How Smart Commercial Remodels Reduce Long-Term Repair Costs
Many commercial remodels focus on opening day. Fresh finishes, new layouts, and a polished look for customers.
As crucial as the food is to your restaurant, the appearance and overall layout of your restaurant is just as important to business success. If you’re hoping to remodel your restaurant kitchen and dining space, you’re likely already noting some current issues and possible solutions or you’re simply ready for a fresh space. Either way, our team at Titus Contracting has years of experience, and we’re here to help you learn how to remodel your restaurant the right way. Keep reading to learn our easy 5-step process so you can enjoy your new space in no time.
1. Design Goals: Recognize Your Motives for Remodeling
To remodel your restaurant the right way, you want to first decide why you want to make the change and figure out your design goals. You might have multiple reasons. Regardless of the reason(s), it’s helpful to figure out why you’d like a change to figure out how to best implement it.
Some of the top reasons for a restaurant remodel include:
- Enhancing the appearance of your current kitchen and dining space
- Keeping up with modern restaurant design trends
- Altering the ambiance to match a new name or ownership change
- Maximizing space to better utilize current and future customer growth
- Upgrading equipment, furniture, and decor to improve functionality and appearance
- Attracting new customers with a clean, fresh, and clutterless space
- Improving safety and accessibility standards
There are numerous reasons you may want your restaurant remodeling to take place, and knowing why you’re doing it can help you narrow down your design goals. Whether your restaurant is outdated or needs an entire structural alteration, your motives for remodeling are a crucial part of attracting more customers long-term.
2. Current Configurations: Learn What Works and What Doesn’t
After noting your motives for remodeling your restaurant, next up is deciding the configurations that work best for your space and goals—and what doesn’t. Consider the difficulties you’ve experienced in the past and present in terms of space, functionality, design, etc.
Some important things to consider regarding space and restaurant configurations include:
- Space for current customers and future business growth
- Building codes and safety compliance standards
- Kitchen space and functionality (storage, prep areas, equipment placement, etc.)
- Dining room versatility in your restaurant
- Restaurant patios and outdoor space design
- Functional and beautiful bar area placement with dining
Consider common commercial kitchen configurations, dining room setups, and more to ensure your restaurant is both practical and appears welcoming. Ask yourself if another layout might work better for your space to allow growth while meeting your current customer and staffing needs. Take note of what’s currently not working and needs to be fixed in your upcoming restaurant remodel.
Related Content: How to Design Your Commercial Kitchen Workflow
3. Remodeling Research: Gather Feedback and Project Information
Next up is the fun part. Talk to your staff and customers to gather feedback about potential ideas to make the space even better. What do they like about the current space? What don’t they like? What do they wish it had? Journey outside your restaurant to scope out other businesses to see what they are doing well and gather some ideas.
After finishing your in-person research, you can take your ideas to Pinterest and other remodeling websites to get an idea of what you’d like your new kitchen and dining space to look like. You can also talk to professionals who work in the restaurant remodeling industry to get their knowledgeable opinions on how you can utilize the space according to your needs.
4. Experienced Partner: Find a Great Restaurant Remodeling Contractor
Once you finish gathering ideas and have a game plan ready to go, the next step is finding an experienced partner. A restaurant remodeling contractors is one of the best options you can choose. With years of experience and expert knowledge in creating spaces in the food industry, you can’t go wrong with a great contractor.
Before going with just any restaurant remodeling contractor though, you want to ensure that they are able to meet your design and building needs. Here are a few qualifications and things to look for in your restaurant remodeler:
- Necessary building licensing for your area
- Proven track record in commercial projects and residential
- Knowledge in designing spaces in the restaurant and food service industry
- Portfolio of past restaurant remodeling projects with proven experience
- Consistent communication and transparency throughout the entire process
Choosing the right remodeling partner doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out process. If you want to make the process easy, our team at Titus Contracting has the restaurant remodeling experience necessary to enact your ideas properly. Curious to see our past work?
5. Project Timelines: Set a Timeline for Your Restaurant Remodel
Last but not least, focus on setting an appropriate timeline for your restaurant remodeling project. If you have a certain idea in mind for timing, make sure to talk to your contractor early so the project can take place during a slow time of the year. Typically, a project timeline is anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks depending on the scope of the project and larger projects can take up to 6 months, so it’s important to plan appropriately.
While some restaurants do a complete shutdown, others opt to section off certain areas to complete the work. Oftentimes, having a contractor come in to do the remodeling ensures that the work is completed quickly, efficiently, and done well the first time. If you have a set timeline that needs to be expedited, pulling in a professional contractor is the best way to meet deadlines while ensuring the most successful outcome.
When you set your timeline, consider questions such as:
- What areas of the restaurant need to be completed first?
- Is back of house more important or the dining area?
- Are you able to shut down the restaurant for remodeling efforts?
- What days can you shut down without inhibiting workflow too much?
- Are certain repairs able to be completed without shutting down?
These are all questions to consider or speak with your remodeling contractor about. Working with a professional is often the best way to overcome timing hurdles and ensure your project stays on schedule.
Complete Your Project Quickly with a Restaurant Remodeling Contractor
After learning how to remodel your restaurant the right way, contacting a professional can help you quickly meet your building and design goals. While some restaurants opt to remodel on their own, choosing a knowledgeable contractor is fast and easy compared to figuring everything out on your own. If you’d like help making your restaurant design dreams a reality, contact our team at Titus Contracting to get started. We have years of restaurant remodeling services at Titus Contracting and come with years of experience working in restaurants, bars, and more.
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Titus Contracting is a full-service remodeling company offering commercial and residential construction. We have an office in Burnsville, Minnesota and work throughout the Twin Cities.
