A restaurant buildout costs $200 to $400 per square foot. A fast-casual chain in a second-generation space lands closer to $200. A full-service kitchen with a Type I hood, walk-in cooler, grease interceptor, and a bar program lands closer to $400. A Michelin-aspiring concept with custom millwork can run higher. The variance comes from scope, not from labor rate. This playbook is what to include in your bid so you neither overprice yourself out of the job nor underprice yourself into a loss.
BuildCrux is contractor management software with an AI estimating engine that handles full PDF drawing sets and auto-surfaces the project-type-specific scope tail (grease, hood suppression, refrigeration, FOG management) most generic estimators miss. The numbers in this playbook come from the same unit-cost catalog the engine ships with, calibrated for restaurant TI work in 2026.
Why restaurant bids go wrong
Restaurant TI is the highest-failure-rate commercial bid class for first-time contractors. Four reasons.
You estimated kitchen scope at office-TI rates
A kitchen is not an office with a sink. Plumbing rough-in alone runs 2 to 3 times the per-square-foot cost of standard commercial because of the floor sinks, the indirect waste, the gas piping, the booster heater, and the dishwasher hookups. Apply office-TI plumbing rates to a 1,200 sqft kitchen and you are $30K to $50K under.
You forgot grease management entirely
Most municipalities require a grease interceptor (interior or exterior), and the size is dictated by fixture count and meal volume. Interior grease traps run $3K to $8K. Exterior interceptors with required vault and tie-in run $15K to $40K depending on lot conditions. If your bid does not break out grease management, you missed it.
You priced the hood without the make-up air system
A Type I hood is the visible part. The cost is in the supply (make-up air unit, ductwork) and the suppression (Ansul system, gas shut-off, fire alarm tie-in). A complete hood package runs $25K to $60K for a single hood line. Bidding the hood at the metal-cost-per-foot is a $30K mistake.
You did not coordinate with the FFE list
Restaurants are FFE-heavy. Walk-in coolers, freezers, ice machines, prep tables, ranges, fryers, dishwashers, refrigeration. Some FFE comes from the operator (owner-supplied), some comes from the GC (contractor-supplied), and the line is not always clear. Get the split wrong and you either bid for equipment the operator is providing or skip equipment the operator expects you to provide.
The BuildCrux Method for Restaurant TI
Five disciplines applied in order. The same five-pillar framework that runs through every BuildCrux estimate, applied to restaurant scope.
Accurate Estimating
Take off the full set: floor plan, kitchen equipment plan, plumbing, mechanical (with hood schedule), electrical (with panel schedule), fire protection, finish schedule. Apply restaurant-specific unit costs (commercial kitchen plumbing rates, hood + Ansul package, grease interceptor sized to fixture count). Surface the FFE list and explicitly mark each line owner-supplied or contractor-supplied.
- Restaurant-specific unit costs separated from office TI rates
- Hood + Ansul + make-up air bid as a complete package
- Grease interceptor sized to fixture count automatically
- FFE owner-supplied vs contractor-supplied flagged on every line
Structured Planning
Restaurant schedules are inspection-driven. Plumbing rough inspection, gas pressure test, hood Ansul drop test, health department final, fire marshal final. The phase plan needs to bake those inspection windows in or the schedule slips by weeks. Estimate output rolls into a phase plan with inspections as gating milestones.
- Inspection milestones as gating phase boundaries
- Long-lead items (walk-in coolers, custom millwork) flagged at bid time
- Operator-driven dates (rent commencement, soft opening) baked into schedule
Controlled Execution
Track quantity install against the takeoff baseline. Drywall, ceiling tile, FRP wall panels, kitchen flooring (urethane or quarry tile), hood install, refrigeration line set. Variance per scope surfaces in week two, not at close-out. Daily logs reference the scheduled phase so the project manager always knows what should be on site that day.
- Per-scope variance reporting from week one
- Daily logs tied to scheduled inspection phases
- Photo documentation against estimate line items
Change Order Management
Restaurant operators change scope mid-project. They add a beverage station. They upgrade the bar finish. They swap a range for a wok. The CO process pulls unit costs from the original estimate, ships a customer-facing summary in three minutes, and updates the contract value, the schedule, and the FFE schedule on approval.
- COs inherit unit costs from baseline estimate
- Customer e-sign updates contract value automatically
- FFE schedule syncs on every approved CO
Financial Visibility
Restaurant TI margins are 12 to 18% on solid bids. The kitchen scope is the highest-risk and highest-reward portion. Live margin per phase tells you whether the kitchen is paying for itself or eating the FOH profit. QuickBooks two-way sync closes the actuals loop and surfaces the operator's payment behavior so you know which restaurant chains pay and which drag.
- Live margin per phase, with kitchen broken out from FOH
- QuickBooks sync surfaces operator payment behavior across projects
- Profitability dashboards refresh on every sync
Cost benchmarks by restaurant type
These benchmarks are 2026 numbers for a Sun Belt metro market. Adjust up 15 to 25% for high-cost coastal markets and 10 to 15% for union markets. Always validate against a real measured takeoff.
| Restaurant type | Cost per sqft | Typical sqft | Total range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick service / fast casual (2nd gen space) | $180 to $250 | 1,500 to 2,500 | $270K to $625K |
| Quick service / fast casual (cold dark shell) | $220 to $320 | 1,500 to 2,500 | $330K to $800K |
| Casual full service (2nd gen) | $220 to $300 | 3,000 to 5,000 | $660K to $1.5M |
| Casual full service (cold dark shell) | $280 to $360 | 3,000 to 5,000 | $840K to $1.8M |
| Upscale / fine dining (cold dark shell) | $340 to $475 | 4,000 to 6,500 | $1.4M to $3.1M |
| Bar-forward concept (cold dark shell) | $320 to $440 | 3,000 to 5,000 | $960K to $2.2M |
| Coffee shop (2nd gen) | $160 to $230 | 1,000 to 1,800 | $160K to $415K |
| Ghost kitchen / cloud kitchen | $140 to $220 | 500 to 1,500 | $70K to $330K |
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Get StartedTraditional vs BuildCrux Approach
| Dimension | Traditional Estimating | BuildCrux Method |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen scope detail | Office-TI rates applied generically | Restaurant-specific unit costs (plumbing, hood, refrigeration) |
| Grease management | Often missed entirely | Auto-sized to fixture count |
| Hood package | Hood metal cost only | Complete hood + Ansul + make-up air bid as one line |
| FFE coordination | Verbal split with operator | Owner-supplied vs contractor-supplied flagged on every line |
| Inspection scheduling | Manual rebuild after bid | Inspection milestones as schedule gates |
| Bid time | 2 to 3 days manual | 8 to 12 minutes streaming |
| Reusability | One-off per restaurant | Catalog learns from every estimate |
Case study: 2,800 sqft fast-casual
A regional fast-casual chain wanted bids for a 2,800 sqft cold dark shell buildout in a Dallas suburb. Drawing set was 45 sheets including kitchen equipment plan with 23 pieces of FFE, a Type I hood, an interior grease interceptor, and a beverage program. The chain bids three GCs against each other on every site.
BuildCrux produced a $782,400 estimate in 9 minutes 14 seconds with 41 line items. The estimate broke out kitchen plumbing ($68,200), hood + Ansul + make-up air ($47,800), interior grease trap ($6,100), refrigeration line set ($14,400), and FFE-supply split (operator-supplied 17 items, GC-supplied 6 items). The contractor adjusted three line items based on local sub pricing and submitted a $789,500 bid. Won the job at $279/sqft against bids from two competitors at $311/sqft and $325/sqft.
Why operators trust BuildCrux GCs
Restaurant operators bid three or more GCs on every site. The bid that wins is the bid that looks like the GC has done this before. BuildCrux estimates surface restaurant-specific scope automatically, break out FFE owner-supplied versus contractor-supplied explicitly, and produce a customer-facing summary the operator can hand to their CFO. That is what credibility looks like to a restaurant chain.
Pricing starts at $39/month for solo contractors and $149/month for crews, with commercial credits priced at $25 each in overage. A restaurant TI estimate costs the GC about $4 in AI; competitor estimating tools charge $500 to $2,000 per estimate. The math works.
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Learn moreFrequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build out a restaurant?+
Restaurant buildouts cost $180 to $475 per square foot depending on concept type, kitchen complexity, and whether the space is second-generation or cold dark shell. Quick-service and fast-casual run $180 to $320. Casual full-service runs $220 to $360. Upscale and bar-forward concepts run $320 to $475.
What is the difference between a second-generation restaurant space and a cold dark shell?+
A second-generation space previously housed a restaurant and has existing kitchen rough-in, hood, grease interceptor, and MEP. A cold dark shell has bare slab and exterior walls only. Cost per square foot differs by $50 to $100 because of the kitchen scope you inherit in 2nd gen.
How long does a restaurant buildout take?+
Typical restaurant buildouts run 12 to 24 weeks from permit to certificate of occupancy. Second-generation spaces run 8 to 14 weeks. Inspections (plumbing rough, hood Ansul drop test, health department final, fire marshal final) drive the schedule more than construction velocity does.
What is included in a restaurant buildout estimate?+
Demolition, framing, drywall, ceilings, FRP wall panels, kitchen flooring, doors, paint, plumbing (with commercial kitchen rates), HVAC, hood + make-up air + Ansul, grease interceptor, electrical, refrigeration line set, fire protection, FFE coordination (owner-supplied vs contractor-supplied), permits, general conditions, and overhead and profit.
Who pays for restaurant FFE: the operator or the contractor?+
It depends on the contract. Most operators self-supply the major equipment (walk-in coolers, ranges, fryers, refrigeration units) and the contractor supplies installation labor and connection (gas, electrical, water tie-in). Smaller equipment and built-ins (prep tables, hand sinks, custom millwork) are typically contractor-supplied. Always specify on the bid.
How much should I budget for a Type I hood and Ansul system?+
A complete hood package (hood, ductwork, make-up air unit, exhaust fan, Ansul fire suppression with gas shut-off and fire alarm tie-in) runs $25,000 to $60,000 for a single hood line in a typical commercial restaurant. Custom or oversized hoods can run higher. Never bid the hood metal cost without the supporting systems.
Do I need a grease interceptor for every restaurant buildout?+
Almost always. Local plumbing code dictates the requirement based on the type and quantity of fixtures. Most jurisdictions require either an interior grease trap ($3K to $8K) or an exterior grease interceptor ($15K to $40K). Coffee shops with no cooking may be exempt. Always check the AHJ before bidding.
The bottom line
Restaurant TI is high-risk, high-reward work. The bids that win are the bids that look like the GC has done this before, with grease, hood, refrigeration, and FFE coordination all broken out explicitly. The framework is the same whether you run it manually or through software. Run it consistently and you win the recurring chain work that pays for everything else.
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