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restaurant renovation

OPENUU
In Blog

How to Come up with a Restaurant Design Budget

Whether you’ve previously started a well-designed restaurant or are new to the industry, you are probably aware to just how vital of a role costs and budgeting play in your overall success. In many commercial spaces, there is a limited ability to make major changes or additions, meaning that the design of your restaurant must be able to fit within predetermined layouts and budgets.

To make the most out of your restaurant design budget, utilize the following tips and boldly move forward to design the restaurant of your dreams.

Why Budgeting and Design Experts Go Hand in Hand

The ultimate goal of any restaurant is to stand out amongst the crowd. To do so, many restaurant developers assume that they will need a large budget to work with to create a truly unique concept and customer experience. However, when you choose to work with a restaurant design team, you can stretch a modest budget further than you may have thought. Restaurant design experts know how to work around challenging spaces to showcase your concept, streamline renovations, and address any design obstacles that could be costly.

Designing with the Future in Mind

Whether you’re aiming to create a stand-alone restaurant or eventually break out into a chain, it’s important that you utilize your budget to avoid future problems. It’s better to make sure that you get the job done right the first time, rather than experience costly mistakes due to poor budgeting and design during your initial planning.

Restaurant Design Budget in the Kitchen

For the most part, a large chunk of any restaurant design budget will be used to repurpose and create a best-in-class kitchen. The kitchen is the heart of any successful restaurant, with plenty of moving parts that chefs and servers alike rely upon to keep service running smoothly. From plumbing to powering gas ranges, there are plenty of costs to consider when designing your kitchen. This should include a fund for inevitable repairs of large-scale commercial kitchen equipment.

How Much of Your Overall Budget Should Be Put Aside for Restaurant Design?

According to Aaron Allen & Associates, restaurant developers often spend around 10% of their construction budget on the design and planning of the restaurant. Additionally, they find that the cost of building a restaurant to be anywhere between $85 and $300 per square foot, but costs can increase as your restaurant uses more high-end materials, as are often used in fine dining establishments.

If you’re working within a set budget for your restaurant, discuss your options with a professional design studio who can help you avoid obstacles and bring your restaurant concept to life cost-effectively. For more information on creating a restaurant design budget for your future best-in-class dining establishment, contact us.

OBJECTUU
In Blog

5 Costs to Include in Your Restaurant Renovation Budget

The call to renovate comes more often for restaurateurs than for other businesses. There’s so much that hinges on your restaurant’s aesthetic appeal that you can’t hope to get by with repairs.

Also, people tend to be drawn to restaurants that keep up with architectural and interior design trends.  If you hope to keep attracting customers, you need to plan for regular renovations.

The first part of renovating involves understanding what needs to be done and creating a budget that fits the bill. The big question is, how do you create the perfect budget to avoid running out of money? Stick around to find out.

Restaurant Renovation Costs to Budget for

Here are the most common costs you need to include in your restaurant renovation budget:

1. Contractor Costs

Labor costs will occupy a significant part of your budget. Generally, remodeling costs run from about $200 to $250 per square foot. However, there are many factors that could make you pay higher or lower.

For example, the size of your restaurant, the amount of work required, and the equipment they need to use affect how much you spend. Plus, a restaurant in Washington DC will cost more to renovate than another one in a small town.

You can work with a designer from the beginning for tips on what to spend more money on and what you can spend less on.  

2. Materials

Materials typically cover every hard surface you have to renovate.  For example, epoxy flooring costs in 2021 ranged from $1,407 to $2,942 while professional installation cost $3 to $12 per square foot. Hardwood floorings cost $6 to $12 per square foot. It also matters how the wood has been treated –such as engineered versus solid and so on. You also need to think about whether the floor needs preparation work.

Additionally, consider whether your restaurant renovation requires buying new furniture or refurbishing the old ones, any new art you may need to buy, and how the make of each of these things affects the cost.

Your contractor can guide you on costs, quality, and stores that give discounts. Do some homework too and compare different prices for everything you need before you lay down the costs.

3. Opportunity Costs When Closed

Major structural changes in a restaurant usually render it inoperable for a while. Smaller ones, like those that affect just one section, may also make it impossible for you to do business as usual.

For example, you can’t keep cooking in a kitchen under renovation. That means the lifeline of your restaurant will be cut off for a while. If it’s only the dining area, you may have to resort to take-out.

The point is to estimate how much you’ll miss out on sales and reservations for that period and plan for it. There’s good news though. Restaurant sales go up from 10 to 20% after renovations.  

4. Utilities

If you’re adding a new section, you need to consider the cost of utilities such as plumbing, electrical wiring, and exhaust systems.

Kitchen restaurant design cost can take up to 75% of the total budget. If you’re doing an overhaul, plan for $300 to $500 per square foot.

Commercial plumbers charge an average of $85 per hour, and an additional cost followed by 15-minute increments after the first hour. They also charge service call-out fees ranging from $50 to $150 and travel fees of $1 to $2 for each mile after traveling for ten miles.

You can use the renovation as an excuse to go green and save money on your budget and in the long term. These include lower flow fixtures while you remodel the bathroom and LED lighting fixtures.

5. Permits

Renovation permits are much cheaper compared to other renovation costs. Your contractor can let you know which ones you need according to your state’s requirements.

Typically, you need a building permit when you’re adding floors or structures. This permits costs anywhere between $50 and $1,000 depending on the age of the building and location. 

In Conclusion

The safest way to plan your budget is always on the higher side to cover unforeseen costs. Plan for the renovation during low seasons such as winter when you’re more likely to get cheaper quotations from contractors.

Better yet, enlist a designer who understands the restaurant scene so they’ll help you capitalize on aspects that will make every dollar you spend worth it.

OPENUU is a design studio with more than 20 years of experience in architecture branding, and interior design. We help businesses like yours to combine design and function for the best results. Learn more.

OPENUU
In Blog, Renovation Resources

Reasons to Hire an Interior Designer to Help Design Your Restaurant

As a budding young chef you have worked hard to make it to the top. As you go to open your new restaurant you have carefully considered each item on your menu to make sure it is crafted to your exacting standards of quality and taste. But have you spent the same amount of time considering the design of your new restaurant?

Why Design Matters

The famous Ohio State University study confirmed restaurateurs worst fears when it reported that 60% of restaurants fail within the first year and a dramatic 80% fail within five. While naturally it is important to produce food of the highest caliber, it is equally important to provide a setting that encourages people to stay, socialize, and eat in your one of a kind space. A recent study published by the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management on why restaurant fail lists decor as a key reason many new businesses fold. The study concluded that design failures directly contributed to a competitive and economic loss. Many restaurateurs are not equipped to design for a specific space and “architectural limitations were found to be one of the major factors in restaurant failures especially in urban settings, and some of the architectural limitations in restaurants have even resulted in the greater failure of the business.”

How Hiring a Designer Can Help Your Restaurant Stay Competitive

As the study shows, restaurateurs need to be aware of the specific benefits and limitations of the space they have acquired for their new restaurant. By hiring an interior designerwith the ability to utilize the architectural elements of your space, you can maximize your competitive edge with a restaurant that combines excellent food with a dynamic design. Architectural Digests agrees that a beautiful design can sell a restaurant in their article on the 10 Most Beautifully Designed New Restaurants. Entrepreneur Magazine also offers some Low-Cost Ideas for restauranteurs looking to plan a design on a budget.

If you are looking for an innovative designer to help make your one of a kind restaurant a success, contact openUU.

OPENUU
In Blog, Renovation Resources

5 Things to Consider Before Starting Up a Restaurant

blog-openuu-5-things-restaurant

Of all the start up business ideas, starting up a restaurant is among the top when it comes to creativity. After all, the sky’s the limit when it comes to your restaurant’s concept, and your menu is as creative and thoughtful as your head chef. If your thinking about starting up a restaurant, here are the top 5 things you need to consider to make sure your restaurant is a success:

  1. Concept: The most important element of your restaurant is the concept. This is one of those areas that appears deceptively easy, but the reality is this requires a lot of thought and research. You want to make sure your concept is going to stand out among your local competition (i.e. avoid starting up an Italian restaurant if there are already an abundance in your area). You also don’t want to fall on the other extreme, which is developing a concept that is too avant-garde or otherwise “out there” that your local clientele just aren’t ready for. Do some research to determine what you can offer that is different from all the restaurants in your area.
  2. Work with a consultant: This goes hand-in-hand with the above step. Rather than take on the task of branding your restaurant yourself, hire a brand consultant to work with you to develop a strategy for branding your business based on your target audience and your goals for your restaurant. You’ll also want to work with a consultant for your interior design because, let’s face it, Your food can be the best in town, but you won’t get people in the door to try it without an inviting interior. Hire a professional interior designer who will work with your vision for your restaurant to develop an inviting design that will match your restaurant’s concept and encourage diners to come in. Designing your restaurant is one step that you shouldn’t take alone. A professional designer will have insight into current trends as well as what doesn’t work so that you can rest assured your restaurant’s design is unique but in line with current trends.
  3. Menu design: When people think of the menu, they often think just about the food on it. But how that food is organized and displayed is important for maintaining your concept. You want to make sure your menu is accessible and that its design makes sense within the concept of your restaurant. This is another step that can benefit from a professional eye who will already know what works and what doesn’t work, saving you time and money in the long run.
  4. Be accessible: Location is extremely important when it comes to opening a restaurant, and your success will largely depend on how easily people can get to your restaurant. It is important to strike a balance between the location (which brings you the foot traffic) and your overall budget. Without a high volume of traffic, your restaurant has little chance of getting people in the door. You also want to be accessible for your guests inside by having tables for large groups as well as tables for two. Your interior designer will work with you to develop an interior that flows while also including enough options for seating a variety of parties.
  5. Work with a head chef you trust and respect: Having unique quality food on the menu is one of the most important aspects of owning a restaurant, so you need to have a head chef that you trust and respect. Your chef will be responsible for overseeing the quality of the food and selecting menu options, so you need to hire someone who you believe will be able to create unique and memorable dishes that will keep people coming back for more.  You also want to hire a chef who you trust won’t cut corners when it comes to food safety and quality control in the kitchen.

For more ideas on what you need to do before you start up your restaurant, contact us today!