Restaurant & Kitchen Build-Out Cost Los Angeles

Quick answer: A restaurant or commercial kitchen build-out in Los Angeles runs $150–$400+ per square foot, with commercial kitchen ventilation, grease traps, and health department requirements driving costs well above standard office or retail TI. APLA Construction (CA Lic #1136359) handles this throughout Greater Los Angeles.

A restaurant or commercial kitchen build-out is one of the most permit-heavy, code-dense projects a Los Angeles small business owner can take on — it involves not just LADBS, but a separate health department plan check, an air-quality permit for the exhaust hood, and a fire department sign-off on the suppression system. APLA Construction (CA Lic #1136359) builds and permits restaurant and commercial kitchen spaces across Greater Los Angeles, sequencing all four approvals so your kitchen equipment isn’t sitting idle waiting on an inspection.

What’s Involved in a Restaurant or Commercial Kitchen Build-Out

Beyond the standard tenant improvement scope (framing, drywall, flooring, front-of-house finishes), a working commercial kitchen needs:

Type I exhaust hood over any grease-producing cooking equipment (fryers, grills, ranges), with makeup air sized to match
Ansul fire suppression system installed under the hood, inspected and tagged before occupancy
Grease interceptor or grease trap sized to the kitchen’s fixture count and meal volume
Walk-in cooler and/or freezer, with its own condensing unit and floor drain
Gas line sizing and routing for cooking equipment, sized for total BTU load
Sloped, sealed flooring with floor drains in the cooking and dish areas (required by health code)
3-compartment sink, prep sinks, and a dedicated handwashing sink per health department fixture requirements
ADA-compliant restrooms for both staff and guests where required

Permitting: Four Agencies, Not One

Restaurant build-outs in LA route through more approval bodies than almost any other commercial project type:

LADBS (or the local city building department) — the standard construction permit for framing, MEP, and structural work
LA County Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Division — a separate plan check reviewing your kitchen layout, equipment schedule, and finish materials against health code before a permit is issued
South Coast AQMD — a permit is typically required for the exhaust hood and any grease-laden air discharge
Local Fire Department — reviews and inspects the Ansul suppression system and fire extinguisher placement

Missing or mis-sequencing any one of these is the single biggest cause of restaurant opening-date slippage in Los Angeles — health department plan check alone can add 4–8 weeks if drawings aren’t submitted correctly the first time.

Restaurant Build-Out Costs in Los Angeles (2026)

Item	Typical Cost
Fast casual / quick service	$150–$250 per sq ft
Full-service restaurant	$200–$400 per sq ft
Ghost kitchen / commissary (no dining room)	$120–$220 per sq ft

What pushes restaurant costs above standard commercial TI: the hood and makeup-air system alone often runs $25,000–$60,000 installed, a grease interceptor $8,000–$25,000 depending on size and whether it’s in-ground, and walk-in refrigeration $15,000–$40,000. These four items — hood, suppression, grease interceptor, and walk-in — typically account for 25–35% of total build-out cost before you’ve touched a single finish material. See our commercial tenant improvement cost guide for how restaurant pricing compares to office and retail build-outs.

Common Delays and How to Avoid Them

Submitting to LADBS before health department review — health department comments often require layout changes that then have to be resubmitted to the building department, doubling the wait
Undersized grease interceptors caught late in plan check, forcing a redesign of the plumbing rough-in
Hood and Ansul system ordered without final equipment specs — equipment BTU/CFM changes after ordering can require a new hood size
Scheduling the AQMD and fire inspections separately instead of coordinating them with the general contractor’s inspection sequence

How APLA Handles Restaurant and Commercial Kitchen Build-Outs

We coordinate all four approval paths from the start of design instead of discovering conflicts mid-construction:

Kitchen layout and equipment schedule reviewed against health department requirements before permit drawings are finalized
Hood, suppression, and grease interceptor sizing confirmed against your final equipment list, not a placeholder spec
Submittal sequencing that routes health department and AQMD review in parallel with LADBS wherever the jurisdiction allows
Final inspection coordination across building, health, and fire so your certificate of occupancy and health permit land close together

Frequently Asked Questions — Restaurant Build-Outs in Los Angeles

How long does a restaurant build-out take in LA?

A typical fast-casual or full-service build-out runs 4–8 months from lease signing to opening, including permitting — health department plan check and hood/Ansul inspections are usually the longest lead items, not the construction itself.

Do I need a separate health department permit if I already have a building permit?

Yes. LA County Environmental Health reviews and permits your kitchen layout, equipment, and finishes independently of LADBS — both are required before you can legally operate.

What’s the most expensive single item in a restaurant build-out?

The Type I hood and makeup-air system is typically the largest single line item, often $25,000–$60,000 installed depending on the kitchen’s cooking line length and CFM requirements.

Can I reuse an existing hood or grease interceptor from a previous tenant?

Sometimes, but it has to be re-inspected and match your new equipment’s specifications — an undersized hood or interceptor from a prior concept is one of the most common reasons a health department plan check gets rejected.

Do ghost kitchens need the same permits as a full restaurant?

Yes — a commissary or ghost kitchen with no dining room still needs health department, AQMD, and fire department sign-off on the cooking equipment and exhaust, even without front-of-house construction.

Start Your Restaurant or Kitchen Build-Out in Los Angeles

APLA Construction builds and permits restaurants, cafes, ghost kitchens, and commissaries for small business owners throughout Greater Los Angeles — West LA, the San Fernando Valley, South Bay, Pasadena, Long Beach, and beyond. We manage the building, health, air-quality, and fire approvals as one coordinated process.

Call (818) 818-4419 or email info@aplaconstruction.com for a written estimate. CA General Contractor License #1136359 — verify on CSLB.

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Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Build-Out Guide Los Angeles