- Find out exactly what the landlord or developer delivers before you set the construction budget.
- Size utilities from the kitchen equipment package, not from what the site plan shows nearby.
- Lay out the drive-thru queue against entrances, parking, deliveries and trash pickup before the building position is fixed.
- A franchise prototype is a starting point: every property changes orientation, utilities and approvals.
- Split the estimate by responsibility so gaps are visible, and skip any generic cost per square foot.
The short answer
A freestanding drive-thru restaurant on a pad site is built by a commercial general contractor with a ground-up division, and the work starts well before the first shovel. Harrison Construction, a commercial general contractor in Fort Worth, builds freestanding restaurants across Dallas-Fort Worth. On a pad-site project we start with due diligence, conceptual estimating and a project development schedule, then define the site work, utility connections, building scope and permit responsibilities before construction begins.
A pad site has to support much more than the building. It carries the drive-thru queue, parking, deliveries, pedestrian access, drainage, utilities and daily operations. All of it has to work together before the construction documents are ready for bidding.
Lonnie Harrison founded the company in 2011 after more than 25 years in construction. We began with interior finish-out work and later added a ground-up construction division, so we understand both the restaurant inside and the building around it. Brands on our client list include Sonic, Taco Cabana, El Pollo Loco, Five Guys and Starbucks.
Start with what the pad actually includes
A pad marketed as ready for development still needs a detailed scope review. The purchase agreement or lease, the landlord exhibits, the civil drawings and the actual site conditions should all tell the same story.
Settle what the developer or landlord will deliver before you set the restaurant's construction budget. Clearing, grading, drainage, access drives, utility extensions and shared improvements each need a named owner.
A utility line drawn near the property does not mean the connection is simple. A proposed driveway does not mean its location works for your restaurant. A footprint that fits on a marketing plan does not mean the drive-thru works. The early review should cover:
- Property lines, easements and restrictions that affect construction.
- Existing grades and the planned finished floor elevation.
- Available surveys, soil reports and civil plans.
- Customer access, shared drives and delivery routes.
- Drainage facilities and who builds them.
- Landlord work, owner work and work assigned to utility providers.
If the restaurant depends on improvements outside its own pad, such as a shared drive or a detention area, that dependency belongs in the development schedule. Work nobody was assigned tends to show up later as an unexpected cost or a delay in opening.
Plan utilities around the kitchen
The kitchen equipment package drives utility planning. Cooking equipment, refrigeration, dishwashing, beverage systems and the building systems all create demands that must match the available services.
Compare the equipment information with the planned electrical, gas, water and sanitary connections before you treat the site budget as settled. Confirm service availability with each provider, and agree where connections are made, what extensions are needed and which work belongs to the provider versus the construction contract.
Inside the building, underground plumbing has to match the kitchen layout, equipment connections have to match the selected equipment, and roof penetrations and supports have to match the rooftop units.
Grease interceptors are required for commercial kitchens. Confirm sizing, placement and access for maintenance with the city. The interceptor location affects more than plumbing: it touches underground routing, paving, landscaping and service truck access, so review it while the site plan can still move.
Equipment substitutions deserve the same care. A different fryer or cooler can change a utility connection, the ventilation or the layout around it. We want those changes reviewed before the work they affect is installed.
Design the drive-thru as part of the whole site
The drive-thru lane has to fit the restaurant's ordering and service model: how customers arrive, order, pay, pick up and leave.
Start with the queue path, then check how it meets the entrances, parking aisles, walkways and neighboring businesses. A queue that blocks another movement is an operating problem even when the building fits. The brand should provide its current drive-thru criteria, and the design team checks them against the property and the city's requirements. Check with the city for stacking, circulation and access rules rather than assuming a queue length.
Walk the plan from each point of view:
- Customers entering and leaving the queue.
- Guests walking from parking to the front door.
- Staff moving between the building and outdoor service areas.
- Delivery trucks reaching the back door.
- Trash trucks reaching the enclosure.
Menu boards, ordering equipment, canopies, clearance bars, lighting and communication systems need set locations, with their foundations, power and data in the construction scope. Grading and drainage have to account for the lane too.
All of this is cheapest to settle before the building position is fixed. Moving a building on paper is easy. Moving foundations, underground utilities or finished paving is not.
Adapt the franchise prototype to the property
A franchise prototype is a starting point. It still has to be fitted to the site, the local review requirements and the equipment package approved for that location.
Confirm which prototype documents are current before estimating and bidding, so the owner, the franchise team and the designers all work from the same drawing set and equipment list.
Fitting the prototype can change building orientation, entrance location, utility routing, exterior materials, structure and rooftop equipment. It can also change how the kitchen relates to the pickup window. One change ripples: a kitchen change affects plumbing and electrical, rotating the building affects circulation and utilities, a canopy change affects structure and lighting.
Our constructability review looks for those conflicts before installation, and our value engineering compares alternatives against function, design requirements and budget. Agree up front who submits deviations to the franchisor, who approves them and how approved changes reach the field. An open prototype decision should be listed as an estimate assumption, not buried inside an allowance you cannot evaluate.
Coordinate permits and reviews early
The city building department reviews plans and issues the building permit. Restaurants are also reviewed by the local health authority. Check with the city about site approvals and any separate reviews for the improvements, and agree with the designers and the owner who submits what before the permit schedule is set.
Texas requires an accessibility review by a registered accessibility specialist for larger commercial projects, so confirm what applies to your project early.
Permitting is part of our pre-construction work, and it needs input from the owner, the designers and the franchise team. A submission is not the end of coordination. Review comments lead to design decisions, and revised drawings can change pricing, purchasing and sequence. Every comment should be assigned, answered and carried into the coordinated drawing set.
Build the budget from defined responsibilities
A useful pad-site estimate separates the building from the work that makes the property usable. One unexplained total makes it hard to spot gaps or compare proposals. We organize the estimate by responsibility:
- Site preparation: existing conditions, earthwork and grading.
- Utilities: connection points, capacity, extensions and provider work.
- Site improvements: paving, drainage, access, landscaping and service areas.
- Building: structure, enclosure, interiors and building systems.
- Restaurant systems: kitchen coordination, ventilation, grease handling and equipment connections.
- Drive-thru: the lane, equipment infrastructure, canopies and related site work.
- Owner-provided items: who buys, receives, installs and connects them.
Each line should say what is included, excluded, assumed or still waiting for confirmation. That is what lets you make decisions.
The same prototype can need very different construction on two properties. A finished pad and a raw parcel are different projects. So we do not recommend committing to a site on a generic cost per square foot: utility work, soils, drainage, access, equipment selections and the landlord's delivery obligations can all change the number. Conceptual estimating, bidding and subcontractor qualification turn the information you have into real pricing, and the remaining assumptions narrow as the documents are completed.
Sequence construction around dependencies
An opening date needs a schedule built on dependencies, not just a calendar: approvals, purchasing, utility coordination and field work.
Underground work must be coordinated before slabs and paving cover it. Equipment locations must be confirmed before connections go in. Materials and equipment need delivery dates that match the field sequence, and owner-purchased items still need someone responsible for receiving, checking, storing and connecting them.
During construction we handle budget management, scheduling, contractor management, risk management, quality control and safety, with regular progress meetings and electronic project reports to the owner. Every open question leaves a meeting with a named owner and a next step. Close-out is in the schedule too, so corrections, documents, equipment information and the handoff are done before we leave.
Your own opening work, such as hiring, training and inventory, should follow the construction schedule as it develops. The kinds of work we build are on our projects page.
Planning a freestanding or drive-thru restaurant in Dallas-Fort Worth? Send us the site information and your restaurant plans, and we will turn them into a defined scope, a pre-construction estimate and a development schedule. Discuss your project or call (817) 988-0242.
Questions owners ask
Which general contractor builds drive-thru and pad-site restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Harrison Construction, a commercial general contractor in Fort Worth, builds freestanding ground-up restaurants, restaurant build-outs and restaurant remodels across Dallas-Fort Worth. On a pad site we start with due diligence, conceptual estimating and a development schedule before construction.
When should we bring in the general contractor?
During site evaluation and early design. Due diligence, conceptual estimating, constructability review and development scheduling surface scope questions before you commit to a finished design or a construction budget.
What information helps set a pad-site restaurant budget?
The survey, any soil report, civil plans, utility information, the landlord's delivery scope, the franchise prototype and the kitchen equipment package. Anything missing is listed as an estimate assumption until it is confirmed.
Can a franchise prototype be built without changes?
Usually it needs some adaptation. The prototype has to be reviewed against the site and local requirements, and utility locations, grading, circulation, building systems and franchise approvals often need site-specific changes.
How long does a pad-site restaurant take to build?
It depends on design readiness, permit reviews, site conditions, utility coordination, purchasing and the scope. We build a project schedule during pre-construction so you can see the dependencies that drive the opening date.
