RESTAURANT CONSTRUCTION · GTA
Restaurant Construction in the GTA
Every week late is rent on a room that isn't selling. We build to your opening date.
BuildwithMGI is a licensed Ontario general contractor building full-service restaurants, commercial kitchens and QSR franchise locations across the GTA. Founded in 2014, the firm builds to franchisor brand standards and to the exhaust, fire suppression and grease interceptor requirements inspectors check first. Every schedule is built backward from the opening date the landlord and franchisor have set.
Owner risks
Restaurant openings slip for three reasons. We plan against all three.
Base-building surprises
Undersized gas, electrical service without the capacity, no exhaust route, nowhere to put the grease interceptor. We find them in the work letter, before you sign.
Failed inspections
Hood, suppression, grease interceptor and public health are where inspectors look first. We build to those standards from rough-in, so final inspection is a formality.
A missed opening date
Your rent-free period and your franchisor's opening date don't move. Our schedule is built backward from them and tracked weekly.
Opening-day math
We schedule backward from the day you open.
Most leases give a fixed rent-free fixturing period. Most franchisors set the opening date before the build starts. So we start at opening day and work back: inspections, equipment delivery, rough-ins, permit and long-lead items like hoods, walk-ins and make-up air units. You see the critical path at the first meeting and a weekly update after that.
Request a Preliminary Budget →Scheduled backward from opening day. Long-lead items (hoods, walk-ins, make-up air units) ordered with the permit.
What we build
From flagship dining room to franchise rollout.
Full-service restaurants
Dining rooms, bars and full commercial kitchens.
QSR franchise locations
Built to brand standard, including drive-thru lanes where the site allows.
Fast casual
High-throughput counters and open kitchens.
Commissary and delivery kitchens
Production kitchens with no dining room.
Technical scope
What's inside a BuildwithMGI restaurant contract.
Kitchen hood and exhaust designed and installed to NFPA 96, with fully welded grease duct and required clearances.
Fire suppression over cooking appliances, interlocked with the gas shut-off.
Tempered make-up air balanced to the exhaust.
Grease interceptor sized to the Ontario Building Code, permitted, and CSA B481.1-compliant where installed at the fixture.
Walk-in coolers and freezers, with refrigeration and condensers located for service access.
Gas piping sized for the full cooking line, installed by a TSSA-registered gas contractor.
Electrical service upgrades and dedicated equipment circuits.
Floor drains, indirect waste and hand sinks where public health requires them.
Smooth, sealed, washable finishes that meet Ontario's food premises regulation.
Barrier-free entrances and washrooms to Ontario Building Code requirements.
Process
From lease to first service.
Work-letter review
Base-building capacity checked before you sign.
Design and brand coordination
Franchisor package, equipment schedule and long-lead orders placed.
Permits
Building, grease interceptor and signage approvals.
Build
Rough-ins inspected, equipment set, weekly schedule updates.
Inspections and opening
Building, fire and public health sign-off, brand turnover documents, keys to your team.
Our crews do the work, each carrying its own insurance and WSIB coverage.
FAQ
Questions owners ask.
Send us the lease before you sign it.
Share the work letter, the listing or the franchisor's package. We'll flag the base-building gaps and give you a preliminary budget within one business day.