Restaurant and Retail Cleanout in Chicopee, MA

A restaurant that has closed is one of the heaviest clearances there is. Commercial kitchen equipment is built from stainless steel to last thirty years, and it weighs accordingly.

A commercial range runs 400 to 800 pounds. A walk in cooler comes apart in panels but the compressor is its own load. Hoods are bolted to the ceiling and ducted through the roof. Fryers hold oil. None of this comes out the way a domestic kitchen does.

Expect $1,500 to $6,000 for a full restaurant, less for a small retail space. The upside is that stainless steel is good scrap and there is a real second hand market for working kitchen equipment, both of which pull against the bill.

Sell what works before hauling what does not

Used restaurant equipment sells. A working range, a reach in cooler, prep tables and a good mixer all have buyers, and there are dealers who will look at a whole kitchen. Do that pass before booking a clearance. What is left, the built in fixtures, the damaged equipment and the fit out, is what the truck is for.

Refrigeration and grease are the two problems

Every piece of refrigeration holds refrigerant, and federal law under the Clean Air Act requires a certified technician to recover it before the unit can be scrapped. A restaurant might have six units. That is six recovery fees and it needs planning rather than discovering.

Grease is the other one. Fryer oil, grease traps and the inside of a hood system are not general waste and cannot go in a truck with the furniture. Waste oil has its own collection route. A trap needs pumping by a licensed company. Say what is still full when you book.

Hood systems also mean rooftop penetrations. Taking a hood out leaves a hole through the roof, and that needs closing properly by a roofer, not covered over and forgotten. Landlords care about this one a great deal.

What the landlord expects back

Read the lease before deciding what leaves. Most commercial leases require the space returned in a defined condition, and some require fixtures to stay while others require them removed. Taking out something the landlord expected to keep, or leaving something they expected gone, both cost money at the end of a tenancy. Fifteen minutes with the lease is worth more than any advice a hauler can give you.