April 4, 2023
Backcountry Containers, a premier provider of custom residential and commercial shipping container structures, recently completed a 3,000-square-foot custom kitchen for Barbuda Ocean Club on the island of Barbuda in the Caribbean. Backcountry Containers completed the onsite installation in two weeks using durable, eco-friendly and cost-effective shipping containers.
Barbuda Ocean Club is a stunning private resort spanning more than 900 acres and eight miles of beachfront. Delivering the highest level of service requires more than 400 part- and full-time employees. The resort needed a separate “back of house” commercial kitchen to prepare meals for these hard-working staff members. The previous employee kitchen was a 40-foot-long trailer.
Because the club is on a remote island, standard building materials needed for a traditional kitchen would take more time and money to build but the owners wanted a new kitchen as quickly as possible. Backcountry Containers President Jon Meier estimates a more traditional construction process would have tripled the resort’s overall project cost.
“We’re happy to deliver Barbuda Ocean Club with a commercial kitchen that will last for years to come,” Meier said. “It will withstand seasonal hurricanes and storms much better than a stick build.
Had Barbuda Ocean Club not used containers, they would’ve had to ship in every single building material,” he added. “If they ran short on or forgot any parts, they would have to wait at least two days to get items from the main island of Antigua via ferry.”
The build includes the following key features:
A custom 10-unit commercial kitchen
Open floor plan
20-foot-long commercial kitchen hood
Restroom
It took five months to prepare the containers for shipping. Most of that time involved making complex, large cutouts in eight of the containers’ walls, which then were secured back into place and reinforced so they could survive the ocean journey from Miami. The framing, electrical and plumbing rough-out, closed cell spray insulation, and wall coverings also were completed during this time.
The team in Barbuda sealed the 10 individual 40-foot cube containers to create 3,000 square feet of interior space which was then outfitted per the customer’s specifications.
Backcountry Containers has been featured on HGTV and other channels for its modern container builds that reduce lead times and indirect costs associated with construction.