Restaurant and commercial build-out contractor in Arlington, TX

By Lonnie Harrison, President · November 13, 2026

Who is a good restaurant contractor in Arlington, TX?

A good restaurant contractor in Arlington is one that has already built restaurants in the city, prices your drawings before you are committed, and tells you plainly what the suite or the site will need. Ask for the list of restaurants they have built, with the city and the type of work. A contractor who cannot name them is learning on your project.

Harrison Construction’s Arlington records cover the three kinds of restaurant work owners ask about: a freestanding El Pollo Loco built from the ground up; finish-outs of shell space for Five Guys (2015), Firehouse Subs (2017), Grip Med Grill (2013) and Fat Straws; and a renovation of an operating Sonic Drive-In. Every one is in the table further down this page, with its size and type of work, and on our projects page.

Restaurants are most of what we build. Of the 190 projects on our records, 123 are restaurants, for 35 brands, most of them in Dallas–Fort Worth. Lonnie Harrison, who founded the company, managed restaurant projects for national accounts at a Dallas general contractor before he started Harrison Construction in 2011.

What a restaurant build-out in Arlington involves

A restaurant has more systems in a small space than almost any other tenant. The kitchen sets most of them, so the equipment list comes first, before the price is real.

• The hood and exhaustthe hood size and the route of the exhaust duct to the roof, the make-up air, and the fire suppression system over the cooking line.
• Grease and plumbinga grease interceptor for the kitchen, floor drains and sinks where the health review asks for them, and the sewer and water service to carry them.
• Gas and powerthe gas load of the cooking equipment and an electrical service that can carry the kitchen, the walk-in and the dining room at the same time.
• The dining room and storefrontseating, restrooms, finishes, lighting, the storefront and the sign, inside the landlord’s criteria when the space is in a center.
• Two reviews, not onethe city building permit for the construction, and the health review for food service. Arlington’s Health Services division charges a plan review fee for a new food establishment or a major remodel, separate from the building permit.

We check the kitchen against the suite in pre-construction, before the lease is final where we can. A space with no grease interceptor, no roof access for the hood or an undersized electrical service is still possible, but the cost of fixing it belongs in your budget before you sign, not after.

Commercial interior build-outs in Arlington

Not every Arlington project is a restaurant. An interior build-out, or tenant finish-out, turns a leased suite into a working business: walls and doors, ceilings and lighting, heating and cooling, electrical, plumbing, restrooms, finishes and the storefront, built to the tenant’s plans and the landlord’s rules.

Our Arlington records include two Phenix Salon Suites finish-outs, of 9,551 and 10,256 sq ft. A salon-suite building is many small rooms, each with its own sink, lighting and power, off a shared corridor. That puts plumbing, electrical and sound separation in nearly every room, which is why it is priced and scheduled more like a restaurant than an office. Site work and renovation at Los Robles Mobile Home Park, a 5-acre site in Arlington, is also on our records.

Harrison Construction started in 2011 with interior finish-out work, and finish-outs are still most of our records. Read more on our tenant finish-out page.

Permits, plan review and the certificate of occupancy in Arlington

Arlington’s Planning and Development Services department issues building permits from City Hall, 101 W. Abram Street, and reviews plans through its ePlan Review system. The city adopted the 2021 editions of the International Building Codes and the 2020 National Electrical Code on November 1, 2022, and permit applications have had to comply with them since January 1, 2023.

A commercial suite cannot open until the city issues the certificate of occupancy. The city publishes its own procedures for the certificate of occupancy application review and inspections, and they are worth reading before the opening date is set. Texas also requires an accessibility review by a registered accessibility specialist for larger commercial projects, through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

Your architect prepares the drawings and we take the permit through with them: the submittal, the review comments, the inspections during construction and the final inspections. The permit is on the development schedule from the first week, because it is often the item that decides the opening date.

Step by step: a restaurant or build-out in Arlington

The order matters more than any single step. Here is how a project runs with us, and what you decide at each stage:

The stages of an Arlington build-out and who does what

How to read this table: the first two rows happen before you are committed, and they are where most budget surprises are found. The last column is what keeps the schedule moving: a late decision on equipment or finishes moves the opening date more often than the construction itself.

Remodeling a restaurant or store that stays open

Many Arlington projects are remodels of businesses that are already trading. Our Arlington records include a renovation of an operating Sonic Drive-In, and remodels of open restaurants are a large part of our work across Tarrant County.

A remodel of an open business is planned around the business. We agree on the phases with you before pricing, put noisy and dusty work outside trading hours where the scope allows, keep the entrance, the kitchen and the exits safe every day the doors are open, and include the cost of working that way in the bid. Our guide to remodeling a restaurant while it stays open goes through it in detail.

How to compare restaurant contractor bids in Arlington

Two bids for the same Arlington restaurant can be far apart and both be honest, because they price different things. Before you compare the totals, line them up on the same points:

• The same drawings and equipment lista bid priced from an early sketch is not comparable with one priced from permit drawings and the supplier’s equipment layout.
• Exclusionsowner-furnished equipment, low-voltage, signage, the grease interceptor and landlord work are the usual gaps between two numbers.
• Allowancesan allowance is a placeholder, not a price. Ask what each one assumes.
• Who runs the jobthe name of the person who prices it and the person on site every day.
• Reporting and close-outhow you will know where the job stands, and what you receive at the end.

Harrison Construction is fully bonded and insured, prices your drawings line by line with the exclusions called out, and reports through regular progress meetings and electronic project reports.

From our Fort Worth office to Arlington

Arlington sits between our Fort Worth office and Dallas, and it is part of our everyday service area with Grand Prairie and Mansfield. The same team runs an Arlington job as a Fort Worth one: Lonnie Harrison, President; Alex Lioumis, VP of Operations, who oversees project execution, field personnel and subcontractors; and Anne Hickey, who coordinates the schedule and the subcontractors.

To start, call (817) 988-0242 or send the address, the lease status and any drawings through our contact page. We come back with what the project will take and the next step.

Related: General contractor in Fort Worth, TX · Restaurant construction · Franchise restaurant construction · Freestanding restaurants · Tenant finish-outs in Dallas.