Restaurant construction is one of the highest cost-per-square-foot project types in commercial work. A typical full-service restaurant buildout in 2026 lands $300–$500 per square foot, and quick-service restaurants run $250–$400 per square foot. The reason isn't the dining area — that's the cheap part. It's the kitchen, the MEP infrastructure feeding the kitchen, and the fire protection wrapped around all of it. This guide walks commercial GCs through how to bid restaurant TI work, where the real cost lives, and the line items that lose money on rush bids.
These benchmarks are pre-soft-cost. Add 8–15% for design and 2–6% for permits depending on jurisdiction. Use the building permit cost calculator to sanity-check the permit line for your project's jurisdiction.
Restaurant Buildout Cost Per Square Foot (2026)
| Restaurant Type | Typical $/sf | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| QSR (counter-service, ~2,000 sf) | $250 – $400 | Limited menu, smaller kitchen, faster turnaround |
| Fast-casual (~3,000 sf) | $300 – $450 | Open kitchen, line cooking, moderate AV |
| Full-service casual (~4,500 sf) | $350 – $500 | Full kitchen, bar, moderate finish package |
| Upscale full-service (~5,500 sf) | $450 – $650 | Premium finishes, custom millwork, wine room, full bar |
| Fine dining (~6,000 sf+) | $600 – $900+ | Custom everything, specialty equipment, acoustic treatment |
Vanilla-shell to TCO is the typical restaurant scope. Going from gray-shell or warm-shell adds $30–$80 per square foot for the work the prior tenant or landlord didn't do.
Where the Money Actually Lives in a Restaurant Bid
| Cost Bucket | % of Build Cost | What's Inside |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen MEP | 15–22% | Hood, exhaust, gas, makeup air, grease trap, water heaters |
| Kitchen equipment (FF&E, when in scope) | 10–18% | Walk-ins, prep stations, ranges, fryers, dishwashers |
| Front-of-house finishes | 15–22% | Flooring, ceiling, millwork, lighting, dining furniture |
| Bar build-out | 5–10% | Bar millwork, glassware storage, draft system, ice well |
| HVAC + ventilation | 10–15% | Make-up air, conditioned dining, exhaust balance |
| Plumbing | 8–12% | Three-compartment sinks, prep sinks, restrooms, grease line |
| Electrical + low-voltage | 8–12% | Equipment power, dimming, AV, POS network, security |
| Fire protection + suppression | 3–6% | Sprinklers, hood suppression, alarm |
| GC + indirects | 10–15% | Fee, GR, insurance, bonds, contingency |
Kitchen MEP plus kitchen equipment combined is roughly 30–40% of the project. If the kitchen drawings aren't done at bid time, the bid is unreliable. Don't price a restaurant from a schematic — wait for kitchen design development at minimum.
The Eight Most Expensive Misses on Restaurant Bids
1. Hood and grease duct routing
Type I hood serving a commercial cookline runs $25K–$60K for the hood itself, plus another $40K–$120K for grease duct, fan, makeup air unit, and roof curb. The killer is duct routing — grease duct must run with specific clearances and slope, and most existing buildings don't have a clean path. $20K–$80K of structural and architectural rework is common.
2. Make-up air balancing
Every CFM the hood pulls out must come back in. Make-up air units run $15K–$35K plus distribution. The mechanical engineer's CFM math has to match the hood manufacturer's spec sheet exactly. Budget to be wrong on first try and carry $5K–$15K for re-balancing during inspection.
3. Grease trap and waste piping
Required by code in most jurisdictions for any restaurant with a commercial kitchen. Sizing is driven by kitchen fixture count. Exterior in-ground traps run $15K–$40K installed; interior traps $8K–$20K. Many existing buildings need new sanitary line tie-ins to handle grease — add $10K–$30K of plumbing rework.
4. Gas service upgrades
Commercial restaurant kitchens consume more BTU than the existing gas meter typically delivers. Service upgrades from the utility run $5K–$25K for the meter side; gas line rework inside the building $8K–$40K depending on routing. Lead time on utility upgrades is 8–20 weeks — affects schedule, not just cost.
5. Refrigeration line routing for walk-ins
Walk-in cooler/freezer compressors typically sit on the roof; refrigerant lines route through the building to the boxes. Path of routing matters — long runs require larger lines and lose efficiency. Budget $15K–$45K per walk-in for the box, plus $8K–$25K for refrigeration line routing.
6. Acoustic treatment in dining
Code rarely requires it; client expectation always does. Modern restaurants want NRC 0.7+ ceiling treatments, sound-absorbing wall panels, and floor cushioning under booths. Acoustic package on a 4,500 sf full-service restaurant runs $20K–$60K. Forgotten on rush bids; the client complains the day they open.
7. Hood suppression system
Required by code on every Type I hood. Wet chemical suppression runs $4K–$10K depending on nozzle count plus $1K–$3K per year for maintenance contract. Distinct from sprinkler scope; don't bundle.
8. Bar build-out and draft system
A 16-foot bar with a 6-tap draft system runs $35K–$80K all-in: millwork, glycol chiller, keg-to-tap lines, ice well, glass washer plumbing, and three-compartment bar sink. Draft system alone is $8K–$20K. Underdrawn at schematic; clearly priced only after bar designer delivers package.
What Drives the Schedule
Typical restaurant buildout schedule is 14–22 weeks from NTP to TCO for a full-service concept. The two long-pole items are almost always the same:
- Kitchen equipment lead time. Hood units are 8–14 weeks. Walk-ins are 6–10 weeks. Specialty equipment (pizza ovens, hibachi grills, brick-oven enclosures) can run 16–24 weeks. Order these the day the contract is signed.
- Health department and fire marshal inspections. Most jurisdictions require separate inspections for kitchen, fire suppression, grease trap, and make-up air. Each is a separate scheduling cycle. Budget 2–4 weeks of inspection time at end of project.
Restaurant clients almost always have a target opening date tied to a marketing campaign or lease commencement. Schedule overrun has a hard cost — typical full-service restaurant loses $15K–$40K in revenue per week of delay, and the client knows it. Defensive scheduling matters.
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FAQs
What is the typical cost per square foot for a restaurant buildout in 2026?
Quick-service restaurants run $250–$400/sf, fast-casual $300–$450/sf, full-service casual $350–$500/sf, upscale full-service $450–$650/sf, and fine dining $600–$900+/sf. The cost-per-square-foot is driven primarily by kitchen complexity and finish tier, not dining capacity.
What's the most underestimated line item on a restaurant bid?
Hood and grease duct routing through the existing building. Most architects show the hood location but not the duct path or the structural penetrations required. Routing rework runs $20K–$80K above the base hood/duct package and is rarely caught at schematic.
Should kitchen equipment (FF&E) be in the GC's scope or owner-supplied?
Either works, but the responsibility split has to be explicit at bid time. Owner-supplied equipment requires the GC to coordinate delivery, receiving, and connection — which is real labor that should be priced. GC-supplied equipment lets the GC negotiate directly with the foodservice equipment dealer and typically lands 8–15% under owner-direct pricing through contractor accounts.
How long does a typical restaurant buildout take?
14–22 weeks from NTP to TCO for full-service; 10–16 weeks for QSR. Long-pole items are kitchen equipment lead time (especially hoods and walk-ins) and final inspections (health department + fire marshal + grease trap + make-up air balance). Order long-lead equipment the day the contract is signed.
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