Restaurant build-outs

Restaurant build-outs in Broward: hoods, grease, and health permits

Restaurants are the highest-cost, highest-risk build-out category in Broward - $175-$350+ per square foot, three agencies to satisfy, and feasibility questions that must be answered before the lease, not after.

The three agencies at the table

• The city building department - building, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire review. Restaurants almost always involve a change of use unless the prior tenant was a restaurant with the same service style.
• The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) - licenses and inspects most restaurants (Division of Hotels and Restaurants). Grocery-adjacent and some specialty food operations fall under the Department of Agriculture instead - know which one licenses you.
• Broward County and the city on grease - wastewater pretreatment rules require properly sized grease interceptors for most food operations, and retrofitting one into an existing plaza is a real construction line item.

The feasibility questions that decide the deal

• Is there a path for the hood exhaust? A Type I hood needs a dedicated exhaust route to the exterior - through the roof or an approved wall penetration. In multi-tenant buildings this is the question that kills restaurant conversions.
• Where does the grease interceptor go? Underground interceptors in an existing parking lot mean saw-cutting, plumbing, and landlord approval. Some spaces simply cannot take one economically.
• Is the electrical service big enough? Commercial kitchens draw heavily; older plaza panels are often undersized.
• Gas or all-electric? Not every Broward retail building has gas service. An all-electric kitchen changes equipment and electrical scope.

Cost and schedule realities

Kitchen and bar equipment alone routinely runs $75,000-$200,000+. Hood and suppression, grease plumbing, and upgraded HVAC make restaurants the highest-MEP-intensity build-out category. Permitting adds the health-review layer; plan on the long end of the timeline ranges - six to nine months lease-to-open is normal, and concept changes mid-build are brutally expensive.

Before you sign

Walk the space with a contractor who has built restaurants in that city, verify the exhaust path and interceptor feasibility, and get the kitchen designer's equipment list priced into the budget. Our featured partner has built restaurant and hospitality space across Broward - request a 48-hour feasibility and budget range on the space you are considering.