In the existing residential kitchen, it was extremely difficult for the chef and her staff to work efficiently to prepare meals for the patients. There have been multiple instances where patients with mental illnesses were easily able to enter the kitchen space to take knives or other potentially hazardous items. The kitchen space was designed with residential applications in mind, so there was limited power available for commercial kitchen equipment installation. 

 

Issues to be resolved:

 

  • Residential kitchen did not meet building code
  • Lack of safety precautions to protect staff and patients
  • Unhappy staff working in the residential kitchen due to lack of functionality and efficiency
  • No storage spaces
  • No walk-in cooler/freezer
  • Limited-service accessibility

How Our Services Helped

With the old residential kitchen torn out, the site had been expanded to fit a much larger space to accommodate a new commercial kitchen. Brand new electrical panels were calculated with the total energy consumption for the new commercial kitchen. These will also make it possible for additional equipment to be added in the future if required. The chef is excited about her new commercial kitchen, and she was very happy with the newly proposed kitchen layout we provided.