Are you about to open a new restaurant? It’s an exciting time, but it also comes with a lot of hard work. There are a lot of things to consider when setting up a restaurant, from the menu to the décor and staff. One of the most important decisions you’ll make is what equipment to buy. This can be tricky, especially if you’re not sure what’s required or what will best suit your needs.
Here is a comprehensive list of the essential items you’ll need to get started. With this checklist, you can be confident that your business is properly equipped and ready to go!
Restaurant Equipment List
Buying restaurant equipment is a big investment, so you need to make sure you get things right from the beginning. We’ve created this restaurant and kitchen equipment list and provided average pricing below to help you get started.
Cooking Equipment
Oven
To make your menu more versatile, invest in a combination convection oven, which costs around $15,000. These ovens prepare food quickly while still retaining the moisture and flavor of other cooking methods. They also come with a variety of options for speed settings, perfect for preparing different types of dishes. If you want to stick to the traditional ovens, these typically cost $5,000.
Grill
A grill is another key component for preparing a variety of dishes. You can use them to quickly cook an assortment of proteins, produce, and everything in between. Their prices range from $2,000 to $10,000.
Pizza Oven
Pizza ovens are also good to have if you want to offer pizza on your menu. Some ovens can reach high temperatures (upwards of 800 degrees Fahrenheit), allowing pizzas to be cooked in less than three minutes (costs around $8,000), but you can always remain with the tried-and-tested traditional way of cooking on high flames and hot slabs of brick or stone, which usually cost $16,000.
Deep Fryer
A deep fryer (priced at around $700) is essential for keeping all fried items cooked to perfection with just the amount of crisp. This restaurant equipment is usually paired with a holding rack where the fried food can rest for a while to get all the excess oil out or with an infrared warmer (costs around $300), which can achieve the same thing but while still keeping deep fried food warm and crisp.
Range Hood
A range hood and ventilation system are must-haves for any commercial kitchen. A hood, which costs around $1,000 per square foot, uses carbon filters to remove grease, steam, and odors from the air, keeping your working environment safe and clean. Without a range hood or a proper ventilation system (costs around $1,500), grease could accumulate in the roof of your restaurant, causing serious health risks and damage.
Wok Station
A wok station consists of a wok burner and several sizes of woks to accommodate different types of cooking. These are essential for making stir fried food, curries, and other dishes that require intense, high heat. Including a wok station will normally add $5,000 to $10,000 to your capital expenses.
Prep Tables
If you’re making salads or other foods that require prep work, you’ll need at least one prep table. You can also use it as a food warmer or as a space for plating dishes before they are served. Pricing for food-safe prep tables range from $300 to $5000.
Refrigeration and Freezing
Walk-in Cooler
Your walk-in cooler is an integral part of your restaurant, costing between $2,000 to $10,000. With plenty of space, it’s where you should store perishables like milk and cheese, which need to be stored at a low temperature.
Worktop Freezer
This can be used to keep food items that you use regularly well-stocked for immediate use. This typically costs $2,000.
Walk-in Freezer
This is where you’ll store your meats and other items that need to be kept in below zero temperatures. The bigger your restaurant, the larger the freezer you need. Small restaurants typically have the worktop freezer, but as you grow, you should invest in a large walk-in type freezing unit (costs around $10,000) to accommodate all your storage needs.
Ice Maker
If you don’t have a lot of freezer space, an ice maker is the perfect solution to keeping food fresh and cool. Commercial ice making machines usually cost between $1,500 and $8,000.
Cleaning and Washing
Dishwasher
A commercial dishwasher helps keep things in order fast, especially during a busy lunch or dinner service. It also frees up manpower so they can focus on other essential kitchen tasks. The price of a commercial dishwasher goes from $3,000 to $20,000.
Commercial Hand Sink
A commercial sink (priced at $100 to $1,000) is necessary if customers need to wash their hands after eating. If you don’t have space for a full-size sink, opt for a hand sink instead.
Bar Appliances
Espresso Machine
If your restaurant serves coffee, it’s important to have an espresso maker on hand. Prices depend on the type and model but they typically cost around $5,000 to $10,000. Espresso machines are usually paired with a coffee grinder (costs $2,000 to $4,000) for prepping whole bean coffee and milk frothers (costs around $100) for making specialty beverages like lattes and cappuccinos.
Speed Racks
A speed rack under the bar is key for storing glassware. It also allows you to serve drinks quickly. Made of stainless steel, they usually cost between $50 to $200, depending on the size and length.
Ice Bins
Keep ice bins on hand for chilling drinks at the bar, an essential during the warm months. Bars without an ice bin (priced between $500 and $2,000) will find it harder to keep up with high drink demand.
Blenders
Whether you’re making smoothies or milkshakes, blenders are great for mixing ingredients together quickly and easily. Commercial-grade blending machines usually cost at least $100.
Payment and Inventory System
POS Software
A POS and inventory system will help in keeping track of what’s moving, what’s being sold, and what needs to be replenished soon. Many restaurant owners struggle with monitoring their inventory so having reliable software that can do that and more is essential. POS software typically costs at least $800 and then comes with a subscription of around $50 to $150 per month.
Touch Screen Registers and Wireless Ordering Tools
These devices allow you to process orders quickly and communicate with the kitchen team with minimal to zero errors, which is a godsend during peak hours. Table top touch screen registers usually cost around $1,200 while wireless ordering equipment are priced at least $150.
Printers
A POS printer is useful for retaining order history and providing documentation and receipts. Another printer you might want to have is a kitchen printer, which prints out order slips from the counter to the kitchen to help keep the entire team in sync and organized. POS printers usually cost $150 to $300 while kitchen printers cost at least $100.
Completing all the items on your restaurant equipment list will mean an investment of between $40,000 to $200,000. With this amount, you may be better off finding an equipment financing or leasing provider so you can set your cash aside for operating expenses, marketing, construction, and other things that matter to your business’ growth.
Need Help? Try Restaurant Equipment Financing
With over 40 years of experience helping restaurant owners succeed, Charter Capital understands that there are many factors to consider when deciding what equipment you need for your business. We can help restaurant owners find the right financing or leasing partner, so they can pay for their equipment over time with affordable monthly payments that won’t break the bank.
Our experienced financial brokers can help you find the best lending agency that will provide the most affordable and reliable financing or leasing plans to help your business grow. We offer loans and leases from $10,000 to $1,000,000.
Talk to us today to explore all your options. Contact us to schedule a consultation.