Can I build a café from modular buildings? What are my options?
A modular solution can be sized with a tailored mix of P300, P400, P500, P600 and P700 units, then fitted around the intended use. The online designer shows the final calculated total for the exact configuration before a formal quotation.
Most café enquiries are for a park, car park, garden centre, holiday site or sports ground where there is no existing unit. The choice is normally between a converted container, a catering trailer and a purpose-built modular unit.
Your options compared
Purpose-built modular café
Modules fitted out for serving, preparation and, if wanted, seating.
- Laid out around your menu and extraction rather than a fixed shell
- Insulated and comfortable to work in year round
- Can be extended with seating modules later
- Needs water, drainage, power and a level base
- Extraction and grease trap must be designed in
Converted shipping container
A container fitted with a serving hatch and equipment.
- Distinctive look
- Compact footprint
- Narrow internal width makes a working kitchen tight
- Insulation and condensation need careful handling
Catering trailer
A towable unit that can move between sites.
- Mobile
- Low set-up cost
- No seating
- Limited storage and prep space
- Rarely reads as a permanent business
If the pitch is permanent, build the café rather than park one. Start from the menu: extraction, hot water and refrigeration determine the module count far more than the number of covers.
What each size gives you
Mix P300, P400, P500, P600 and P700 units around the space needed; the designer calculates the final total for the exact result.
| Modules | What it gives you |
|---|---|
| 1 modules | Serving hatch, coffee and cold prep — takeaway only |
| 2 modules | Serving plus a small hot kitchen and store |
| 4 modules | Full kitchen, counter, customer WC and indoor seating |
How to get it moving
- Write the menu — it sets the equipment and the extraction
- Confirm water, drainage, grease disposal and power at the pitch
- Talk to environmental health early about the layout
- Design the unit in the builder and get a written quote
- Check planning and any site licence or landlord consent
Costs on top of the building
- •VAT at the prevailing rate
- •A level, load-bearing base or foundation sized to the building
- •Transport to site, quoted on distance and access
- •Offloading, and crane or hiab attendance where access requires it
- •Final connection to mains power, water and drainage by your own contractor
- •Planning permission or building control fees where these apply
P300–P700 range, or bespoke
- P300 unit
- 2.9m × 2.2m externally; approximately 2.7m × 2.0m usable internally (5.4 m² usable internal area per separate unit)
- P400 unit
- 3.9m × 2.2m externally; approximately 3.7m × 2.0m usable internally (7.4 m² usable internal area per separate unit)
- P500 unit
- 4.9m × 2.2m externally; approximately 4.7m × 2.0m usable internally (9.4 m² usable internal area per separate unit)
- P600 unit
- 5.9m × 2.2m externally; approximately 5.7m × 2.0m usable internally (11.4 m² usable internal area per separate unit)
- P700 unit
- 6.9m × 2.2m externally; approximately 6.7m × 2.0m usable internally (13.4 m² usable internal area per separate unit)
- Configuration
- Mix P300, P400, P500, P600 and P700 units to create tailored footprints and shapes
- Bespoke
- Bespoke sizes considered to suit your brief — contact us
- Joined internal space
- Open joins remove the adjoining shell walls and can increase usable space. Final clear area depends on layout and partitions.
- Unit height
- 2.40m external / 2.16m internal
- Storeys
- Up to two storeys, subject to final project design
- Delivery
- UK mainland and Northern Ireland — transport quoted separately
Adacon modular buildings use P300, P400, P500, P600 and P700 units with external lengths of 2.9m, 3.9m, 4.9m, 5.9m and 6.9m, a common 2.2m width and 2.40m external / 2.16m internal height. The sizes can be combined to create more tailored floor areas and building shapes, joined side by side or stacked to two storeys subject to the final project design.
Common questions
Talk it through with us
Tell us the situation and we'll tell you honestly what it takes.
Get a price for Building a Café From Modular Buildings — Your Options
Tell us what you need and we'll come back with pricing and lead times — usually within one working day.