Restaurant Space Checklist: What to Check Before You Sign

Most first-time operators fall in love with a dining room. Experienced ones look up at the ceiling, down at the floor drains and out the back at the bins. A restaurant needs far more from a building than an office or a shop does: an exhaust route to the roof, enough gas and electricity to run a kitchen, drainage that can take fats and oils, and permits that the previous tenant may or may not have held. Any one of those can turn an attractive rent into an unaffordable project.

This checklist covers the questions to settle before you sign anything binding. Building codes, licensing and planning rules vary by country, region and city, so treat it as a framework, and confirm the specifics with a local architect or engineer, a licensing adviser and a lawyer. If you are still choosing a neighbourhood, start with our guide to opening a downtown storefront and the city pages such as London, Toronto and Melbourne.

Second-generation or shell space?

A second-generation space was previously a restaurant. A shell has never been one, or has been stripped back. The terms for shell condition vary: North American landlords talk about cold, warm or vanilla shell, while in the UK and Ireland you will hear shell and core or "capped services". Ask exactly what is included, because the difference between a shell with services capped at the unit boundary and one with services run to your kitchen can be substantial.

Factor	Second-generation	Shell
Upfront cost	Lower, if the infrastructure is usable	Higher: you build extraction, drainage and services from scratch
Time to open	Shorter	Longer, with more permits and inspections
Layout	Inherited; moving the kitchen can cost as much as a new build	Designed around your menu and service style
Hidden risk	Worn or non-compliant equipment, unclear ownership, old permits	Discovering that services or an exhaust route cannot be delivered
Landlord incentives	Often smaller, because the space is already equipped	Often larger, to offset your build cost

With second-generation space, find out who owns the equipment. It might belong to the landlord, to the outgoing tenant, or to a finance company that leased it to them. Get a written inventory, confirm there are no outstanding liens or finance agreements, and have a kitchen equipment specialist inspect it. It is also worth asking, tactfully, why the last restaurant closed. Sometimes the answer is the concept; sometimes it is the site.

Extraction and ventilation

Extraction is the item most likely to kill a downtown restaurant site. Cooking that produces grease-laden vapour usually requires a commercial hood, ductwork and a fan, and the exhaust must discharge somewhere that will not cause a nuisance or a fire risk. In a multi-storey building that normally means a duct running up through the building to the roof.

• Is there an existing exhaust riser or shaft, and is it the right size and fire rating for your cooking?
• If not, can a new duct route be built, and will the landlord and other tenants allow it? Running ductwork through the floors above is often the hardest negotiation of all.
• Where discharge at roof level is not possible, can odour control (filtration or treatment units) deliver an acceptable result? In many European city centres this is the norm, and planners may set strict odour conditions.
• Does the hood need a fire suppression system, and who inspects and maintains it?
• Is there enough make-up air, the fresh air drawn in to replace what is exhausted? Without it, doors slam, kitchens overheat and pilot lights fail.
• Will the fan's noise and the discharge affect neighbours, particularly residential flats above or behind?

If your menu can be cooked without heavy grease or open flame, a ventless or recirculating system may be possible in some jurisdictions. Confirm with the local authority before designing around it.

Grease traps, drainage and waste

Most sewer authorities require commercial kitchens to stop fats, oils and grease from entering the public drains. Depending on local rules that means a small under-sink grease trap or a larger grease interceptor, sometimes installed below the floor or outside the building. Check whether the existing one, if any, is correctly sized for your menu and volume, where it is located, who pumps it out and how often, and whether the drainage has floor drains where the kitchen layout needs them. Retrofitting an interceptor into a basement or a concrete slab is disruptive and expensive.

Waste is the other half. Where will bins, recycling and used cooking oil be stored, and how will they reach collection? Many downtown streets have restricted collection windows and limited loading. A unit without a rear service route can mean carrying refuse through the dining room.

Gas, electrical and water capacity

A kitchen draws far more energy and water than a shop or office. Ask a mechanical and electrical engineer to compare your equipment list with what the building can deliver.

• Gas: Is there a supply to the unit, and is the meter and pipework sized for your appliances? Some cities now restrict new gas connections, particularly in new buildings, as part of decarbonisation policies, so confirm gas is available and permitted before choosing gas equipment.
• Electricity: Is there enough capacity, and is it three-phase where your equipment needs it? An all-electric or induction kitchen can need a substantial supply, and upgrading the incoming service can involve the utility and take months.
• Water: Is the supply pressure adequate, is there room for the hot-water capacity you need, and can the drainage handle dishwashers and prep sinks?
• Refrigeration: Walk-in coolers and freezers need space, power and somewhere for condensing units to reject heat, often on the roof or in a rear yard.

Zoning, change of use and licensing

Before you negotiate rent, confirm that a restaurant, and the kind of restaurant you plan, is a permitted use for the unit.

• US and Canada: zoning by-laws or ordinances define which uses are allowed. A former shop may need a change of use, a variance or a new certificate of occupancy, and adding seats can change the occupancy classification, triggering fire, washroom and accessibility requirements.
• England: shops, cafés and restaurants mostly sit together in Class E, so moving between them often does not need planning permission. Hot-food takeaways, pubs and bars are outside that class and generally do. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own systems. External extraction ducts, shopfront changes and signage can need separate consent, and listed buildings or conservation areas add further controls.
• Elsewhere: most countries pair land-use rules with separate business, food-safety and fire approvals. Ask a local adviser which come first, because some cannot be applied for until others are granted.

Licensing is a separate track. Alcohol licensing is set at national, state or provincial level: in England and Wales a premises licence and a designated premises supervisor; in the US a state licence, which in some states is limited in number and transferred between operators; in Canada a provincial licence. Licences often carry conditions on hours, outdoor drinking and entertainment. You will also need food business registration or a health permit, and may need separate permission for amplified music. Make the lease conditional on the critical licences where you can.

Accessibility and outdoor seating

Accessibility law applies to restaurants everywhere, though the rules differ: the Americans with Disabilities Act in the US, provincial codes and standards in Canada (such as Ontario's), the Equality Act's reasonable-adjustment duties in Great Britain, and national building codes elsewhere. Check for a step-free entrance, an accessible washroom, adequate circulation between tables and an accessible route to any upper or lower dining floor. Alterations can trigger requirements to upgrade the accessible route, so agree in the lease who pays if your works trigger them.

A terrace, patio or pavement café can transform a site's economics, but it is rarely a right. Most cities require a permit, often seasonal and renewable, with rules on how much pavement must stay clear, hours, furniture, barriers and heaters. In England, pavement licences are granted by the local council. Many North American cities run sidewalk café or patio programmes through their transportation or licensing departments. Ask whether the previous occupant held a permit, whether it transfers, and whether the landlord's consent is needed for any space on private land.

The landlord work letter

The work letter (sometimes an agreement for lease or a schedule of works) sets out who builds what before you open. For a restaurant it is as important as the rent. It should state:

• The exact condition the landlord will deliver the unit in, with drawings or a specification, not a phrase such as "shell condition".
• Which infrastructure the landlord provides and pays for: gas, power, water, drainage, grease interception, the exhaust route and roof access.
• Your fit-out allowance or tenant improvement contribution, how it is paid (on completion, in stages, or against invoices) and what evidence you need to provide.
• The approval process and timescales for your drawings, roof penetrations and contractor access.
• A rent-free fit-out period, with rent commencement tied to the later of a fixed date or the date you receive the permits and licences you need to trade.
• What happens if the landlord's work is late: rent credits, extended rent-free time, or a right to walk away.
• What you must remove at the end of the lease. Reinstating a restaurant, including ductwork and interceptors, is expensive; negotiate to leave infrastructure in place for the next operator.

The wider lease matters too. Look for a use clause broad enough to cover delivery, takeaway, alcohol and late hours, exclusivity against a competing concept in the same building or centre, clear rules on deliveries and loading, and limits on any personal guarantee. Our guide to commercial lease terms explains those clauses.

Pre-signing checklist

• Restaurant use, and your specific format, is permitted, or a route to permission is confirmed.
• An exhaust route to an acceptable discharge point exists or can be built, with landlord consent in writing.
• Grease interception and drainage meet the sewer authority's requirements for your volume.
• Gas (if you need it), electrical capacity and water supply have been checked by an engineer against your equipment list.
• Ownership and condition of any inherited equipment are confirmed, with no finance agreements attached.
• Alcohol, food, music and outdoor seating permits are mapped, with timings, and the lease is conditional on the critical ones.
• Accessibility has been reviewed, and responsibility for triggered upgrades is allocated in the lease.
• Bin storage, refuse collection, deliveries and loading work for the street's restrictions.
• Neighbour sensitivities (residents above, odour, noise, late closing) are understood.
• The work letter specifies delivery condition, landlord's work, allowance, approvals and rent commencement.
• Reinstatement obligations at the end of the lease are limited or waived.
• Your revenue model covers rent and occupancy costs at a realistic level of covers; test it with the storefront revenue tool.

Footfall is the last test, and the one only you can judge: visit at lunch, in the evening and at the weekend before you commit. Our guide to turning foot traffic into customers covers what to look for.