Commercial Hood Cleaning

Most people don’t think about the grease-filled guts of restaurant kitchens. That’s your opportunity. This brand focuses on commercial hood and exhaust cleaning—a required service for fire code compliance. It’s gritty work, but it’s recurring, recession-resistant, and massively under-the-radar. The competition? Mostly mom-and-pop crews with no systems.

What they do differently

1. Recurring, Mandated Service

This isn’t “nice-to-have.” It’s fire code. Commercial kitchens are legally required to have their exhaust hoods cleaned regularly, usually quarterly. That means built-in repeat business with minimal churn—as long as you show up and do it right.

2. First-Mover Franchise in a Fragmented Industry

This is one of the only franchise players in a space still dominated by independent operators. That means you’re competing against underinsured contractors with no uniforms, no systems, and no national marketing. Huge professionalism gap = huge opportunity.

3. Low Overhead, No Real Estate Needed

It’s a mobile operation. Your techs work overnight shifts at restaurants, and you dispatch them from home. That keeps costs low and margins high. It also avoids the biggest headache of service franchising: leasing and managing commercial space.

4. Insurance & Compliance Integration

This brand isn’t just about cleaning grease—it’s about helping kitchens stay open and compliant. That positioning adds value and pricing power, especially with multi-location clients or national brands who care more about documentation than deep discounts.

🚩Potential weakness: Tough labor model

The work is late-night, dirty, and not glamorous. Hiring and retaining dependable overnight labor is your biggest challenge. If you don’t build a strong ops culture—or struggle to find workers who can handle it—turnover could become a choke point.

 The breakdown

Let’s break this business down with my proprietary GROCE framework (modest, I know).

Geography

Great fit for any metro or midsize city with a dense foodservice sector. Think: restaurants, schools, hospitals, hotels. Bigger the kitchen footprint, the bigger the client base. Not ideal for rural zones or towns with few commercial kitchens.

Real Estate

None required. You can run it from your home or a small office if you scale. Storage needs are minimal—just space for equipment, PPE, and service vehicles.

Ops / Sales

Owners manage routing, compliance, client relationships, and labor. Sales are largely B2B—restaurants, chains, property managers. Cold calling is part of the early grind, but once established, referrals and contract renewals drive steady volume.

Capital

Low to mid-range investment. No expensive buildout, minimal equipment beyond service rigs. Revenue builds steadily with each new contract, and the recurring nature of the work smooths out cash flow.

Expansion

Easily scalable by adding service crews and expanding your territory. Larger franchisees can layer in additional fire-safety services (hood filters, inspections) to increase ticket size. Multi-unit or regional expansion is viable for operators who systematize.

Final take:

If you’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves—or build a team that does—this is a niche service with real staying power. Required by law, ignored by most entrepreneurs, and ready for professionalization. Strength of the model: mandated maintenance, unsexy but essential.