The Q – Commercial Kitchen & Commissary

Give Your Customers a Place to Find You

The Q’s Retail Pickup Window gives approved food operators a customer-facing location in downtown Boaz without requiring them to open and operate a full restaurant.

Use the window for preorder pickup, plate lunches, BBQ, family meals, desserts, meal prep, specialty menus, and other approved takeout concepts.

You choose the retail schedule that fits your business.

Retail Pickup Window and Kitchen Access Are Separate

This distinction is important.

Kitchen Access is the time you use The Q to prepare, cook, package, and clean up.

Retail Pickup Window access is the time you use The Q as a customer-facing location to sell or hand off your food.

Many operators will need both.

Retail Pickup Window pricing does not include Kitchen Access.

Any kitchen production time needed before, during, or after retail service must be separately scheduled through an approved Kitchen Access plan or other written operating arrangement.

Smoker access, dedicated storage, refrigeration, specialty equipment, and other services are also separate unless specifically included in your agreement.

Retail Pickup Window Pricing

Occasional Retail Day

$100 per day

Best for:

  • Testing a new concept
  • Special menus
  • Holiday sales
  • Occasional preorder pickup
  • Pop-up food days
  • Operators who do not need a regular weekly schedule

An occasional Retail Pickup Day provides one approved service period of up to 6 consecutive hours.

Additional time may be available by arrangement.

Recurring Weekly Retail Access

Operators who want the same scheduled retail days each week may reserve recurring access at a lower effective daily rate.

One Retail Day Per Week

$325 per month

A good fit for a weekly plate lunch, Saturday BBQ pickup, dessert day, meal-prep pickup, or similar recurring operation.

Two Retail Days Per Week

$575 per month

Designed for operators building a regular two-day customer schedule.

For example:

Friday + Saturday

or

Wednesday + Friday

Three Retail Days Per Week

$775 per month

Designed for operators with a more established retail operation who want three scheduled customer-facing days each week.

Four or More Retail Days Per Week

Custom Operating Plan

Operators needing four or more recurring retail days should speak with The Q.

At this level, we will consider the operator’s complete use of the facility, including:

  • Retail schedule
  • Kitchen hours
  • Equipment requirements
  • Refrigeration
  • Storage
  • Smoker or chargrill use
  • Customer traffic
  • Other operators’ schedules

The goal is to create an arrangement that works for the operator while preserving fair access to The Q for everyone using the facility.

Need an Extra Retail Day?

Operators with a recurring monthly Retail Pickup Window plan may add an occasional additional retail day for:

$85 per day

Subject to availability.

What Is a Retail Day?

A standard Retail Pickup Day provides up to 6 consecutive hours of scheduled customer-facing service.

For example:

11:00 AM–5:00 PM

or

3:00 PM–9:00 PM

Your approved retail period includes reasonable time for ordinary order staging and customer handoff.

Kitchen preparation and cleanup time are not included in the Retail Pickup Window charge and must be covered by your Kitchen Access arrangement.

What Retail Pickup Window Access Includes

Scheduled Retail Pickup Window access includes:

  • Use of The Q’s designated customer pickup window or counter
  • Customer access during your approved service period
  • Reasonable order-staging space near the pickup area
  • Normal customer traffic associated with your operation
  • Permission to advertise The Q as your approved pickup location
  • Normal utilities associated with ordinary retail pickup service
  • Coordination of retail schedules among participating operators

The Window Is Shared

The Retail Pickup Window is a shared Q resource.

Recurring access reserves your approved service periods, but it does not give any operator permanent or exclusive rights to the window.

The Q may serve multiple approved operators on different days or at different times.

Our goal is simple:

Every operator who contracts for Retail Pickup Window access should have fair access to it.

Examples

Saturday BBQ Operator

An operator prepares BBQ using separately purchased Kitchen Access and schedules the Retail Pickup Window every Saturday.

Retail Pickup Window: $325/month
Kitchen Access: Based on kitchen hours needed
Smoker Access: Separate, if needed

Friday + Saturday Food Business

An operator prepares food throughout the week and serves customers from the window every Friday and Saturday.

Retail Pickup Window: $575/month
Kitchen Access: Based on kitchen hours needed
Additional services: Added only if needed

Occasional Dessert Pickup

A baker uses The Q for production and schedules a special customer pickup day before Thanksgiving.

Retail Pickup Window: $100
Kitchen Access: Purchased separately

There is no need to commit to recurring retail access.

Starting Small Is Fine

You do not have to begin with several retail days each week.

Many food businesses should start with one occasional day or one recurring day per week.

Learn what customers buy.

Learn how much food to prepare.

Learn how much kitchen time you actually need.

Then expand when the business justifies it.

That is one of the reasons The Q exists.

Operator Requirements

Retail Pickup Window access is available only to approved operators.

Before retail service begins, operators must satisfy applicable requirements involving:

  • Health department approval
  • Business licensing
  • Insurance
  • Food safety
  • Menu approval
  • Kitchen scheduling
  • Customer flow
  • Equipment and storage needs

A $100 one-time Q onboarding fee applies to new operators.

Operators already onboarded with The Q do not pay another onboarding fee simply to add Retail Pickup Window access.

Build the Arrangement Your Business Needs

A retail food business at The Q might use:

Kitchen Access

Retail Pickup Window

Smoker, storage, refrigeration, or other services if needed

You pay for the Q resources your business actually uses rather than paying for a traditional restaurant operation you may not need.

For beginning operators testing one focused weekly pickup concept, The Q also offers a 90-Day Retail Pickup Launch Plan.

Interested in Retail Pickup at The Q?

Tell us:

  • What food you sell
  • Which days you want to serve customers
  • Approximately what hours you want to operate
  • How much kitchen production time you expect to need
  • Whether you need smoker access, storage, or refrigeration

We’ll help you determine the right arrangement.

The Q — Commercial Kitchen & Commissary
106 South Main Street
Boaz, Alabama

Call or text: 256-557-0517