After 10 years or more, an old building or a restaurant requires reinvestment to stay competitive in a market. But, have you ever thought about how you would know when you’re ready for remodeling?
If you have an old building or own a restaurant and feel that it needs a little renovation, it’s time to restructure and restyle your place with the help of a professional contractor.
Maybe you want to add some sort of attraction. It might look good with traditional furniture, or something more modern. There may be a wall that you don’t like, so you want to change it with great excitement. It doesn’t matter what it is, you should have an idea of a complete remodel guide.
In the following blog, we will help you with a restaurant remodel guide and checklist. Sometimes it’s necessary to give your building the right facelift to keep up with the ever-evolving landscape of exciting, shiny, and bright new openings. Let’s take a look.
What Is a Restaurant Remodeling?
When it comes to improving your restaurant’s dining space and sprucing up its image, restaurant remodeling is an essential step. It can be challenging to remodel a restaurant. Without proper planning, it can cost you a lot of money, take a lot of time, and even hurt your brand.
For your restaurant to be as successful as possible, you need to renovate it. When you plan to remodel properly, it can enhance the appeal of your restaurant and improve the efficiency of your staff. When remodeling a restaurant, special considerations must be taken into account.
Layout, wiring, water, parking, lighting, and many other factors need to be carefully considered. The cost of updating your restaurant can be high, so you might feel tempted to cut costs. But, a complete restaurant renovation/remodeling guide can revamp your restaurant while staying within your budget.
Why is Restaurant Remodeling Important?
Food service companies should keep their restaurant designs current to remain competitive. In addition to the quality of food, customers care about the appearance of a restaurant. This is why industry experts recommend remodeling restaurants every ten years. This will attract new customers and keep your loyal customers happy.
No one likes a worn-out, untidy, and outdated place. That’s why you need to give your restaurant’s interior and exterior a fresh look that can make it more inviting and attract new and old customers alike. A newly renovated space will construct a new customer base for you.
In addition, a restaurant kitchen remodel is also a beneficial option for your staff, especially if your old space is dysfunctional. Updating your kitchen structure allows staff to move around quickly and provides a better customer experience. Hence, a restaurant remodel is also a preventive estimation to keep things running smoothly. We understand that renovations take a lot of time, money, and effort. But, this refinishing bring great ROIs.
When Should You Remodel Your Restaurant?
Remodeling is usually required in old buildings, which is a massive project. Renovations are best done during the off-season when your business will not lose revenue. Changing your operating hours may be an option if you have to renovate and keep your business open as much as possible. Renovations may only take place in the morning before the lunchtime crowds arrive. As a result, you’ll be able to keep customers coming in, and you’ll lose less revenue during renovations.
If the renovations don’t require the business to be closed, section off the areas being renovated to prevent visitors from getting injured. As a result of remaining open during this time, the following issues arise:
- Lower profit margins.
- Lower quality of service.
- Less room for patrons.
Keeping your restaurant closed during the renovations will be able to put all of your focus into it and offer the same level of customer service when you handle your regulars. But, this can put your customers at risk when they move to competitors to try their food. One way to avoid losing customers is to do a grand reopening after remodeling.
We always recommend our clients keep their businesses always under constant renovations to stay competitive in the market. Following these recommendations can upgrade and update the look of your existing structure throughout the years.
Steps to Follow When Remodel Your Restaurant
A restaurant remodeling guide will help you prioritize the most crucial tasks and delegate effectively so that you keep everything in mind. When you realize your restaurant needs a remodel, you must define your goals. Would you like to change the color scheme of your restaurant? Does the furniture need to be updated? Are you interested in adopting new technology?
Before embarking on any endeavor, it is always helpful to have a clear idea of what you want. You can create a restaurant renovation checklist for construction by establishing your goals beforehand.
Here are the following steps to successfully restaurant remodeling.
Do Thorough Research
While planning for restaurant remodeling, we first recommend assessing your financial statements for creating a financial forecast. This way you can set reasonable expectations for the restaurant remodel. Don’t forget to collect feedback from guests and employees about the decor or atmosphere of the restaurant. In addition, evaluate the renovation effect on your business’s cash flow.
Create A Foolproof Plan
For finding the answers to the questions, you need to create a foolproof plan for renovating your restaurants. You need to analyze how various brands have successfully achieved their goals after renovating. But, don’t lose the core concept of your restaurant for rebranding. While finalizing any changes, you need to consider your target audience, idea, brand image, and format.
Make sure your plan is properly paired up with the restaurant’s vision and functionality. It means if you’re planning to offer Chinese cuisine, ensure that interiors reflect it through a Chinese theme.
Set Up A Budget
In the restaurant remodeling checklist, our next aspect is setting a budget. Remodeling projects always cost more. Hence, they can influence your profits. That’s why it’s necessary to set up a budget for your restaurant’s needs. In this case, you can also hire a professional for planning a budget.
Hire a Restaurant Remodeling Contractor
While renovating a restaurant, you require installation of lighting, wiring, heating, air conditioning, painting, ventilation systems, water, parking, and others. But, for completing such tasks, you need someone who is experienced. So, hire a professional by looking at their online reviews and previous work, plus visiting their previous sites.
Establish Your Goals
For restaurant remodeling, you need to set goals for renovating your restaurant. So, decide whether you want to notch up your decor or rebrand your restaurant. Plus, think about why your restaurant requires renovations.
Prioritize The Critical Issues
During the restaurant remodeling process, make sure the appeal of aesthetics must be too strong and should be fortunate for customers’ eyes. But, among these, don’t forget about the critical issues. You need to take care of them before anything. For example, if there is a leaking basin or congested parking in your restaurant, you need to address them first and then move to other aesthetic improvements.
Keep Up With The Latest Trends
This restaurant remodeling checklist won’t be complete without emphasizing the need to look at relevant trends. So, analyze the latest trends in the remodeling industry and create a renovation plan on the basis of that. Even if you have a traditional family restaurant business, you can still include the new-age facilities and technologies in your plan.
How Long Does It Take to Remodel a Restaurant?
The timeline of a restaurant renovation depends on a variety of factors, including the scope of the project and the amount of work that needs to be done. The process can take different forms, ranging from building from scratch to gutting the entire space. The specific work that needs to be done (as detailed in your restaurant renovation checklist) will ultimately determine how long it will take to renovate your restaurant. Hiring a professional is the best way to ensure that your project stays on schedule.
Planning a Restaurant Renovation
When planning a restaurant renovation, it is important to consider how long the project will take and when the best time to start it. Parkinson’s law states that work will expand to fill the allotted time, so it is important to be realistic about the timeline and start the project when you have sufficient time to complete it.
Be mindful of the fact that a restaurant renovation or remodel will impede your restaurant’s ability to operate smoothly. A significant renovation could leave your restaurant closed for weeks. With this in mind, you can elect to carry out renovations during a slower season. For example, if you’re a Ramen restaurant, you know that winter and fall are your busiest times; thus, don’t plan a renovation then.
You need to decide if you want to close the restaurant down completely during your renovation, or just on certain days. Take into consideration that work will most likely expand to fill the time it’s allotted.
Restaurant Remodeling Cost and Budget
The cost of restaurant remodeling can vary significantly depending on various factors, such as the size of the restaurant, the extent of renovations, location, materials used, and the specific requirements of the project. It’s essential to note that the following estimates are general guidelines, and actual costs can differ.
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Minor Remodeling
If you’re looking to make minor changes like repainting, updating lighting fixtures, or replacing furniture, the cost can range from $5,000 to $50,000.
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Moderate Remodeling:
For more significant updates, such as installing new flooring, upgrading the kitchen equipment, adding new countertops or fixtures, the cost can range from $50,000 to $150,000.
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Major Remodeling
When undertaking extensive remodeling that involve structural changes, expanding the space, or completely reconfiguring the layout, the cost can exceed $150,000 and go well into the hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars, depending on the scope of the project.
It’s important to note that these figures are general estimates, and costs can vary significantly based on factors like geographic location, the complexity of the remodel, materials chosen, labor costs, permits, and unforeseen expenses.
To get an accurate estimate for your specific restaurant remodeling project, it is recommended to consult with our professional contractors, architects, or design firm. We can provide a detailed assessment and pricing based on your unique requirements.
Restaurant Remodeling Tips to Boost Business
Planning and remodeling of restaurants include various factors that help in bringing more customers to a business.
Update the Colors
Having an old and outdated restaurant won’t leave a lasting impression on your customers. That’s why you need to update its interior and exterior design, including wall colors to leave an enduring impression. Choosing the right color will help in increasing 80% brand recognition and the cost will remain of an exterior remodel between $3000 and $3,500.
Furnishings
We recommend replacing your outdated or worn tables, chairs, and other pieces of furniture with whole new ones to provide an appealing look and feel to your business. If you want to save money but still want an updated look, refinishing is one method of refurnishing that’s an option.
Flooring
When it comes to flooring, choosing ageless wood or tile flooring is the best option. For restaurants, carpeting is not considered an ideal option due to spills. And, carpets require higher repair rates that may cost high. That’s why you need to consider wood flooring as they are durable and can be virtually indestructible as well.
Lighting
Lighting is a crucial part of an interior as it can change a patron’s mood in an instant. Restaurants may benefit from ambient lighting, or they may choose recessed lighting that can be controlled. For customers to properly navigate the space without the risk of falling, the space must also be properly illuminated.
Bathrooms
A bathroom remodel can make an old, dated bathroom feel more welcoming. There’s nothing worse than entering a restaurant bathroom that is dated or dingy, which takes away from the brand image that you are trying to convey.
Looking for a Restaurant Contractor in Los Angeles
When remodeling your restaurant, you will need a good record-keeping system. This will help you stay on top of your budget, assign tasks, and get a clear idea of what you want. Additionally, a restaurant renovation & remodeling checklist will ensure that you meet regulatory requirements and have all the necessary permits and forms completed before you begin construction.
You can convert any paper-based checklist into a complete and customizable digital checklist within minutes with the help of LUX Construction Group’s contractor. For more information, you can email or contact us at any time.
