Like any other type of business, restaurants sometimes need some updating and renovation. Interiors get dated, local tastes change, and populations evolve. If you buy an existing restaurant, you may want to remodel everything inside and out. Making significant changes requires careful planning and capable, professional partners. You’re almost guaranteed to run into things that you didn’t think about in the early stages. These handy tips can help prepare you for the challenges ahead.

Get Input from Your Patrons

Before you make any decisions about the new look of your restaurant, talk to the most important people involved, your customers. Listen to their thoughts about these things for example.

• How comfortable is your seating?
• How easy is it to access restrooms?
• Do customers find the location of counters, serving stations, and drink fountains convenient?
• Does traffic move through your drive-through area easily?
• Do you have enough parking?

This input helps guide you when you need to make a decision about how to spend your renovation dollars.

Restaurant Renovation Is Not a Hands-Off Project

Plan to spend a great deal of time on the renovation of your restaurant. You have too much at stake to be an absentee proprietor. If you aren’t around while the work is taking place, you may not be happy with the result when all is said and done. Spend time on site while contractors are present, and ask questions about anything that you don’t understand. Your restaurant is how you and your employees make your living after all. It’s worth every minute you spend to make sure your vision is realized.

The Project Always Goes Over Budget

No matter how hard you try, your restaurant renovation is bound to run into complications that can wreck your budget. Building codes may require something you didn’t anticipate, the price of building materials can shoot up, or you might find a structural issue that you didn’t know about. You may find it helpful to develop two different budgets. One represents what you’d like to spend, and one is what you can spend if it becomes necessary. If you find that they are very close to the same, see if you can trim back the dollars you’d like to spend so that you have a significant cushion between the two numbers.

Keep the Focus on What Matters

Focus on the things that bring you the most bang for your buck rather than just what’s shiny and new. Just like with a home remodel, certain changes are more valuable than others over the long term. For example, lights and flooring make a big difference in the look and feel of your restaurant. Even if you can’t afford to change them out in their entirety, consider making changes in the entryway and other areas that make a first impression on your guests. Changing the color scheme or brightening up the paint outside and inside are other improvements that are less expensive but big on impact.

Choose Your Partners Wisely

Restaurant renovation is different than remodeling other types of property, so choose a contractor with specialized knowledge in this field. Tech 24 Construction has all the experience and skill you need. With a staff of more than 200 professionals and more than 120 skilled craftsmen, Tech 24 Construction can handle everything from a complete renovation to a build-out project with speed and quality. We pride ourselves on honest, upfront pricing with full disclosure about any complications we anticipate. Contact us today and let’s get started.