Restaurant Design And Fit-Out Checklist

Restaurant design offers a long list of potential pitfalls that can have an irreversible impact on a restaurant’s future success. Our restaurant design checklist is designed to help you save on stress, time and money - whether you are managing the project yourself, or hiring a professional restaurant interior designer to do it for you.

The restaurant design checklist:

1. Get smart with your budget

Space and fixtures really add up. Plus, it’s easy to forget the cost of filling, staffing and operating your restaurant. Smaller spaces often require getting creative, bit you don’t want to sacrifice customer comfort in an effort to maximise covers.

2. Hire wisely

Make sure that you have a solid design and set of drawings to work from and experienced sub-contractors to work with. You need sub-contractors familiar with working specifically in bar and restaurant refurbishment.

3. Know the cost of the fit-out

Have your eyes wide open when it comes to cost. Even if you’re taking on a space that’s operated as a bar or restaurant, fit outs do not come cheap. For a bare shell conversion costs can easily hit £1,500 a square metre depending on the scope of work, fittings, fixtures and finish.

4. Be realistic with time-scales

Be sceptical if your sub-contractors tell you they’ll have the work done in a couple of weeks. With strip out and full refurbishment that’s just not going to happen. Allow on average 6-8 weeks and be mindful all the while that unforeseen circumstances may still cause delay. Build in contingency and request that all important rent-free period when negotiating the terms of your lease.

5. Permissions & regulations

Get clued up on all the environmental health, planning and building regulations before you start anything. Permissions take time to come through, but you won’t do yourself any favours beginning work without them. You’ll be hit with penalties and delay - delay being the most expensive penalty of all.

6. Approach used catering equipment with caution

Think twice and then some before you opt for used catering equipment. It may be cheaper initially but where are the warranties? Will the equipment meet current regulations? And if needs be will you get support?

Get help from the experts

While it is possible to get your restaurant design and fit-out right when considering all of the above, you can ensure more peace of mind by choosing restaurant design experts to manage your project. Get in touch with Designrock today to discuss your restaurant interior design project and discuss how we can help.