(206) 410-5100Click to Call
Kolmo Construction

Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Renovations

Health-department-compliant restaurant renovations, commercial kitchen installations, bar build-outs and dining room remodels for Seattle and King County hospitality operators.

Kolmo Construction builds restaurants and commercial kitchens across Seattle and King County — Type I and Type II hood systems, walk-in cooler construction, grease interceptors, bar and counter build-outs, dining room finishes and ADA-compliant restrooms. Kolmo is a licensed Washington general contractor, registration KOLMOL*753JS.

Restaurant construction is governed by three approval tracks running at once: the city building permit and its trade permits, Public Health — Seattle & King County plan review for the food establishment, and fire department review of the hood suppression system. Kolmo prepares the health department submittal alongside the building permit rather than after it. A health plan review that starts late is the single most common reason a restaurant misses its opening date, and it is entirely avoidable.

Plan for 3 to 6 months end to end including permitting, against 6 to 12 weeks for a comparable office fit-out. The difference is review and equipment rather than construction: health plan review, hood and suppression coordination, and lead times on walk-in coolers and grease interceptors. Kolmo sequences equipment procurement against the health inspection date, not the framing schedule, so the inspection is not waiting on a delivery. These are planning ranges — a scoped fixed price comes from a walkthrough.

The items that carry both the longest lead times and the hardest inspection gates — hoods, make-up air, suppression, interceptors, walk-ins — are priced as a defined package with the responsible trade named, rather than left as an allowance to be resolved during construction. On a restaurant job that is the difference between a schedule and a hope.

Licensed & certified in Washington

  • Washington State Contractor Registration — KOLMOL*753JS
  • WA State SEDBE (Small Economically Disadvantaged Business Enterprise) — D700031098
  • King County Small Contractor & Supplier (SCS) — 7259
  • WA Lead-Safe RRP Firm — R25-0269
Verify every credential independently

What this covers

  • Commercial kitchen build-outs
  • Type I & Type II hood systems with make-up air
  • Fire suppression coordination
  • Public Health plan review submittals
  • Grease interceptor & walk-in cooler installation
  • Bar, counter & front-of-house construction
  • Dining room remodels
  • ADA-compliant restrooms & accessible routes

How the work runs

  1. Concept review against health and fire code

    Kolmo reviews the kitchen layout and equipment schedule against Public Health — Seattle & King County requirements and fire code before pricing: finish schedules for food preparation surfaces, hand sink placement and count, floor drain and interceptor provisions, and the hood coverage the cook line actually requires. Catching a layout problem here costs a drawing revision; catching it at plan review costs a month.

  2. Parallel permit and health submittal

    The building permit, the electrical, plumbing and mechanical trade permits, and the health department plan review are filed together rather than in sequence, with fire department review of the suppression system tracked alongside. Running these in parallel is what compresses a restaurant programme from six months toward three.

  3. Equipment procurement against the inspection date

    Hoods, make-up air units, walk-in coolers and grease interceptors are released early and tracked against the health inspection date rather than the construction schedule. These items gate inspection, not just installation, so a late delivery does not delay a trade — it delays opening.

  4. Construction, rough-in and inspection gates

    Kolmo builds to the approved health and building plans and carries each inspection gate in order — underground plumbing and interceptor, mechanical and hood rough-in, suppression test, then finishes. Deviations from the approved plan are resolved with the reviewer before they are built, because a food establishment cannot be signed off against drawings it does not match.

  5. Final inspections and opening handover

    Building, trade, fire and health final inspections are carried to sign-off, and the space is handed over with the closeout package, equipment warranties and the punch list closed. Kolmo works the punch before opening, since a restaurant punch list worked during service is worked at night for twice the cost.

Restaurant & Commercial Kitchen Renovations — common questions

What approvals does a restaurant build-out need in King County?

Three tracks run in parallel: the building permit and its trade permits from the city, Public Health — Seattle & King County plan review for the food establishment, and fire department review for the hood suppression system. Kolmo prepares the health department submittal alongside the building permit rather than after it, because a health plan review that starts late is the most common reason a restaurant misses its opening date.

How long does a commercial kitchen renovation take?

A restaurant or commercial kitchen build-out commonly runs 3–6 months end to end including permitting, against 6–12 weeks for a comparable office fit-out. The difference is almost entirely review and equipment: health department plan review, Type I hood and suppression coordination, and walk-in cooler and grease interceptor lead times. Kolmo sequences equipment procurement against the health inspection date, not the construction schedule.

Do you install Type I hoods and grease interceptors?

Yes — Type I and Type II hood systems, make-up air, fire suppression coordination, grease interceptors and walk-in cooler construction are all in scope. These are the items that carry both the longest lead times and the hardest inspection gates on a restaurant job, so Kolmo prices them as a defined package with the responsible trade named, rather than leaving them as an allowance to be resolved during construction.

Other commercial services

Request a commercial quoteAll commercial services