FoodServiceNerd is a free, independent guide to the practical side of commercial foodservice — health-department requirements by ZIP and county, permits and code, the cost to open, financing, food-safety certification, and honest, plain-English equipment decisions. We publish the answers operators actually search for, backed by real data and free calculators.
We maintain an independent equipment reference — spec pages and cross-brand comparisons for thousands of models — but we are not a retailer: we don't sell equipment, we take no payment for placement, and we aren't owned by a manufacturer or dealer. That independence is the point: we can answer questions a seller can't, including “do you even need this?”
The information operators need is split badly across the web: equipment sellers publish buying guides that steer you toward product, regulators publish dense code, and general business blogs skip the physical kitchen entirely. FoodServiceNerd closes that gap — combining a compliance layer (localized permit and code data), engineering calculators that encode the real math, and decision guides that compare honestly.
Every page is researched from primary sources — the FDA Food Code, EPA and IMC references, NSF standards, manufacturer specification sheets, and official state and county health-department fee schedules. Figures are given as ranges or as dated observations from an official source; where a jurisdiction doesn't publish a number, we say so rather than guess. We never fabricate fees or statistics. Read the full editorial & sourcing methodology.
FoodServiceNerd is published by Resultex Media Group LLC, a Long Island, New York–based company with more than a decade of experience in the foodservice industry. FoodServiceNerd is an independent, vendor-neutral publication from Resultex Media Group LLC, founded by Gene Lansky. Equipment-spec compilation, code references, and editorial direction are handled by Resultex Media Group and checked against the primary sources listed in our methodology; personal bylines are reserved for editorial articles. Rather than claim a masthead we don’t have, we tell you plainly who stands behind the work, how it is checked, and that no manufacturer or dealer pays for placement or a favorable rating.
Our guidance is compiled from primary sources: manufacturer specification sheets and product catalogs, the ENERGY STAR product database, the FDA Food Code, and state and county regulators. Equipment specs come from manufacturers’ own published catalogs; prices, where shown, are drawn from public dealer listings and can change at any time. When we mark something “verified,” it means a person checked that fact against the cited primary source on the stated date — not that it is guaranteed current forever. Where a figure isn’t published or we can’t confirm it, we say so rather than guess, and every page tells you to confirm specifics with your local authority. This is educational information, not legal, tax, or engineering advice.
Accuracy matters to us more than being first. If you spot an error, an out-of-date fee, or a spec that looks wrong, email Gene@resultexmediagroup.com with the page and what you believe is correct (a source link helps) and we’ll verify and update it, dating the change. See Contact for other ways to reach us.
FoodServiceNerd is supported by display advertising and affiliate “where to buy” links — if you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Those relationships never influence our recommendations or rankings. We keep guidance separate from any commercial relationship.
Spotted an error or an out-of-date fee? We fix these fast — see Contact. This site is educational and is not legal, tax, or engineering advice; always confirm specifics with your local authority.