When setting out to design a commercial kitchen as part of a restaurant, there are a number of guidelines that are often used in determining the portion of a floor plan to dedicate to that function. The metric of 5 sq ft per seat in the restaurant is often used to guess at kitchen size. And the 60/40 ratio frequently justifies the portion of a restaurant that should be FOH (front of house) versus the kitchen and operational uses. Occasionally these metrics are in the ballpark, but they also come with the caveat that reality could be wildly different. With the recent tendency of many developers to shrink floor area of leased spaces for restaurants, it has become even more important to develop accurate kitchen sizes based on operational knowledge in the design phase of a project.
A much more informed way of determining kitchen size is to analyze how the kitchen will actually function for the type of restaurant operation being planned. Generally, the kitchen is divided into some major functional zones like the warewashing area, food prep, kitchen cook line consisting of multiple stations, expeditor area, and storage. The general structure of the kitchen can be established by a review of the restaurant concept and anticipated menu. For many of the zones, an allotment of area can be accurately determined just by looking at the number of proposed seats. For instance, the square footage devoted to a warewashing area of the kitchen can be determined based on various equipment suitable for the number of seats. With a 100-150 seat operation, the area needed to support a dishwasher, dish drop-off/accumulation table, 3-bay sink, scraper/pre-rinse sink, and clean rack is approximately 150-200 sq. ft. Larger restaurants will need more tables and additional equipment like a trough belt conveyor.
By analyzing the kitchen programming in this way, a determination of floor area for many of the major zones can be quickly established with a basis on how the restaurant will function. In addition to warewashing, the food prep, storage, expeditor areas, and amount of refrigeration can all be estimated by the number of seats and a review of the proposed menu. The actual cook stations are a little more complicated since the space is driven by the maximum number of covers the restaurant will support. To some degree, cook stations are determined by the restaurant concept, but if the restaurant routinely experiences 100 covers per hour on Saturday evenings, the kitchen needs to be sized to handle that volume of food production.
It might seem daunting to estimate a volume of covers while just in the early design phase, but there are a number of factors that drive expectations in this area. For instance, most developers are eager to share the revenue per foot of surrounding restaurants when trying to sell a lease to a potential operator. But even without comparable revenue per foot metrics, most operators will have some reasoned expectation of revenue while planning the venture. Combined with other metrics for how the business will be spread out over a week, anticipated table flip, and occupancy rates, one can arrive at an approximate maximum number of covers. With this information, a determination of how many kitchen stations based on the restaurant concept will support the maximum covers and how many square feet are needed to support that function.
The result of analyzing kitchen size from this operational perspective is that the design has a firm basis in the future business of the operation. This process will then inform future design decisions as a project progresses to more detailed levels of planning. The generic approach of blindly assuming 5 sq. ft per seat or other ratios are not validated against the business. They can lead to under-sized kitchen areas with serious functional limitations, or over-sized kitchens which cost the operation missed revenue through lost seats. In any case, designing a restaurant has huge long-term implications, and it is vitally important to get early decisions around kitchen size accurate on the first pass.
Jeff is a licensed architect, experienced designer, and has deep expertise in the food & beverage industry. With over 20 years of brand design and restaurant/bar operational knowledge coupled with architectural experience, Jeff brings a comprehensive approach to every client project. Jeff has directed and managed projects from initial ideation and evaluation of prospective locations to the development of conceptual design for many complex retail and F&B projects. As an architect, he’s followed many of these projects through design development, construction, and initial operations. Jeff has also served as Founder, designer, and operational head for several successful restaurant & entertainment venues. Not only does he know his way around the commercial kitchen, nightly he creates ridiculously complicated cuisine at home, often involving his homebrewed wine or beer.
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