5 things you need to know about restaurant construction …

Bigger bars are a new construction trend, according to Rob Mescolotto, founder and owner of D.C.-based Hospitality Construction Services.

Jim Cuddy and Mathew Lynch

Construction companies do more than build restaurants. The good ones are educated in many different aspects of the industry, from working with architects to analyze the logistics of a space to determining the viability and resourcefulness of different finishings and materials.

We make peoples dreams come true all while maintaining a budget, says Rob Mescolotto, founder and owner of D.C.-based Hospitality Construction Services.

Mescolotto, whos currently building a sushi kitchen and rehabbing a late-1800s building into a brewery, helped outline five aspects of restaurant construction to keep in mind when youre getting ready to build.

1. More renovations, less ground-up D.C. is an established city and there isnt much space for new construction. So Mescolotto has found himself working on a lot of renovation projects, such as the Mad Fox brewery, where hes pulling apart a building thats already been redone three times and has layer upon layer of finishings.

He recommends keeping your options open and not getting stuck on a particular building that may have caught your eye. Hes escorted restaurateurs to more than 100 properties before they decided on one, looking at each from a construction perspective. Some are monetarily burden, he says, adding that few restaurateurs are able to look beyond the faade. Nobody cares about things they cant seeelectrical wiring, HVAC, he says. With a new building, that stuff is pretty easy, but with renovations I often have to go back and tell them their allowance needs to be higher. With renovations, a lot of buyers are ending up in as-is conditions.

2. Ensure you stay on budget One thing restaurateurs understand well is their budget. A good construction company understands that if he cant meet the restaurateurs budget from the beginning, hes already putting the project in jeopardy.

As an example, Mescolotto cites Heartpinewood, an often-desired finish due to its strength and good looks. But he claims Cypress serves the same purpose and is just as beautiful, yet at a much lower cost.

Read the original:
5 things you need to know about restaurant construction ...