Most first-time owners plan for construction and forget the months before it. In Los Angeles the time between signing a lease and the first day of construction is often as long as construction itself.
The usual order
For a typical tenant improvement, owners should expect roughly two to four months for design and drawings, two to six months for permits, and three to six months for construction. A full project commonly takes eight to fourteen months. A simple refresh of an existing restaurant can be much faster.
- Survey of the space and concept design
- Construction drawings with engineering
- Building department plan check
- Health department plan check, in parallel
- Alcohol approvals, in parallel if you serve alcohol
- Construction
- Final inspections, health permit and opening
Building permits
In the City of Los Angeles, plans go to the Department of Building and Safety. Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica have their own building departments and their own timing. Plan check returns corrections, the design team answers them, and this repeats until the plans are approved. The City of Los Angeles also runs a Restaurant and Hospitality Express Program that assigns a case manager to help food businesses through the departments.
Health department review
Food facilities need plan approval from the health department before construction starts. In most of the county that is the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; Pasadena, Long Beach and Vernon have their own. Submit health plans at the same time as building plans, not after.
Alcohol
Alcohol takes two approvals: a state license from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and a local land-use approval. In the City of Los Angeles that is either a Conditional Use Permit or, for qualifying sit-down restaurants, the faster Restaurant Beverage Program. Start both as early as possible, because a full conditional use process can outlast the whole build-out.
What slows projects down
The fastest projects are the ones where the concept, the kitchen equipment and the seat count are decided before the drawings begin.
- A change of use from retail or office to restaurant
- Incomplete drawings that come back with many corrections
- Design changes after submission
- Long lead times for kitchen equipment and custom furniture
- Utility upgrades by the power or gas company
Sources
By Albert Galstyan · November 11, 2026
