The carpentry on a café fitout is the service bar and counter, the benches, the back-bar cabinetry, any partitions and the shelving. On a full café that usually means two to four weeks on site. It is also a small share of the total, because the kitchen services (exhaust, grease trap, hydraulics, power) carry most of the budget. A carpenter prices the joinery, and the other licensed trades price their own work.
What does the carpentry cover on a café fitout?
The carpentry side of a café fitout is:
- The service bar or counter, including the front, the top and the cabinetry behind it.
- Café benches and back-bar cabinetry that hides the equipment customers never see.
- Stud partitions for back-of-house areas, storerooms or an office.
- Shelving and display joinery.
- Strip-out and make-good when the lease ends.
Electrical, plumbing, fire and mechanical work carry their own licences, so those trades are on site alongside the carpenter. The quote should say which parts of the scope are carpentry. Commercial fitouts sets out how that split works on a job.
What does a café fitout cost around Wollongong?
Hospitality fitouts run $2,500 to $5,000 a square metre for the whole job, all trades, and the top of that range is not a ceiling. A café is a commercial kitchen with seating attached, and the kitchen is where most of the money goes. The shop fitout cost guide has the full breakdown by type of fitout.
The carpentry lines inside that figure are:
- Café benches and back-bar cabinetry: $1,200 to $2,500 a lineal metre.
- Sales counter or reception desk: $3,000 to $9,000, depending on size and what goes on the face.
- Stud partition walls: $180 to $400 a square metre of wall, lined both sides.
- Shelving and display joinery: $400 to $1,200 a lineal metre.
These are the same ranges used across the site. A power upgrade is a separate line again, anywhere from $8,000 to $40,000 depending on what the building has spare, and that is why two quotes for the same café can be tens of thousands of dollars apart. A second-generation site, where a café is moving into a space that was already a café, keeps the existing exhaust, grease trap and plumbing, and in some cases halves the budget.
What surfaces do food premises rules apply to?
Under Food Standard 3.2.3, fixtures and fittings in a food business must be designed and constructed so they can be easily and effectively cleaned and do not give pests somewhere to live. Food contact surfaces must be impervious to grease, food particles and water. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand guide to Standard 3.2.3 sets this out.
The floor, wall and ceiling requirements in the same standard apply to areas used for food handling, cleaning and personal hygiene. They do not apply to dining areas or other areas the public usually has access to, which includes the customer side of a bar.
That split shapes the joinery. A timber bar front or a spotted gum feature wall can sit on the customer side. The working side of the bar and the prep areas need substrates and finishes that handle water, heat and constant wiping, and the council food premises guide and certifier have the final say on what is acceptable. Settle that before the joinery drawings are finished, because changing a substrate after the cabinets are built means building them again.
How long does a café fitout take?
A full café with a bar, benches and partitions is more like two to four weeks of carpentry than one, and a small retail counter and shelving fitout can be done in about a week. The program has to line up with the other trades, since the carpenter cannot finish the bar front until the plumber and electrician have roughed in behind it.
Most landlords give a rent-free fitout period of four to eight weeks, and rent starts when it ends, so a late fitout costs money. The carpentry program should be agreed in writing against that date. Work on a tenancy that is still trading happens before open and after close, and centres set their own contractor hours and inductions.
What about the make-good at the end of the lease?
A make-good clause decides what you hand back, and the range runs from bare shell to leaving the fitout in place. Budget $10,000 to $50,000 for a typical Illawarra tenancy, and more where there is a kitchen to strip. Read the clause before signing the lease, because the bill arrives when the business is moving or closing.
For a café fitout quote or a make-good quote, call Dave on 0414 007 351 or send the contact form. Send the drawings if there are any, or the make-good clause from the lease, and the quote is itemised against them. The commercial page lists the rest of the fitout work.
Want a hand with this at your place? Get a free quote or call 0414 007 351.
