MEP Engineering for Restaurants and Commercial Kitchens

Restaurants are our most common project type. A restaurant permit set has more moving parts per square foot than any other building: hood exhaust and makeup air, a gas riser, a grease interceptor, equipment power, refrigeration and a dining room that has to stay comfortable while the kitchen runs at full tilt. We have designed dozens of them, from 1,100 square foot bubble tea shops to full-service restaurants inside casinos, and for franchise brands rolling out multiple locations.

What usually goes wrong, and how we prevent it

• The hood and makeup air do not balance. We size exhaust from the hood vendor’s listing, provide makeup air that keeps the kitchen slightly negative to the dining room, and show the interlocks on the drawings.
• The gas service is too small. We total the cook line, water heater and rooftop units early and coordinate the meter upgrade with the utility before the schedule depends on it.
• The grease interceptor has no room. We size it and locate it before the plumbing rough-in, inside or outside, and coordinate the detail with the sewer authority and health department.
• The electrical service cannot carry the equipment. We build the equipment schedule into the Article 220 calculation and confirm the service with the utility, which is often the longest lead item on the project.
• The plan examiner wants what the health department did not ask for, and vice versa. We prepare both submissions from the same drawings and answer both sets of comments.

Types of restaurant work

• Franchise and quick-service rollouts adapted from the brand prototype
• Full-service restaurants and bars, including kitchens inside casinos, hotels and mixed-use buildings
• Ghost kitchens, commissaries and food halls with multiple vendors on shared systems
• Tenant fit-outs in strip retail and base buildings with landlord-provided HVAC and utilities
• Renovations and equipment changes in operating restaurants