Vancouver Restaurant & Food-Service Build-Out Contractor

01What a restaurant build-out includes

Scope varies with the menu, the kitchen and the base building, but a Metro Vancouver food-service build-out is built around the same demanding set of trades. Enduro coordinates all of them under one contract and one schedule:

• Demolition & strip-out of existing partitions and services
• Type I exhaust hoods — grease-rated canopy, duct and make-up air over the cooking line
• Type II hoods — heat and steam capture over dishwashers, ovens and steamers
• Kitchen mechanical / HVAC — make-up air balancing, ventilation and controls
• Gas piping & connections — cooking line and appliance hook-ups
• Plumbing & drainage — floor drains, hot water, mop and prep sinks
• Grease interceptor — sized to code on the sanitary side
• Walk-in coolers & freezers — refrigeration lines, condensers and controls
• Electrical — kitchen equipment power, distribution, lighting and controls
• Hood fire suppression — wet-chemical system plus building sprinkler and alarm
• Food-safe finishes — FRP wall panels, quarry or epoxy floors, coved bases, washable ceilings
• Millwork & casework — bar, service counter, host station and back-of-house
• Storefront & interior glazing — entry, feature walls and patio connection
• Washrooms & accessibility upgrades to the BC Building Code
• Health-authority coordination — Vancouver Coastal or Fraser Health plan approval
• Permits & code coordination — building, gas, plumbing, electrical and mechanical
• Commissioning & testing — hood balancing, gas certification, inspection readiness
• Closeout, warranty & O&M documentation

02Our capability, honestly

We'll be straight with you: Enduro has not yet delivered a completed restaurant, and we won't invent one to win the job.

What we bring instead is the exact trade capability a food-service build-out is made of — proven on projects where the mechanical, gas, plumbing and regulatory demands are as high as any kitchen. A restaurant is, in construction terms, a heavy-mechanical fit-out with an approvals process bolted on. Enduro has run all of those parts:

We'll tell you exactly what we have and haven't built before you sign. Tell us about your space and we'll give you a straight read on fit.

03General contractor or construction manager — which fits

Enduro can deliver a food-service build-out two ways. The right one depends on how settled your design is and how much of the process you want to hold yourself.

Simply put: GC to build it, CM to steer it. Not sure which? Tell us where your project stands and we'll give you a straight recommendation — see our plain-language CM-or-GC guide.

04How a Metro Vancouver build-out runs, step by step

A restaurant build-out in Metro Vancouver turns on its kitchen mechanical, its health approval and its trade coordination — the finishes are the straightforward part. Here is how Enduro runs one:

1. Feasibility & budget

   We walk the space, test your menu and kitchen against the base building, gas capacity and lease, and give you an early, honest number — so you know what fits before design gets expensive.

2. Design & health-plan coordination

   We work alongside your architect, kitchen designer and mechanical consultants, cross-checking drawings for buildability, code and the health-authority plan review — Vancouver Coastal or Fraser Health — that a food premises must clear.

3. Permits & approvals

   Most build-outs need a City of Vancouver building permit with gas, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits usually rolled in, plus the separate health plan approval. A change of use from retail or office to food premises can trigger deeper review. Before demolition, we coordinate the WorkSafeBC-required hazardous-materials (asbestos) survey by a qualified person.

4. Procurement & long-lead

   We lock trade and material commitments at agreed prices and place long-lead orders — exhaust hoods, walk-in refrigeration, gas equipment, custom millwork — early, so nothing stalls your opening date.

5. Construction

   Subcontracted trades are sequenced and managed under one contract, with a super on site running trades, deliveries and safety day to day. We file the WorkSafeBC Notice of Project where the work requires it, and check quality as it's installed.

6. Commissioning, health inspection & closeout

   We balance the hoods, certify the gas, prove refrigeration and life-safety, work the deficiency list to zero, and get the space ready for the pre-opening health inspection — then hand over keys with as-builts, warranties and O&M manuals.

05What a restaurant build-out costs in Vancouver BC

Food-service cost is driven by the kitchen — how much exhaust, gas, refrigeration and grease infrastructure the space needs — and by the level of dining-room finish.

The kitchen is where the money concentrates: exhaust hoods, make-up air, gas, a grease interceptor and walk-in refrigeration can carry a large share of the budget before a single finish is chosen. Base-building condition, roof and gas capacity, health-driven upgrades and finish level all move the real number in either direction.

Enduro prices off real drawings when they exist and builds an open-book budget with you when they don't — then confirms the number in writing after a site visit. For where 2026 costs are heading, read our Vancouver fit-out outlook.

06How long it takes

Construction is often the shorter part of the calendar — design coordination, health-plan approval and City of Vancouver permitting usually drive the overall schedule, and long-lead kitchen equipment can too. Typical planning ranges for a Metro Vancouver food-service build-out:

The most common cause of a slipped opening isn't the trades — it's a long-lead hood or walk-in ordered late, or an incomplete permit or health submission going back for rework. We front-load the survey, the drawings and the equipment orders to keep that from happening. See the Vancouver permit guide.

07Building inside a live plaza

Most Metro Vancouver restaurant build-outs sit inside a working building — a strip mall still trading, a food hall still open, a mixed-use tower with tenants above. Enduro phases these builds so the neighbours keep operating:

The payoff is a build-out that opens on time without disrupting the businesses next door. We've run the same phased, occupied-space approach inside a working UBC research lab around live growth chambers — it carries straight into a busy retail plaza.

08The trades behind a build-out — proven work

Enduro has no restaurant to show yet — so here is the transferable capability instead: Metro Vancouver projects where the exact trades a food-service build-out demands were delivered under one accountable team.

Exhaust & ventilation UBC Henning Lab Vancouver, BC Refrigeration & regulated retail BC Liquor Store Squamish, BC Plumbing & drainage Bonsor Washrooms Burnaby, BC

See the full portfolio →

09Restaurant build-out FAQ

How much does a restaurant build-out cost in Vancouver BC?

A café or quick-service project may use a limited cooking line; a full-service restaurant adds Type I exhaust, make-up air, gas and refrigeration; a cold-shell or high-finish restaurant requires the most base-building and kitchen infrastructure. The existing building, services and finish level determine the actual number, which Enduro confirms from drawings and a site visit. These are scope bands, not a quote — Enduro confirms your number in writing after a site visit.

How long does a restaurant build-out take in Metro Vancouver?

A café often runs a few months end to end; a full-service restaurant runs longer. Construction itself is commonly 10–20+ weeks, but design, Vancouver Coastal Health plan approval, City permitting and long-lead kitchen equipment usually drive the overall schedule.

Has Enduro built a restaurant before?

We'll be straight with you: not yet — Enduro has not delivered a completed restaurant, and we won't pretend otherwise. What we do have is the exact trade capability a food-service build-out is made of — heavy mechanical and exhaust ventilation on research labs, gas, plumbing and drainage on lab and washroom fit-outs, refrigeration and regulated-retail work on liquor and cannabis stores, and phased construction in occupied buildings. We manage those trades as your single point of accountability and bring a restaurant-kitchen and hood specialist onto the team where the scope calls for it.

Do you install commercial kitchen exhaust hoods and grease interceptors?

Yes, as the contractor coordinating the trades. A build-out is built around its kitchen mechanical — Type I hoods with grease-rated duct and make-up air, Type II hoods over heat and steam, wet-chemical hood fire suppression, gas to the appliances, and a code-sized grease interceptor. Enduro plans and sequences that scope with the mechanical, gas, plumbing and fire-protection subtrades under one schedule.

How does Vancouver Coastal Health approval work for a new restaurant?

Before a food premises opens, the health authority — Vancouver Coastal Health in Vancouver and the North Shore, Fraser Health in the Fraser Valley — reviews the plans and inspects the finished space. The review covers kitchen layout, food-safe finishes, handwashing and warewashing, refrigeration, ventilation and washrooms, and runs in parallel with the City building permit. Enduro builds to the approved health plans and readies the space for the pre-opening inspection.

What permits does a restaurant build-out need in Vancouver BC?

Most need a City of Vancouver building permit with gas, plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits usually rolled in, plus a separate health-authority plan approval; a liquor or food-primary licence is its own process. A change of use to a food premises commonly triggers deeper code review. Confirm current rules with the City and your health authority.

Can you build a restaurant in an occupied plaza?

Yes. We schedule disruptive work — core drilling, hood and gas connections — after hours, hoard and seal the space, run dust and negative-air control, keep exits and life-safety live for the neighbours, and coordinate roof, grease-duct and gas shutdowns with building management so the plaza keeps operating.

Does Enduro self-perform the trades?

No. Enduro is the prime contractor and construction manager — we hold the contract, plan and sequence the work, run daily site control and quality, and manage the subcontracted trades as your single point of accountability. On food-service work that means bringing the right kitchen-mechanical, refrigeration, gas and fire-suppression specialists onto the team. One company answers for budget, schedule and the finished space.

Are you licensed and insured to work in BC?

Yes — Enduro is a licensed BC builder, bondable and insured, and WorkSafeBC registered. On commercial work we file the WorkSafeBC Notice of Project where required and coordinate any hazardous-materials survey the demolition scope calls for.

What areas do you serve?

Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and Sea-to-Sky — including Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, North and West Vancouver, the Tri-Cities, Pitt Meadows, Squamish and Chilliwack.

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