Equipment Sourcing & Installation

Equipment is the largest single line in most food budgets and the one most likely to move an opening date.

Lead times are the reason. A standard reach-in cooler ships in days. A custom hood, a walk-in box, a specialty oven or anything coming from a manufacturer’s queue can be eight to twelve weeks out, and that clock has to start early enough that the units arrive after the space can receive them but before final inspection needs them commissioned.

Ordering too late delays opening. Ordering too early means crates sitting in a space that is still being drywalled, getting damaged, and voiding warranty coverage.

Specified against the drawings, not a catalogue

We lock the equipment package before the mechanical drawings are finalized, because the drawings depend on it.

The hood is sized to the cooking line. The panel schedule is built from the actual nameplate loads. The gas line is sized to the connected BTU. The floor drains go where the units land. Change the equipment after the set is permitted and you are amending drawings and, sometimes, resubmitting.

We source through national supplier networks, working closely with Norpex in Waterloo, who will produce a 3D kitchen layout that we reconcile against our own sheets before anything is ordered. Conflicts get resolved on paper.

Certification is not negotiable

Every unit we place is commercial-grade and carries CSA or NSF certification as applicable. This is not a preference — it is what the public health unit and the electrical inspector will look for.

Uncertified equipment, typically an import bought direct to save money, fails at final inspection when the room is otherwise ready to open. Replacing it at that point costs the unit, the freight, the reconnection and however many weeks of rent the delay consumes.

Installation and commissioning

Delivery is not installation. Units have to be set, levelled, connected to gas, water, drain and power by licensed trades, and then commissioned — which means fired, calibrated, temperature-verified and documented.

Refrigeration needs to be pulled down and holding temperature before a health inspector will sign off. Gas equipment needs TSSA approval on the connection. We coordinate that sequence so the inspection is booked against a kitchen that is genuinely ready rather than one that is nearly ready.

What you receive

An itemized equipment schedule keyed to the drawings — tag number, make, model, footprint, nameplate load and utility rough-in for every unit

A coordinated equipment layout showing final placement, clearances to combustibles and aisle widths, issued once the supplier's plan and our sheets agree

Purchase orders with confirmed ship dates, tracked on a delivery schedule sequenced to the construction program

A certification and cut-sheet binder — CSA or NSF documentation, model numbers and nameplate data for every unit, indexed to the equipment schedule

Commissioning records: startup checklists, refrigeration pull-down and holding-temperature logs, and connection sign-offs from the licensed gas and electrical contractors

Owner's manuals, completed warranty registrations and a service contact list, with model and serial numbers recorded for each unit placed

What we need from you

A locked menu and service model before specification. The cooking line, the hood length and the gas sizing are all derived from what you actually intend to make.

Deposits released on the supplier's schedule. A manufacturer's production slot is not held on a verbal commitment, and losing the slot moves the opening date.

Confirmed delivery access — door and corridor widths, loading position, elevator dimensions if applicable. A walk-in panel that will not fit through the opening becomes a demolition problem.

Decisions on optional and owner-supplied items inside the window we give you. Substitutions after the mechanical set is permitted mean drawing revisions.

Not included

Smallwares, dishware, POS hardware and front-of-house consumables are not part of the equipment package. We can quote them separately if you want us to handle them.

Ongoing service contracts and maintenance. We hand over the manuals, the warranty registrations and the service contacts; the agreements are between you and the provider.

Repair, re-certification or warranty coverage on used and owner-supplied units. We will install equipment you bring where it is safe and legal to connect, but we do not stand behind a unit we did not source.

Questions about this service

Can I use equipment I already own, or buy used at auction?

Within limits. A used unit has to be commercial-grade, carry a legible CSA or NSF mark, and be in condition a licensed trade will connect. We inspect it before it goes on the schedule. What we will not do is warrant a unit we did not source, or carry the delay when one fails at final inspection. Auction units usually come with no manual, no warranty and no service history.

What happens if a unit arrives damaged or fails during startup?

We inspect and note damage at delivery, because a crate signed for clean is hard to claim on later. Freight damage goes back to the carrier, a defective unit to the manufacturer under its warranty. We handle the claim and chase the replacement or the parts. Where the schedule cannot absorb the wait, we will tell you and look at a rental or a substitute.

What if the building's gas or electrical service cannot carry the equipment list?

It comes up more often in older retail units than people expect. We total the connected load early, compare it against the incoming service, and if there is a shortfall you have three options: a service upgrade through the utility, a different equipment mix, or electric where gas was planned. Upgrades take time and money, which is why we check before the order and not after.