Every year, right around mid-June, the phone rings in a way I’ve come to recognize immediately. The voice on the other end is somewhere between excited and panicked. They have a lease signed. They have a concept they’ve been dreaming about for years. They have a contractor standing by. And they want to open by September.
Then comes the question I hear every single time:Â “How fast can you get us a kitchen design?”
I’m the team at Northbay Restaurant Design — and that mid-June call has become one of the most consistent parts of our calendar. Not because we planned it that way, but because the restaurant industry has a remarkably predictable planning gap that sends owners scrambling at exactly this time every year.
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Why Mid-June Is When Reality Sets In
Most restaurant owners sign their lease in spring. They spend the first few weeks riding the high of finally making it happen — meeting with contractors, choosing furniture, building out their social media presence. Kitchen design, health permits, and equipment lead times tend to sit in a mental category labeled “we’ll get to that soon.”
Then June arrives. The contractor starts asking for drawings. The equipment vendor mentions 10 to 14 week lead times on refrigeration. A friend who opened a restaurant last year mentions their health permit took three months to come back. Suddenly, a September opening doesn’t feel as certain as it did in April.
That’s when we get the call.
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What the Call Usually Reveals
In almost every mid-June conversation, we find the same pattern of overlooked details:
No kitchen design drawings exist yet. The contractor has been working off rough sketches or verbal descriptions. Without permit-ready CAD drawings, no plan check submission can be made — and the clock on health department review hasn’t even started.
Equipment hasn’t been specified or ordered. Commercial refrigeration, cooking equipment, and hood systems are not off-the-shelf purchases. Lead times from manufacturers and distributors can run 8 to 16 weeks for certain items. Ordering in June for a September opening is already cutting it close.
The health permit timeline hasn’t been factored in. California county environmental health departments require a full plan check review before issuing a health permit. Depending on the jurisdiction and current review volume, this process alone can take 4 to 12 weeks — and that’s assuming your drawings come back without corrections.
The grease interceptor, hood, and fire suppression haven’t been coordinated. These are specialty systems that require their own contractors, their own permits, and their own inspections. Each one adds time to the construction schedule when not planned in advance.
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What a Well-Planned Timeline Actually Looks Like
For a California restaurant targeting a fall opening, the planning process should ideally begin in January or February. Here’s a realistic framework:
- Months 1-2:Â Concept development, space evaluation, kitchen design initiation
- Months 2-3:Â Permit-ready drawings completed, health department plan check submitted
- Months 3-5:Â Plan check review, corrections, approval issued
- Months 3-4:Â Equipment ordered during plan check review period
- Months 5-7:Â Construction, equipment installation, utility connections
- Month 7-8:Â Pre-opening health inspection, final approvals, staff training
Compress any one of these phases and the pressure transfers to every phase that follows.
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How Northbay Restaurant Design Helps You Get Ahead of It
We can work with tight timelines — we do it regularly. But the restaurant owners who have the smoothest openings are the ones who called us in February, not June. They gave themselves the runway to make good decisions, order equipment without premium rush fees, and move through plan check without the anxiety of a lease clock ticking loudly in the background.
If you’re reading this in mid-June with a September opening in mind, call us today. We’ll be honest with you about what’s achievable and build a plan to get you there as efficiently as possible.
And if you’re reading this any other time of year — don’t wait until June.
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The Best Time to Plan Your Restaurant Kitchen Was Last Year. The Second Best Time Is Now.
Northbay Restaurant Design works with California restaurant owners at every stage of the planning process — from early concept through health permit approval and beyond.
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Contact us today for a free consultation. Let’s make sure your opening story has a great ending.
