Taking Over a Second-Generation Restaurant Space
A space with an existing kitchen looks like a shortcut. The health department, the hood, the grease and the seat count decide whether it is.
A second-generation restaurant space, one that already has a kitchen, looks like a shortcut. Sometimes it is. It is rarely as simple as moving in.
The health department
In Pierce County, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department uses one plan review application for a new food business, a remodel, and a change of menu or equipment. A change in UBI counts as a change in ownership, and the plan review or permit fee is paid again. Changing the floor plan, equipment or menu after approval and before the preopening inspection voids the approval. The approval letter also goes to the building department, so both reviews have to tell the same story.
The building side
The existing hood was sized and approved for the last menu. A wood-fired oven, a fryer bank or a new grill line can change it. The grease interceptor has to fit the new kitchen’s flow. More seats can change the occupancy, the restroom count and the exits. Anything the last tenant built without a permit becomes the new tenant’s problem at the next inspection.
Before the lease is signed
Pull the permit history for the suite. Check the hood, the grease and the seat count against the new menu and layout. Then list which reviews the change needs: building, fire, health and sewer.
How SASHKOV handles it
SASHKOV checks the space before the lease, puts the set together with the architect and engineers the space needs, and handles the city, the fire marshal and the health department through issuance.
