American Edge Engineers ·
Why quick-service kitchens need their own checklist
A quick-service restaurant packs cooking, refrigeration, dishwashing and a busy dining room into a small, tightly planned space. Nearly every MEP decision traces back to one document: the equipment schedule. When that schedule changes after design starts, the exhaust rate, gas load, electrical panel, hot water demand and grease interceptor can all change with it.
This checklist follows the order our engineers work in on a franchise MEP design project: equipment first, then exhaust and make-up air, fire protection, utilities, and finally the landlord and permit items that decide whether the drawings are accepted at plan review. Use it as a gate before design starts, and again before you submit.
Step 1: Lock the equipment schedule
Ask the brand or kitchen designer for a current schedule with manufacturer cut sheets, not a list of equipment names. The cut sheets carry the numbers MEP design needs: gas input, electrical load, water and drain connections, and the appliance duty that sets the hood and suppression requirements.
- Equipment schedule dated and approved by the brand
- Cut sheet for every item that needs gas, power, water, drain or exhaust
- Local menu or equipment variations listed before design begins
- Any equipment supplied by the landlord or a third party identified
| Equipment | Get from the cut sheet | It drives |
|---|---|---|
| Fryers, griddles, charbroilers | Gas input or kW, appliance duty, clearances to combustibles | Hood type and exhaust rate, gas load, fire suppression layout |
| Ovens, steamers, warmers | Gas or electric load, flue or vent type, water connection | Hood or vent routing, electrical circuits, plumbing connections |
| Ice and beverage equipment | Filtered water supply, drain type, heat rejection | Plumbing rough-in, air gaps and indirect drains, cooling load |
| Walk-in cooler and freezer | Condenser location, refrigerant line length, electrical load | Roof or yard space, line routing, dedicated circuits, floor drain |
| Dishwashing and sinks | Hot water temperature and flow, waste connections | Water heater size, grease and waste piping |
Step 2: Kitchen exhaust and make-up air
Kitchen ventilation is where most quick-service drawings succeed or fail at plan review. It is also the system most affected by the building around it.
Hood type and exhaust rate
Appliances that produce grease-laden vapor go under a Type I hood. The exhaust rate is not a generic figure: it comes from the hood manufacturer's listing for the appliance duty underneath, checked against the mechanical code the jurisdiction has adopted. The commercial kitchen hood provisions in IMC Section 507 are the usual starting point. Confirm the hood model early, because its listed rate sets the fan, the duct and the make-up air.
Make-up air
Every cubic foot exhausted must be replaced. The mechanical code requires make-up air for commercial kitchen hoods (IMC Section 508), and the balance matters in practice. A kitchen held slightly negative to the dining room keeps cooking odors in the kitchen, but too much imbalance makes doors hard to open and can pull flue gases back into the space. Decide whether make-up air is delivered through the hood, a dedicated make-up air unit or a rooftop unit, and whether it must be tempered in cold weather.
Fan, duct and roof
Grease duct construction, clearances to combustible material and access panels are governed by NFPA 96. The exhaust fan usually sits on the roof, so the curb location, roof structure and penetrations need landlord approval before the drawings are final.
- Hood model and listing identified for each appliance group
- Exhaust and make-up air quantities calculated and balanced
- Make-up air path chosen and tempering requirement confirmed
- Duct route, clearances and roof curb coordinated with the landlord
Step 3: Fire protection
Cooking equipment that produces grease vapor needs a wet chemical fire suppression system, tested to UL 300 and installed to NFPA 17A. It is normally interlocked to shut off the gas supply and to signal the fire alarm. Portable Class K extinguishers near the cooking line are covered by NFPA 10.
If the building is sprinklered, confirm who owns the sprinkler changes for the new layout, the landlord or the tenant, and whether the fire authority requires a separate permit for the suppression system.
- Suppression system scope assigned to a licensed contractor
- Gas shutoff and alarm interlocks shown on the drawings
- Sprinkler ownership and any redesign confirmed
- Separate fire permit requirements checked
Step 4: Gas, water and grease
Gas
Add up the connected gas load from the cut sheets and compare it with what the existing meter and regulator can supply. Pipe sizes follow from the total load and the longest run, so a late equipment change can force a resize. Where the meter is too small, the utility needs lead time.
Water and hot water
Size the water heater from the dishwashing, hand sink and prep sink demand rather than from the fixture count alone, and confirm backflow prevention on equipment that requires it.
Grease interceptor
Whether the site needs a grease interceptor, and how large it is, is set by the plumbing code and the local sewer authority. Confirm early whether it can sit indoors or must be outdoors, because an in-ground unit usually needs landlord approval, trenching and a longer waste line.
- Connected gas load totaled and compared with the meter capacity
- Hot water demand sized from the equipment list
- Interceptor requirement confirmed with the authority and its location approved
- Floor drains, floor sinks and indirect waste connections listed
Step 5: Electrical and lighting
Commercial kitchen equipment has its own demand-factor rules in NEC Article 220, so the service size, feeders and panel schedule should be calculated from the confirmed schedule, not scaled from a previous store. Compare the calculated load with the available service and flag any shortfall before the landlord or the utility is asked for an upgrade.
Show dedicated circuits, the hood and make-up air interlocks, emergency and egress lighting, and the working clearance in front of every panel.
Step 6: Dining room and kitchen HVAC
The dining room has a high occupant density, so ventilation and cooling loads are driven by people as well as by the building. Include the heat that the kitchen and the walk-in condenser add, and check ventilation rates against ASHRAE 62.1 or the code edition in force. Keep the kitchen and the dining room on separate thermostats, and confirm that the rooftop units meet the energy code.
Step 7: Landlord, utility and permit items
Most of the revisions that follow a permit submission come from this last group, not from the design itself. Collect it before design starts.
- Landlord tenant criteria for roof loads, penetrations and shaft use received
- Utility capacity or will-serve information for gas and electric
- Adopted code editions and local amendments listed on the drawings
- Health department plan review requirements checked
- Plan review comment log set up, so recurring comments feed back into the prototype
Common clashes on quick-service drawings
These are the conflicts that appear again and again when a kitchen layout meets an existing building:
- Exhaust duct routing against structural beams and joists
- Make-up air duct against low ceiling heights
- Grease waste line slope against slab depth, where trenching needs approval
- Gas piping against roof curbs and rooftop equipment
- Electrical panel clearance against hand sinks and mop sinks
- Hood height against the ceiling grid and sprinkler heads
Run it against your next location
If you have a prototype and a site, send one drawing set and we will check it against this list as part of a free franchise MEP review. You will get a clear scope, the items that need landlord or utility input, and the places where the drawings are most likely to draw plan review comments.
Next step
Learn how our MEP Design for Franchise Projects service works, or send us one drawing set for a free project review and decide after you see our work.