Restaurant and Commercial Kitchen Movers — Full Service

A restaurant move is six trade-coordinated jobs on a single timeline: the gas-line disconnect and reconnect, the plumbing for ice makers and three-compartment sinks, the electrical for hood fans and high-amperage equipment, the refrigeration for the walk-in cooler and freezer, the floor and ceiling protection because the new space is on health-code review, and the actual physical move of the equipment between buildings.

We handle the move. We coordinate the trades. We don't certify the gas, the plumbing, or the electrical — those require licensed third-party contractors — but we sequence them into the move calendar so the kitchen reopens on schedule.

Muscleman Elite runs restaurant, bar, café, food-truck commissary, and commercial kitchen relocations across the Austin metro and the Permian Basin for independent operators, restaurant groups, ghost kitchens, brewery and taproom buildouts, and catering and event-kitchen operators. Local moves bill hourly with a 2-hour minimum, prorated in 15-minute increments after the minimum. You always get a written estimate before the move.

Walk-in coolers and freezers are buildings, not appliances. A walk-in is panelized — insulated panels with cam-lock connections, a refrigeration condenser unit usually on the roof or pad-mounted outside, copper line set running between the two, an evaporator unit inside, and floor panels that may or may not be tied to the slab. Disassembly is panel-by-panel in the documented sequence. The condenser unit and line set are refrigeration-trade scope — we coordinate the refrigeration contractor's schedule, we handle the panel disassembly and transport, they handle the refrigerant recovery and the reconnection.

Gas lines are licensed-contractor scope, full stop. Gas ranges, fryers, char-broilers, salamanders, conveyor ovens, combi ovens, water heaters with gas — every one of these has a gas connection that must be disconnected by a licensed plumber or gas fitter at the old location and reconnected and pressure-tested at the new location. We do not certify gas. We coordinate the plumber's schedule into the move calendar.

Hood and exhaust systems are bigger than they look. Type I hoods over cooking equipment, the ductwork through the roof, the rooftop exhaust fan, the make-up air unit, the fire suppression system (Ansul, Pyro-Chem, Amerex) — these are interconnected. A hood relocation is rarely a simple unbolting. The fire suppression has to be drained, tagged, and re-certified by the fire suppression vendor. The duct system often has to be inspected for grease accumulation before relocation. We move the hood components; the hood mechanical scope and the suppression re-certification are specialty-trade scope.

Sealed-floor protection is a health-code issue, not a courtesy. Commercial kitchens require sealed flooring (quarry tile, epoxy, sealed concrete) to pass health code. The new kitchen has either passed inspection already or is on a scheduled inspection. Heavy equipment dragged across an unsealed or newly-sealed floor can cure-time-damage the surface — that's a failed re-inspection. Floor protection is non-negotiable on a kitchen move.

Grease and drainage protocols matter. Fryers, grease traps, char-broilers, hood-system drain pans — these don't just get tipped and rolled out. Hot grease is a burn hazard. Cold grease in a trap is a slip hazard and a sanitation issue. Drain-down, contain, dispose through the grease hauler — handled before the equipment moves, never on move day.

1. The walkthrough at both kitchens. A move planner walks the closing kitchen and the new kitchen. We photograph every piece of equipment, document gas connections, electrical service, plumbing tie-ins, and the layout of hood, walk-in, and refrigeration runs. We get contractor contacts from your operations side — the plumber on the gas, the refrigeration tech for the walk-in, the hood vendor, the fire suppression vendor.

2. The written estimate. Itemized by labor category, by equipment type, by trade-coordination scope. Premium for after-hours and weekend windows. Pricing for sealed-floor protection scope. No verbal-only quotes.

3. COI submission for both landlords. Restaurant landlords — restaurant-row strip centers, mixed-use lifestyle centers, food halls, ghost-kitchen operators — almost all require COIs. Standard turnaround 24-48 hours from the time we have the building's underwriting requirements in writing. USDOT 2105156, TxDMV 006568203C.

4. The trade-coordination calendar. The single most important deliverable on a restaurant move. We build the calendar against your reopening date. Gas disconnect at the old kitchen by your plumber on day 1. Refrigeration recovery on the walk-in on day 1 or 2. Hood and ductwork disassembly on day 2. Equipment move on day 2-3. Floor protection at the new kitchen day 3 or before. Equipment placement day 3. Gas reconnect and pressure test by your plumber day 4. Refrigeration recommissioning day 4-5. Fire suppression re-certification by the suppression vendor before opening. Health-code re-inspection where the new kitchen is on inspection.

5. The grease and drain-down pass. Fryers drained and grease removed by your grease hauler (Mahoney, Darling, Filta) before move day. Grease traps drained. Drain pans on the hood emptied. We will not move equipment containing hot or cold cooking grease.

6. The walk-in disassembly pass. Refrigeration trade pulls the refrigerant and disconnects the line set. We disassemble the panels in the documented sequence, hardware bagged to the panel, condenser unit on a pallet for transport. Refrigeration trade reconnects and recommissions on the other end.

7. The hood disassembly pass. Fire suppression vendor drains and tags the suppression system. We disassemble the hood components and the accessible ductwork. Rooftop exhaust fan handling is sometimes our scope, sometimes the mechanical contractor's — depends on the building and the rigging requirement.

8. The equipment move. Sealed-floor protection on both ends. Heavy equipment on the right dollies and ramps. Floor mats inside the walk-in to protect the panel system. Gas-equipped items moved with the gas line capped by your plumber, never with an open gas connection. High-amperage equipment (combi ovens, conveyor pizza ovens, dishwashers) moved with the electrical disconnected by your electrician — labeled, capped, and ready for reconnect.

9. The set and walkthrough. Equipment placed per the new kitchen's floor plan. We stage equipment for the trades to do their reconnects — plumber, refrigeration tech, hood mechanical, fire suppression. Walkthrough with your operations lead. Pre-existing damage at the new building photographed before we release the crew.

Muscleman Elite runs restaurant and commercial kitchen relocations from six Texas locations: downtown Austin (823 N Congress), North Austin/Domain (7218 McNeil Dr), Lakeway/Bee Cave (15201 Dexler Dr), Dripping Springs (12700 Daniel Boone Dr), Buda/Kyle (3921 Science Hall Lp), and Odessa (6005 Eastridge Rd).

In the Austin metro we work restaurant relocations across downtown and East 6th, the East Austin restaurant corridor along East Cesar Chavez and East 7th, the Rainey Street District, the South Congress and South 1st belt, the South Lamar restaurant row, the Domain and Domain Northside, Mueller, the Hill Country Galleria, Lakeway and Bee Cave, and the Round Rock / Cedar Park / Pflugerville / Buda / Kyle suburban restaurant scene. In the Permian Basin we work restaurant and catering kitchen relocations across Odessa, Midland, and the surrounding communities.