Closing or Relocating a Restaurant? A Kitchen Equipment Moving Checklist

Whether you are closing a location for good or moving the whole kitchen down the street, the equipment is usually worth more than the lease. A rushed move with no plan is how walk-ins get dented, hoods get bent, and expensive equipment ends up sitting in a parking lot waiting on a truck. Here is the checklist we run through with owners before moving day.

Inventory and decide before you move

Walk the kitchen and list every piece with model and serial number, then decide what is moving, what is being sold, and what is scrap, since equipment that will not survive another install is not worth paying to relocate. This is also the point to check lease terms for anything you are required to leave behind, like a hood system or walk-in that is fixed to the building.

Sequence the disconnect and shutdown

Gas, electrical, and plumbing connections need to come down in the right order by a licensed tech before equipment can be crated, and refrigeration should be shut down and allowed to reach ambient temperature before it travels. Trying to compress disconnect and pickup into the same few hours on close-out day is the single biggest cause of delays we see.

Protect equipment for the trip, however short

A move across town still needs the same crating and blocking as a cross-country shipment, since a reach-in that shifts in an open pickup truck bed takes the same kind of damage as one that shifts on a highway. Doors get taped, shelving comes out and travels separately, and anything with a compressor gets corner protection before it goes on the truck.

Plan the delivery window around your build-out

If the new space is not ready to receive equipment yet, short-term climate-controlled storage keeps everything safe and insured until the electrical and plumbing rough-in is done, rather than equipment sitting exposed on a job site. Tell us your target reopening date and we will build the pickup, storage, and delivery schedule around it. Call (866) 216-7742 or email usacommericalmovers@highvalueproductshipping.com to plan a closure or relocation move.