Plug-and-play restaurant shells are as the name suggests. While it’s not quite as simple as a tenant just plugging in appliances and opening their doors for business, leasing a plug-and-play property does take a lot less time, effort, and money for new tenants to become operational than if they were to start from ground zero with construction.

But if the tenants aren’t preparing these spaces for restaurant operations, who is?

First, a Little Back Story on Retail Development Trends in South Florida

Here in South Florida, we’re seeing a shift in how many retail spaces are being used, and that shift is trending toward restaurant development. As more retail storefronts are closing and restaurants are being sought after, landlords are competing for space and tenants.

To beat out the competition, many landlords who own retail space are finding it advantageous to move into the restaurant market, but how exactly are they doing that? By renovating their retail spaces so they are restaurant-ready.

Preparing a Plug-and-Play Restaurant

Landlords who are converting retail spaces into restaurants have a lot of work ahead of them, but the payoff is usually worth the effort. Preparing a plug-and-play restaurant means the concrete is poured, grease traps are in, accommodations have been made for the hood, and amenities are ready to go – the tenant just has to tap into them.

Our team at Seacoast Consulting Group has advised on three recent restaurant conversion projects, and two out of three were leased within a month. Before that the leases were out for 5+ months with no takers. One big reason why it takes so long to lease properties like these is because of time and money. Tenants must first invest significant upfront capital to prepare a restaurant for operation. Then, if and when they do leave, the landlord gets to keep all the upgrades. While big restaurant companies will do renovations because they can afford to put in money upfront, this is not the case with most restaurant owners.

To that end, landlords who are willing to prepare a glorified white box restaurant for their tenants have more appeal and can make the permit process a lot less cumbersome for their tenants, to boot!

Contact us at Seacoast Consulting Group

If you own retail property in Miami-Dade and are considering converting the space into something restaurant-ready, come talk to us at Seacoast Consulting Group. We have been in the South Florida construction business for more than 25 years and have learned many lessons along the way. Among the biggest is there is no substitute for quality communication and hard work.

To learn more about how we can help you and to set up a free consultation, get in touch with our team at Seacoast Consulting Group.