Opening a new restaurant in South Florida is a significant undertaking, but it is an exciting one as you visualize your design concept and make plans for serving your customers. Early during this dreaming phase is also when you are thinking about the type of space you’ll need for your restaurant. Generally, the options come down to leasing a second-generation space – one that has previously operated as a restaurant, so it has much of the infrastructure already in place – or opting for a first-generation space. First-generation restaurants are raw spaces that are brand new, and they can be advantageous to restaurant owners in certain situations.

Why Choose a First-Generation Restaurant Space

As gray shells, first-generation spaces give you more of a blank canvas to work within. They’re either part of a new construction or are in a space that has undergone a complete renovation and has been stripped down to the bones. While utilities will be there to tie into, there are no restaurant-specific systems in place such as grease traps or vent hoods.

For restaurant owners with specific design ideas in mind, first-generation spaces offer the flexibility they need to create a custom space that functions effectively for their operations.

Another reason to go with a first-gen space is when you aren’t finding a second-generation space that quite meets your needs. Sometimes owners end up spending just as much time and money attempting to retrofit a second-generation space when instead they would have been more successful overall if they started the project originally with a first-generation property.

The disadvantages with first-gen spaces, however, are that they usually require a larger upfront investment to install all necessary restaurant infrastructure and equipment. It also means there can be longer timelines for construction since everything is being built new.

As you consider your priorities and operational needs for a commercial kitchen in South Florida, get in touch with us at Seacoast Consulting Group. Our goal is to advise clients on strategic ways to save time and money with their build while ensuring complete compliance with their restaurant construction project. We work to mitigate costs ahead of construction so clients can achieve successful buildouts with minimal change orders and issues.