Starting, Owning and Marketing A Restaurant Blog|Starting and Owning a Restaurant - Construction, Planning, Marketing, Opening and Managing a New Restaurant

On Wednesday, December 24th, we had four inspections that went very well.  Electrical, plumbing, chemical and HVAC are all done and passed by the county. Tomorrow, Monday December 28th, we have our hood inspection, fire suppression system inspection and building inspection. After all three of those are done and passed, we can get our Certificate of Occupancy.

The final step is to have an inspection by the state of Florida, Hotels and Restaurant Division, which issues the license to operate as a restaurant. We will schedule the state on Wednesday. At that point we need a full week, minimum, in the kitchen perfecting recipes, procedures and prep work.

Its hard to believe that the last six months have gone by so quickly in retrospect. However, it seemed very slow at the time. We are six weeks behind our projected opening date.

Opening a new restaurant is no easy task. If possible, always buy an existing restaurant if remotely possible. You can save time and money in most instances. Of course,  the mitigating factors such as location, amount of remodeling and type of structure must be considered in the equation.

As you can tell by the dates on the posts, it has been several days since we detailed what has occurred. All I can say is that it is almost a 24 hour a day project as the final stages approach. The image to the right shows the restaurant on the day before Christmas. Is has been one crisis after another to try to get open prior to the end of the year.

On Monday, December 22, 2008, we made the decision that it would be impossible to open before year end. Inspections, slow contractors, details and regulations combined to dash our hopes. The new opening target is the first week of January.

For those of you opening a restaurant for the first time, here is a list of things that occur in the final stages to try to avoid:

• The contractors start pulling off the job to start others. They know they have you about done and there is little you can do penalize them for the delays they create as work crews get smaller.
• Inspections become extremely detailed. Any changes must be clearly noted on your plan and approved by the building department or you may fail the inspection. Moving walls, changing sizes of rooms, installing extra electric outlets and even more safety or fireproofing protection requires scrutiny by the regulators.
• Tradesmen become agitated working around each other, even though one or more of them have created their own problems by pulling workmen off the job. Plumbers don’t like working around electricians, electricians don’t want to work around finishing carpenters, HVAC people don’t want to work around anyone!
• Deadlines become scrambled due to scheduling issues. For instance, the people installing the fire suppression system in the kitchen are dependent on the electricians to wire the shutoff valves. HVAC cannot be tested until they electric gets their final inspection. Ceiling installers can’t finish their work until until the HVAC is done with their duct work. Tile cannot be completed until the plumbers are done. And the list of scheduling conflicts goes on and on!
• We learned quickly that codes change almost monthly. If you built a restaurant a year ago, don’t think you cans use the same building standards today. We discovered that things that have never been required in the past are being added constantly. The costs, time delays and changes to plans may create operating issues.

The goals now are to get our final inspections and our Certificate of Occupancy, commonly known as a “CO”. This is a permit that allows you to occupy the building safely and you have met the code requirements. Does this mean you can open? No. It means you can now apply for your city or state permits for a restaurant and go for another round of inspections. That is where we are - on the night before Christmas.

The photo shows how much detail goes into a building and restaurant as it takes shape. Notice the fire separation ceiling about 2 feet above the grid for the drop-in ceiling. The electrical work and HVAC is about 75% done. The view is from the front table area and booths will be to the left. The kitchen is at the rear to the right.

We still have hopes of opening for at least a day or two before the year ends. It looks like an impossibility, but if you look at the detail that has been accomplished since the previous photo update a few days ago, the project is moving quickly. The issue is whether we can get all the inspections and permits as quickly as we need them.

Bureaucracy is alive and well in Florida. The inspection and permitting struggles have been detailed in previous posts. Now, with the holidays approaching, it will be interesting to see if the various agencies become even more difficult to communicate with.

It’s taking shape! The past few days have been so busy on the work site that, at times, it was hard to keep up with the questions and which workers were doing what. In a perfect world, you generally try not to mix certain trades with others. Electricians and plumbers don’t like working around each other. Drywall installers don’t like to work around ceiling people. However, when you are six weeks behind your projected schedule, you do what is necessary.

The accomplishments include;

• All walls roughed in and ready for finish work.
• All electric run and fixtures to be installed today.
• Data wiring and cable wiring for POS and Internet connections installed.
• Counters ordered, Formica chosen and all should be installed by the weekend.
• Ceiling grid in and waiting on lighting in dining area.
• Stainless steel and FRP started on walls in the kitchen.

While progress is at a fast pace, here are a few problem areas to avoid when building or remodeling a new restaurant;

• Equipment and supplies that you thought was available quickly and/or locally sometimes follows Murphy’s Law. In our case the table tops we had hoped to acquire were not available as a result of defective resins. We had to order a slightly darker color.
• Building inspectors take sick days, vacation and time off. That means an inspector who has been on location for several visits becomes familiar with the project. If he or she takes a day off, a new inspector creates problems because of the lack of familiarity. Discuss this with the inspectors.
• Make sure one inspection doesn’t cause the project to come to a halt until it is done. For instance, there is a screw inspection that requires the inspectors to make certain there are the correct number of screws for the product being used. Nothing can be placed over the screws until they are inspected - no taping, no drywall mud, no paint or paneling. That can stop your progress immediately!
• Don’t expect your General Contractor to know each and every detail of your plan for the restaurant. Contractors may not like your constant vigil of their work, but you can avoid many delays and problems by being on the site as much as possible.

By the end of the weekend we should be ready to finish the flooring and start accepting equipment as early as Tuesday next week. An update will follow in a day or so with pictures.

This past week or more has been a whirlwind of progress (finally). Here is a list of achievements;

• With the exception of the fan on the roof, the hood is in. It passed inspection and the fireproof duct work is completed.
• The fireproof tenant separation ceiling is up, taped and “mudded”. Waiting for inspection tomorrow, Monday, December 8, 2008.
• The electrical circuits are run and passed the rough-in inspection. The wall electrical inspection, which allows us to close all walls, should be inspected Monday.
• All walls are drywalled on one side and waiting for the electrical inspection to cover other side.
• As of last night a crew was completing some floor tile work in customer visible areas.

The items above may not seem like a big move forward, but you must consider we are dealing with 1800 square feet of space. That means when the restaurant contractors put the ceilings, tile and electrical into the location, the contractors are covering front to back.

This week should complete 90% of the rough-in construction. We have a schedule that looks like this:

• Monday - get electrical inspection. Begin covering rest of walls. Starting ceiling grid for drop-in ceiling tiles. Get final inspection on fireproofed ceiling separation. Order and construction of all counter tops.
• Tuesday - Complete wall covering and drywall mudding and taping after screw inspection. Complete drop-in ceiling. Install data wiring for POS system, phone and cable.
• Wednesday - Finish office space to begin putting up shelving, work space and computer locations. Start kitchen and bathroom floor tile. Grid system for ceiling complete for electrician to begin installing lighting.
• Thursday - Complete office and storeroom. Finish all flooring. Finish all electrical. Do wall finishing with primer and “knockdown” coat. Install FRP in kitchen. Plumber to starting final connections including gas piping. Wi-fi system in office.
• Friday - Paint walls final teal color and install wood beadboard. Start scheduling delivery of restaurant booths and equipment for following week.
• Saturday - Install baseboard. All counters installed. Office completed and operating with filing shelving and accounting computer. Start decorative shelving and finish work for interior.
• Sunday - Have restaurant cleaning crew come in and do complete cleaning before booths and equipment start arriving following week. Install video security system.

While all of the above work deals primarily with construction, during the coming week we will also;

• Order all remaining restaurant equipment to be purchased by Wednesday. Remember we have already purchased a lot of the kitchen equipment as we found bargains.
• Place a smallwares order for delivery early the following week.
• Purchase stainless shelving and install Friday or Saturday in kitchen.
• Schedule delivery and setup of POS system, beverage machines and cleaning system installation.
• Complete menu and testing. Start working on inventory initial order.
• Start interviewing potential employees late in the week. Process to continue until open.
• Complete forms and all filing and background office system.

If we have any chance to open before year end, next week will be the determining factor.