Opening a Franchise Restaurant: The Equipment Checklist
Signing a franchise agreement is the easy part. What follows is a buildout schedule with a fixed opening date, an equipment package that has to match the brand standard exactly, and a general contractor who needs to know what is arriving and when. Most of the pressure in that window comes from equipment, because equipment is the one category that has to be ordered early, installed in sequence, and inspected before anyone can serve a customer.
This checklist walks through what actually has to happen on the equipment side, in the order it needs to happen. It is written for first time franchisees and for multi unit operators adding a location, and it starts with the question that determines everything else: whether you are buying the equipment at all, or receiving a package the brand has already specified.
Who Is Actually Buying the Equipment, You or the Brand?
This is the first question to settle, because the answer changes almost everything that follows. Franchise agreements handle equipment in three broadly different ways.
The brand supplies the package
Some franchisors ship a complete equipment package as part of the opening fee, or bill it to you as a fixed line item. You approve a spec sheet, the package arrives, and your job is scheduling and installation rather than sourcing. This is common with newer or tightly controlled concepts, and it is the least work for the franchisee.
The brand names an approved supplier
More often, the franchisor negotiates with one supplier on behalf of the whole system and requires franchisees to buy through them. The brand gets consistency and volume pricing, and you get a package that is guaranteed to pass brand inspection. This is the arrangement we handle for national accounts, and it is how our work with Jersey Mike’s began: after we remodeled their locations, they asked us to become their preferred equipment supplier across the system.
You source it yourself against a specification
The franchisor issues an equipment specification listing approved models, and you buy from whoever you choose as long as what you install matches.
Read your franchise disclosure document and your agreement to find out which of these applies to you before you price anything. Operators regularly budget for equipment they were never going to buy, or assume a package is included when the agreement only mandates the models.
What Should You Do Before You Order Any Equipment?
Two documents drive everything else: the franchisor equipment specification and the approved kitchen layout. Get both in writing before a single purchase order goes out, and get them even if the brand is supplying the package, because you still need to know what is arriving.
The equipment specification tells you which models are approved, which are alternates, and which are mandatory with no substitution allowed. Franchisors are usually strict about cooking equipment and point of sale, and are sometimes more flexible on shelving, prep tables, and smallwares. Knowing where that line sits is what determines how much of your budget you actually control.
The layout matters just as much, because it dictates utility rough-ins. Gas lines, electrical drops, drains, and hood placement all get set during construction, and moving them afterward is expensive. If your site has a column, a low ceiling, or an unusual footprint, the standard layout will need adjusting, and that adjustment needs to happen before construction, not after.
Which Equipment Has the Longest Lead Times?
Lead time, not price, is what usually breaks an opening schedule. The categories that cause the most trouble are the ones that are either custom built or physically large.
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- Walk-in coolers and freezers. Typically built to the dimensions of your space, which means nothing ships until the layout is final.
- Exhaust hoods and ventilation. Sized to the cooking line beneath them and often fabricated to order.
- Refrigeration. Reach-ins, undercounter units, and prep tables are high demand items across the whole industry.
- Custom millwork, counters, and decor packages. These carry brand specific finishes and rarely sit in stock anywhere.
- Anything with a compressor. Ice machines and refrigerated display cases move slowly when manufacturer backlogs build up.
This is the part of the process where a supplier that stocks inventory changes the math. At FKG, with the exception of walk-in coolers and exhaust hoods, we hold equipment and essential parts across more than 160,000 square feet of our own warehouse space. This means we are not passing a manufacturer backlog on to your opening date. When we say no lead times, we mean the item is already sitting on our floor.
What Belongs on the Equipment Checklist Itself?
Work through the kitchen by station rather than by category. Station order matches the way the space gets built and the way an inspector walks it. Use this list even when the brand is supplying the package, because it is how you verify that what arrives matches what the site actually needs.
Cooking line
Ranges, fryers, griddles, char-broilers, ovens, and any brand specific unit such as a conveyor toaster or a rapid cook oven. Confirm gas or electric against the utility service actually available at the site, because assuming gas and finding an all-electric building is a costly discovery.
Ventilation and fire suppression
Exhaust hood, make-up air, and the suppression system. This is inspected, permitted, and non negotiable, and it needs to be scheduled early because it sits above the cooking line and has to go in first.
Refrigeration and storage
Walk-in cooler and freezer, reach-ins, undercounter units, refrigerated prep tables, and dry storage shelving. Size for delivery frequency rather than for average daily volume, because the gap between deliveries is what determines how much you need to hold.
Warewashing
Dish machine, three compartment sink, disposal, and drying racks. Health departments look closely at this station, so plumbing and hot water capacity need to be confirmed against the machine you are actually installing.
Front of house
Counters, seating, and the decor package. For a franchise, most of this is brand specified down to the finish, which is exactly why it should be ordered from a single source that can ship it together.
Smallwares
Pans, containers, utensils, thermometers, first aid, and cleaning supplies. Easy to leave until last and easy to underestimate. A location cannot open without them, and they are the most common cause of a last minute scramble in the final week.
How Should Installation Be Sequenced?
Equipment goes in from the outside walls inward and from the top down. Getting this order wrong means moving heavy units through finished space, which damages floors and costs labor.
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- Walk-in boxes go in as soon as possible, because of their size and complexity to install
- Hoods and ventilation follow, since they mount above the cooking line and require ceiling access.
- Heavy cooking equipment is set in place next, connected to gas, electric, and water.
- Refrigeration, warewashing, and prep equipment go in after utilities are live and tested.
- Front of house, shelving, and smallwares come last, once the kitchen is functional.
Whoever installs also needs to be licensed for the trades involved. Gas connections, electrical work, and hood systems all carry local permit requirements, and a general handyman cannot sign off on them.
How Do Franchisees Usually Pay for a Buildout?
If the brand supplies the package, equipment often sits inside the total opening investment quoted in your franchise disclosure document, and it gets financed alongside everything else. If you are buying it, equipment is generally the largest single line after construction.
Either way, franchisees typically fund it through an SBA loan covering the full opening, direct equipment financing secured against the equipment itself, a lease that keeps the units off the balance sheet, or cash for operators opening additional locations from existing cash flow.
Two things are worth knowing regardless of the route you choose. Lenders will want the equipment list and quoted pricing before they approve anything, which is another reason to settle the specification early. And used equipment, while cheaper up front, often fails franchisor brand standards and rarely carries transferable warranty coverage, so the savings tend to be smaller than they look. In systems with a mandated supplier, used equipment is usually not an option at all.
What Happens After the Doors Open?
Opening day is the start of the equipment relationship, not the end of it. A fryer that goes down on a Friday during a first month of trading is a genuine problem, and the speed of the response depends entirely on who you bought from.
The questions worth asking before you sign anything: who do I call when something breaks, is it a person or an automated system, who handles the warranty claim, and who tracks down the serial number. Our in-house service team handles all of that on behalf of the operator. They pull serial numbers, schedule repairs, expedite where needed, pursue warranty coverage, and keep you updated while you run the restaurant.
Every account also has dedicated project managers and service team that is reachable on a direct line 24/7. Our team is here to help with things like install issues, broken equipment, and will even contact manufacturers for you about warranties and other information.
Frequently Asked Questions
How far in advance should equipment be ordered for a franchise opening?
Plan on placing orders as soon as the layout is approved and permits are filed. For items built to order, such as walk-ins and hoods, that can mean several months ahead of your target date. Working with a supplier holding stock compresses lead time on many items, but the custom and larger items still follow their own schedule, which could need weeks or months to complete.
Can a franchisee choose their own equipment supplier?
It depends on the agreement. Some brands supply the package outright, some name an approved supplier that all franchisees must buy through, and some issue a specification and let you source it yourself. Where you do have a choice, the practical drawback of splitting the order across several suppliers is coordination: multiple delivery dates, multiple freight claims, and multiple points of contact when something is missing on install day. Single source packages that ship together avoid that and typically reduce freight cost.
What is the difference between a restaurant equipment dealer and a distributor?
The terms overlap in practice. A dealer generally sells and supports equipment across multiple manufacturers, while a distributor may focus on moving inventory at volume. What matters more than the label is whether the company holds stock, handles installation, and services what it sells after the sale.
Who is responsible for equipment that is damaged in transit?
This depends on freight terms, which is why they are worth reading before shipment. Damage claims are considerably easier to resolve when the supplier documents condition before the truck leaves. We photograph everything before shipment and use a partner freight company running direct trucks, which removes most of the handling where damage occurs.
Does equipment need to be replaced when a franchise is remodeled?
Not always. Remodels frequently update decor, furniture, lighting, and front of house finishes while retaining functional kitchen equipment. Franchisors typically issue a remodel standard specifying what has to change, and it is worth reviewing that against the actual condition of your existing units before assuming a full replacement.
Opening a Location? Let Us Handle the Equipment.
We work with growing brands, C-stores, and grocery operators across all 50 states, supplying everything a new location needs from a single source: equipment, furniture, smallwares, graphics, lighting, and decor, shipped together from our own warehouse.
Learn more about what we do, read our story, or get in touch to talk through your opening schedule. Call us anytime at (888) 683-9111.
