Budgeting
The Dining Room Is Not the Expensive Part
Operators budget for what they can see. The cost is mostly in what they cannot.
Before you sign. We will tell you what the landlord has actually delivered and what it will cost to make it a restaurant.
Where it actually goes
In rough order, on a typical full-service project in a space that was not previously a restaurant.
- Kitchen exhaust and make-up air as a complete system.
- Mechanical, electrical and plumbing, most of it invisible.
- Kitchen equipment, and the rough-in it demands.
- Grease interceptor, drainage, slopes and floor finishes.
- Then, some way down, the dining room everybody was picturing.
Why the front of house feels expensive and is not
Finishes, furniture and lighting are visible, they are chosen with enthusiasm, and they are a smaller share of the budget than almost any operator expects.
Value engineering the dining room saves less than most people hope. The mechanical and the kitchen are where the money is, and reducing them changes what the restaurant can actually do.
What we will not do to hit a number
Undersize the exhaust or the make-up air. Fit a grease interceptor that will not pass. Substitute a finish the health authority will reject. Skip commissioning.
Each of those saves money at the build and costs it at inspection, or every day thereafter in a room that smells of the kitchen.
FAQ
Common questions
- What is the biggest single cost?
- Usually the exhaust and make-up air system, taken as a whole.
- Can we save on the dining room?
- Some, and less than most people hope. The money is in mechanical and kitchen.
- Can the hood be undersized to save money?
- No. We will not do it, and it fails at inspection or every night afterwards.
- Is a former restaurant space cheaper?
- Often, if the infrastructure is sound. Verify it rather than assuming.
Next step
Find out what is actually wrong with it.
An inspection, photographs of what we found, and a written scope. If the honest answer is that it can wait another season, that is the answer you will get.