Starting a restaurant is an exciting venture, but it requires meticulous planning and professional guidance to bring your vision to life. From assessing the physical space to navigating municipal requirements, every decision plays a crucial role in your restaurant’s success. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process.

1. Space Assessment

Before signing a lease or purchasing a property for your restaurant, it’s crucial to evaluate the space thoroughly. Engaging a professional engineer at this stage can save you from future headaches. They’ll assess:

• Access to utilities such as electrical power, natural gas, domestic water, and sanitary connections.
• Municipal requirements and code compliance.
• Structural and accessibility considerations, including rooftop access and ventilation pathways.

This proactive approach helps you avoid costly surprises and ensures the space aligns with your needs.

2. Interior Design and Planning

Once you’ve secured the property, it’s time to translate your concept into a functional layout. This is where an interior designer or architect steps in. They’ll work with you to create an optimized design for your restaurant’s aesthetics and workflow. Key steps include:

• Collaborating with a kitchen consultant for efficient appliance and equipment layout.
• Sending the preliminary design to the Health Department for approval. Minor changes, like relocating a hand sink, are often requested to meet hygiene standards.

After the Health Department’s input, the architect finalizes the design for building permit submission, ensuring all regulatory requirements are met.

3. Engineering

Once the layout is finalized, mechanical, electrical, and structural engineers take over to design the systems that power your restaurant:

• Mechanical systems handle HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) and kitchen ventilation.
• Electrical systems include lighting, power distribution, fire alarms, and automation.
• Plumbing systems ensure proper water supply, drainage, and grease management.

In areas prone to seismic activity, a structural engineer evaluates the building’s integrity to meet earthquake safety standards. 

4. Building Permit

Applying for a building permit is a critical step and can take 2–12 weeks depending on your municipality. During this time:

• The city reviews the design for safety and code compliance.
• Additional documentation, such as kitchen ventilation forms, may be required.

It’s important to wait for the permit before starting construction, as unauthorized work can lead to delays or penalties. In some cases, a demolition permit may be issued and attained earlier to expedite the project.

5. Construction and Project Management

Construction begins after the building permit is approved. A general contractor (GC), often supported by subcontractors, manages the project. A reputable contractor ensures:

• Efficient scheduling to minimize delays.
• Compliance with design specifications and inspections.
• Collaboration with engineers and architects for seamless execution.

While it may be tempting to choose the lowest bidder, an experienced contractor can save you months of delays, maximizing revenue potential during the critical final months of your lease. Seek verifiable references before awarding the project.  Your engineers and/or architects can assist you in making the selection. 

On average I have seen 4-6 months of easily avoidable delays – that is how late your opening will be. Now instead of counting the revenue of the initial months, I would advise to be fair to your self and add up the lost revenue of the final months of the lease… This is months 55 to 60 on the 5-year lease. Invariably, these will be your highest revenue months, and the amount is substantial to justify the extra added expense of a qualified contractor.

Certain milestones will be identified, and it is reasonable to expect a construction schedule from the general contractor. The architects and engineers can schedule their site reviews based on the project pan. The engineers and architects must be aware of the progress, as they have provided assurance to the city and are legally obligated to conduct field reviews for general compliance of the drawings. Any changes the contractor might have must be executed after the engineer reviews and issues direction.

One thing to remember is Engineers and architects have your interest at the top. They are morally and contractually required to fend for your interest. So – get them involved in the process. They will ensure you are getting what you paid for.

KEY MILESTONES

1. Identifying the property and checking if the site would work. It could be seriously undersized on electrical power, sanitary main or the water connection.
2. Prepare plans and engineering drawings.
3. Tendering the drawings to get competitive pricing.
4. Award of the project
5. Building Permit application along with a full set of required documentation
6. Start-up meeting and Construction Schedule and Project Plan
7. Shop drawing submission to the engineers
8. Demolition and excavation
9. Inspection of below-grade piping and systems.
10. Inspection of all piping, electrical rough-ins before the walls are boarded up.
11. Inspection of all ducting and in-ceiling installations before the ceiling is installed.
12. Inspection of all fire-stopping of all penetrations in fire-rated walls.
13. Substantial completion.
14. Final inspection for fire safety and general completion.

Mechanical and Electrical Engineering

1. HVAC Systems

Design of HVAC systems would include general HVAC (Heating Ventilation and Air-Conditioning) systems. Generally, restaurants have a high density of people in them. High occupancies require adequate outdoor/ treated air as required by ASHRAE. Air from the washrooms would be required to be exhausted. Energy or Heat Recovery Ventilators provide an effective way to recoup the energy/heat which otherwise would go waste.

2. Commercial Kitchen Ventilation

Design of Commercial Kitchen ventilation: Most kitchens have grease-laden vapours to be exhausted. These grease-laden vapours are prone to catching fire and therefore must be exhausted through special exhaust hoods governed by NFPA 96. It could be a lot of air which needs to be exhausted, which brings in the need for make-up air. In colder climates, this outdoor / treated air needs to be treated. There is various way to achieve this. With multiple hoods or larger hoods, it could be a lot of airflows taken out via the kitchen exhaust hood/canopy. Demand ventilation is a smart way to control the exhaust and corresponding make-up air which will control the amount of air with heat sensors. ASHRAE 90.1 will soon mandate demand ventilation for all exhaust systems.

3. Fire Suppression Systems

NFPA compliant hoods which deal with grease laden vaours (fire hazard), also called Type 1 hood, also require to have a wet chemical fire suppression systems that sprays “an aqueous solution of organic salts” to knock down flame and cool the area around the fire. These are designed according to the actual appliances under the hood – providing a nozzle for each appliance.  If you change the appliance, chances are the nozzle serving it would need to be changed as well. This system requires annual testing. Some spaces will have sprinklers which might need to be modified to suit the new layout. Hydraulic calculations and sprinkler layouts might be required.

Here is a good simulation of how the system works in Ansul System. The automatic wet chemical is much more effetive than the conventional fire man’s fire blankets and dry powder fire extinguishng (Ansul versus handheld fire extinguisher). Maintaining this system is as important as having one.  Monthly visual inspections can be done by the restairant owners or managers themselves, while you must get a licensed technician to perform every 6 months. 

What happens when a fire occurs? 

• When he system is tripped (automatically by actual fire or manually with the pull station), it will automatically shut off the gas valve and electrical source under the hood, thus eliminating the fuel source of the fire.
• The fires mostly will continue to burn and spread even after the gas has been shut off. This is why restaurant fire suppression systems have that second component — a series of nozzles installed in the hood over your cooking station. 
• The nozzles will discharge the wet chemical fire suppressant. This suppressant is specially developed to suppress grease fires and prevent them from re-igniting. 
• Finally, the kitchen hood exhaust fan will start to remove smoke from the kitchen. 

4. Electrical Systems

Lighting layout, power layout, fire alarm layout will be done by the electrical engineer. The interlocking of fans, equipment voltages, automation and power to any of the controls will be coordinated with the mechanical engineer.

5. Plumbing Systems

Design of Plumbing Systems would include general plumbing – domestic cold and hot water, sizing and selection of domestic water heaters and boosters, sanitary and adequate venting.

Almost all restaurants have to grease-laden sewage, and the grease and fats must be captured by Grease Interceptors before being discharged to the municipal / city’s sanitary mains. WHY? Check out here…

Final Thoughts

Opening a restaurant involves a complex interplay of design, engineering, and construction. By assembling the right team of professionals—engineers, architects, designers, and contractors—you can streamline the process and create a functional, compliant, and appealing space. Investing in expertise now will pay off in efficiency, safety, and long-term success.