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Commercial equipment case studies

The full library. Each case study runs the real ROI, payback, and total-cost math for buyers who judge gear on downtime and cost of ownership, not marketing spec sheets.

51Case studies
11Decision types
Step-by-step walkthrough17Equipment cost case study10ROI case study7Startup how-to4Startup cost case study4Money explainer2Equipment reference2Buyer's rundown2Equipment ownership case study1Operating cost case study1Revenue and profit case study1
A wooden service counter in a small food business with a dark point-of-sale screen on a stand, an empty glass display case, a lidded jar and stacked takeaway cups, with an espresso machine on the back barLatest
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Buy an Existing Restaurant (8 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to buy a restaurant in 8 steps: screening sellers, valuing the cash flow, asset versus entity, due diligence, and the handover.

·40 min readRead the case study
Two men shaking hands across a wooden table in a sunlit room, one in an apron and one in a dark suit, with a blank sheet of paper and a pen on the table between them
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Negotiate a Restaurant Lease (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to negotiate a restaurant lease in 7 steps: triple net versus gross, the TI allowance, percentage rent, guarantees and the exit.

·42 min read
Four cooks working a kitchen line under a row of domed hanging lamps, one of them plating at a stainless pass holding three white plates while a pan flames behind him
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Pass a Health Inspection (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to pass a health inspection in 7 steps: the inspector's route, the self-audit to run first, violation classes and re-inspection.

·40 min read
A technician in a cap and dark work jacket kneeling with a wrench at the bolted flange of a large dark industrial machine under dim warm light
Equipment ownership case study

Restaurant Equipment Maintenance Schedule

Restaurant equipment maintenance schedule by class and interval: what staff own daily, what a technician owns, and what deferred upkeep costs in downtime.

·37 min read
A polished wooden bar top with a brass draft tower carrying four tap handles, backed by tall shelves of unlabeled bottles beside a bright window
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Open a Bar (8 Steps and Real Costs)

This walkthrough covers how to open a bar in 8 steps: concept and license, premises, build-out, opening stock, pour cost, staffing, and a worked budget.

·41 min read
A deep fryer with two wire frying baskets hooked over the rim of its vat, standing beside a stainless gas range with cast iron burner grates and a row of control knobs, lit warmly from one side in a dark kitchen
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Fryer Cost by Type and Size

This case study prices commercial fryers by type: open pot, tube, flat bottom, and pressure, plus gas versus electric, the hood, fire suppression, and oil.

·35 min read
A person in a dark jacket and glasses sitting at a window counter with an open notebook and a pen, looking out across an empty street toward storefronts with awnings and a few blurred pedestrians on the far sidewalk
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Choose a Restaurant Location

This walkthrough turns choosing a restaurant location into eight steps: daypart traffic, the technical screen that kills sites, and the lease math.

·51 min read
A cold storage room with wire shelving holding cardboard boxes and lidded containers, a ceiling-mounted cooling unit with three round fans, and an insulated door standing open onto a warmly lit space
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Do Restaurant Inventory (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to do restaurant inventory in seven steps: build the count sheet, standardize units, freeze the period, then read the variance.

·48 min read
Two people sitting side by side at a wooden table inside a warehouse, one holding up a printed page above a clipboard of stapled documents while the other rests a hand beside an open laptop, with steel racking and a parked yellow machine behind them
Operating cost case study

Restaurant Insurance Cost by Coverage

This coverage brief prices restaurant insurance line by line: general liability, property, business interruption, equipment breakdown, liquor, workers comp.

·39 min read
A metal bowl of vegetable trimmings on a stainless prep counter beside a digital scale, a wooden cutting board and a knife in warm window light
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Cut Restaurant Food Waste

This walkthrough shows how to reduce restaurant food waste in eight steps: measure the three streams, fix par levels, yields and portions, then hold the gain.

·36 min read
Takeout containers being packed on a stainless steel counter in a small commercial kitchen with a griddle and a fryer along the wall
Startup how-to

How to Start a Ghost Kitchen (7 Steps)

This rundown covers how to start a ghost kitchen in seven steps: pick the model, prove the menu, license the space, and price for the platform commission.

·44 min read
A stainless steel dish table with a coiled pre-rinse sprayer, a deep sink, stacked plastic dish racks, and a stainless machine with a raised hood beside a tiled wall
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Dishwasher Cost (Types + Install)

This case study prices commercial dishwashers by class: undercounter, door type, conveyor, high temp versus low temp, install, and the true cost per rack.

·36 min read
A tall stainless freezer cabinet standing open in a dim tiled commercial kitchen with pale vapor rolling out across the floor
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Freezer Cost (Reach-In to Walk-In)

This case study prices commercial freezers type by type: chest, undercounter, reach-in, merchandiser, blast chiller, and the walk-in build behind them.

·35 min read
A stainless ice machine head sitting on a storage bin with the bin lid propped open over loose ice, a metal scoop on the counter beside it in a tiled room
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Ice Machine Cost by Type

This case study prices commercial ice machines class by class: modular heads, bins, undercounter units, condenser choice, filtration, and the ten-year number.

·33 min read
Two stainless steel convection ovens stacked one above the other with glass doors and rows of control knobs, a stainless exhaust hood above and stacked sheet pans on a work table beside them
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Oven Cost by Type and Size

This case study prices commercial ovens by type: convection, combi, deck, conveyor, and rack, plus gas versus electric, the hood, install, and cost per hour.

·37 min read
An empty polished dark wood bar counter with a brass tap column of four curved spouts, blurred shelves of bottles behind it, and daylight from a paned window
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Get a Liquor License (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to get a liquor license in 7 steps: picking the class, checking quota rules, location eligibility, notice, renewals and timing.

·37 min read
Rows of shaped dough rounds on a wooden peel atop a flour dusted metal work table, with tall wire racks of baked rolls, a floor mixer, and a multi-door oven behind
Startup how-to

How to Open a Bakery: Costs and Steps

This rundown prices and sequences how to open a bakery in eight steps, from model and product line through space, equipment, permits, staffing, and cash.

·38 min read
A manager in an apron writing on a clipboard at a kitchen pass while two cooks work at the line behind him
Money explainer

Restaurant Labor Cost Percentage Explained

This breakdown covers restaurant labor cost percentage: the formula, what fully loaded labor includes, targets by service model, and how it feeds prime cost.

·38 min read
A person in an apron sitting at a wooden table in a cafe reading a printed sheet, with an open laptop, a calculator, and a cup and saucer nearby
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Get an EIN for Your Business (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to get an EIN in 7 steps, from confirming you need one to storing the confirmation, and why applying directly costs you nothing.

·29 min read
A commercial kitchen cooking line with a heavy stainless gas range, a deep fryer, and a flat-top grill standing side by side under warm amber light
Equipment reference

What Is a Commercial Kitchen? The Requirements

This reference explains what qualifies as a commercial kitchen: commonly cited code categories, NSF equipment, hoods, sinks, permits, and your 3 paths to one.

·32 min read
A pristine stainless-steel commercial restaurant kitchen fully equipped with a gas range, ovens, prep tables, and a ventilation hood in warm amber light
Buyer's rundown

Where to Buy Restaurant Equipment: 7 Channels

This case study compares every channel for buying restaurant equipment: dealers, supply stores, used sellers, auctions, liquidations, and typical savings.

·32 min read
A complete commercial kitchen equipment package staged along a wall: a stainless range, a reach-in refrigerator, a prep table, and shelving
ROI case study

Restaurant Equipment Financing: A Case Study

A restaurant equipment financing case study: the five funding routes, then an illustrative $80,000 kitchen priced, financed, and run loan vs lease vs cash.

·44 min read
A cook preparing ingredients in a rented commercial kitchen with stainless prep tables, pans of prepped produce, and a reach-in refrigerator
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Start a Catering Business in 8 Steps

This walkthrough covers how to start a catering business in 8 steps: pick a niche, get licensed, rent a commissary kitchen, price menus, and book events.

·29 min read
Warm-lit restaurant dining room with wooden tables and chairs set beside a stainless service counter before opening
Startup cost case study

Restaurant Startup Costs: A Full Breakdown

This breakdown prices restaurant startup costs by category: buildout, kitchen equipment, licenses, insurance, and the working capital most owners underfund.

·33 min read
A gourmet food truck parked and serving a line of customers at a busy street food spot in warm golden light
Equipment cost case study

Food Truck Cost: How Much for New vs Used (2026)

This cost breakdown puts food truck cost in one place: used trailer, used truck, and new custom build, plus the kitchen build-out, wrap, permits, and POS.

·39 min read
A cafe service counter with a point-of-sale tablet on a stand beside an empty pastry case and stacked takeaway cups
Buyer's rundown

Restaurant POS Systems: How to Choose

This breakdown explains what a POS system for restaurants does, the terminal, tablet, and mobile types, the features to compare, and how to choose by concept.

·45 min read
A shared commercial commissary kitchen with stainless steel counters and refrigerators and an operator prepping ingredients in the background
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Kitchen Rental: Cost & How It Works

This case study prices a commercial kitchen for rent: what a commissary costs, who rents one, the hourly, monthly, and dedicated models, and how to find one.

·31 min read
A restaurant dining room of bare wooden tables and chairs before service, the room a hired team has to run
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Hire Restaurant Staff (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to hire restaurant staff in 7 steps, from a wage budget and job post to the trail shift, onboarding, and retention that stops the churn.

·32 min read
An owner in an apron working through figures on a tablet at a small back-office desk beside a receipt printer
Money explainer

Restaurant Profit Margin: What's Normal?

This breakdown explains restaurant profit margin: what's normal, how to calculate net and gross margin, and the food, labor, and occupancy costs behind it.

·39 min read
A complete commercial kitchen equipment package staged along a wall, the kind of range, refrigeration, and prep line a restaurant might lease
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Lease Restaurant Equipment (7 Steps)

This walkthrough leases restaurant equipment in 7 steps: pick the lease type, qualify, read the terms, and plan the buyout so you avoid a costly lease.

·37 min read
A complete commercial kitchen equipment package staged along a wall: a stainless range, a reach-in refrigerator, a prep table, and shelving
Equipment reference

Restaurant Equipment List: Types and Sizes

Standard restaurant equipment, listed category by category with typical sizes, BTU, and capacities, plus how to size cooking, refrigeration, and warewashing.

·37 min read
A large stainless-steel commercial kitchen exhaust hood with grease baffle filters underneath and spiral ductwork running above it
Equipment cost case study

How Much Does a Commercial Kitchen Hood Cost?

Commercial kitchen hood cost, priced as a system: the exhaust hood, makeup air, ductwork, and the fire suppression that code requires over a cooking line.

·26 min read
Shelves of stacked food containers inside a walk-in cooler, the stock a food inventory has to count and value
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage (Steps)

This walkthrough shows how to calculate food cost percentage in 7 steps: count inventory, record purchases, find COGS, divide by food sales, and act on the gap.

·27 min read
The wooden counter of a coffee shop being set up before opening, with a commercial espresso machine, a grinder, stacked cups and empty wall shelves in warm light
Startup how-to

How to Start a Coffee Shop (8-Step Guide)

A rundown of how to start a coffee shop or cafe in 8 steps, from concept and funding to the lease, permits, equipment, hiring and an illustrative budget.

·50 min read
A gourmet food truck being set up and prepped at an outdoor street food event in warm golden hour light with string lights and a few people gathering
Startup how-to

How to Start a Food Truck (8-Step Guide)

This rundown walks you through how to start a food truck in eight steps, from concept and permits to the build and daily operations, so you fund the runway first.

·33 min read
A small business owner sitting at a table in their own shop with a laptop, a pen, and a sheet of paper in warm amber daylight
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Get a Small Business Loan (7 Steps)

This rundown walks how to get a small business loan in 7 steps, from sizing the amount to reading the APR, so you avoid the costly one-lender mistake.

·29 min read
A restaurant owner in an apron costing a menu at a table with a calculator, a printed sheet, and two small printed slips in warm focused light
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Price a Restaurant Menu (7 Steps)

This rundown prices a restaurant menu in 7 steps: cost every plate, set a target food-cost percentage, and check the margin so you avoid guessing on price.

·27 min read
A restaurant owner in an apron working at a wooden table with a laptop, a coffee, and printed forms he is marking with a pen in warm amber light
Step-by-step walkthrough

Restaurant Business Plan: How to Write One (Steps)

A restaurant business plan, section by section: a worked illustrative example, the financial pages a lender reads first, plus a one-page landlord version.

·62 min read
Interior of a newly opened full-service restaurant with set dining tables and an open kitchen in warm amber light
Startup cost case study

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant?

This rundown prices opening a restaurant by type and size: lease, buildout, kitchen equipment, licenses, and the working capital runway first-timers underfund.

·31 min read
Interior of a full-service restaurant before opening, with chairs set around bare tables and a stainless service pass behind, in warm amber light
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Open a Restaurant (8-Step Guide)

This rundown walks how to open a restaurant in 8 steps: validate the concept, plan the budget, fund it, sign a lease, pass permits, equip it, and soft-open.

·28 min read
A busy coffee shop counter at morning rush with a barista handing a paper cup to a customer in warm amber light
Revenue and profit case study

How Much Does a Coffee Shop Make? Revenue

This case study puts numbers on how much a coffee shop makes: illustrative revenue by size, the thin margin after costs, and what the owner takes home.

·31 min read
A pristine stainless-steel commercial reach-in refrigerator standing in a clean modern restaurant kitchen under cool blue light
Equipment cost case study

How Much Does a Commercial Refrigerator Cost?

This case study prices commercial refrigeration end to end: undercounter and reach-in units, prep tables, display cases.

·28 min read
A commercial coffee grinder with a bean hopper standing on a cafe counter in warm amber natural light
ROI case study

How Much Does a Commercial Coffee Grinder Cost?

This case study prices a commercial coffee grinder end to end: entry to premium tiers, espresso vs batch, how many a cafe needs, and one fully costed setup.

·27 min read
A stainless commercial kitchen with a multi-burner gas range under a canopy exhaust hood, a long stainless prep table down the middle, and wall shelving at the back
Equipment cost case study

Commercial Kitchen Equipment Cost in 2026

Commercial kitchen equipment cost read category by category, with illustrative line-by-line budgets for a ghost kitchen and a full-service restaurant kitchen.

·47 min read
A gourmet food truck parked and serving a line of customers at a busy street food spot in warm golden light
Startup cost case study

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Food Truck?

This case study prices a food truck from a used build to a new custom rig: the truck, kitchen build-out, permits, commissary rent, and the working capital runway.

·29 min read
A newly opened coffee shop interior with a commercial espresso machine on a wooden counter in warm amber morning light
Startup cost case study

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Coffee Shop?

This case study prices a coffee shop from cart to full cafe: buildout, equipment, rent, permits, and the working capital runway first-timers underfund.

·26 min read
A machine tool and a forklift in a warm-lit workshop, with a calculator, a pen, and a clipboard on a desk in the foreground
ROI case study

Equipment Financing: Rates, Terms, and Real Costs

This case study breaks down equipment financing: rate ranges by borrower profile, the term tradeoff, down payments, and how to compare offers on all-in cost.

·29 min read
A two-group commercial espresso machine on a cafe counter in warm amber natural light
ROI case study

Commercial Espresso Machine Cost: Cafe Prices

This case study prices a commercial espresso machine end to end: the tiers, what drives the number, the mandatory grinder, install and water.

·25 min read
Heavy commercial equipment and a forklift inside a modern warehouse
ROI case study

Lease vs Buy Equipment: The Payback Math

This case study runs a lease vs buy equipment analysis in full: utilization, ROI, payback, and total cost of ownership, so the call is a number, not a hunch.

·28 min read
A barista pulling shots on a commercial espresso machine in a busy cafe
ROI case study

Espresso Machine ROI for a Café: The Payback

A commercial espresso machine is a café's single most important asset, and its ROI comes from throughput, uptime, and drink margin, not the badge.

·26 min read
A used forklift and a manual pallet jack inside a warehouse in warm natural light
ROI case study

Used vs New Equipment: The Depreciation Math

This case study runs the used vs new equipment math: the depreciation cliff, cost per remaining life year, warranty gaps, and a worked three-way example.

·26 min read
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