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

In just a short week after getting the permits, the restaurant has begun to take shape. The walls may only be metal studs, but the layout is defined. This is the point where you begin to wonder if you planned enough space in various areas. Everything looks smaller as the walls go up.

The kitchen looked very large. Now I am wondering if we may be cramming in too much equipment in the space we allowed. The restrooms look very small and the front of the house begins to close in. We must make the space more open by using decorative techniques.

Here is what has been completed to various degrees:

• All the rough plumbing for fixtures has been done. The water lines have been run through walls and ceiling structure.
• Main electric circuits have been run. Now it is a matter of running the various outlets and boxes to walls, equipment and lighting.
• Metal studs denote the walls, doorways and each separate area of the restaurant.

This week is critical to getting some major work done in order to open up before the end of the year. The hood and fireproofed ventilation requires all the trades. Electrician to run electric, hood contractor to place the hood, roofer to cut hole in the roof, fire protection company to run lines for Ansul system and plumber to run lies for automatic gas shutoff valves for gas supply.

The trick to getting all the work done is getting all the tradesmen scheduled in the proper order. That is the function of the general contractor. After each aspect has been completed, an inspection by the county is required before going to the next step. With the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, we hope to accomplish all the necessary parts in the right order.