Bar & Lounge Build-Outs
A bar and lounge build-out turns a leased shell or a second-generation space into a plumbed, wired, licensed bar and the seating around it: die and back bar, under-bar drains and circuits, the accessible counter section, and a floor plan that matches what the state approves. Grandview Contractors builds bars and lounges across Salt Lake County and Utah County under a Utah DOPL B100 general contractor license.
When a bar or lounge build-out is the right scope
This page is for projects where the bar is the business, not a service counter in the corner of a dining room: cocktail bars, hotel and neighborhood lounges, wine bars, and 21-and-over rooms that earn from the well, not the kitchen. The build centers on the bar die, the back bar, and the seating around them.
If the concept is a full menu with a bar attached, see front-of-house build-outs. If it has a dance floor and an occupant load in the hundreds, the life-safety scope grows into a nightclub build-out. If you brew on site, start with brewpub construction. And if you’re only adding taps behind an existing bar, draft system installation is a smaller project than a build-out.
One Utah reality shapes the whole job. The state’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services issues bar licenses under a population-based quota, and the licensed premises are defined by the floor plan you submit. The layout we build has to match that drawing, so we treat the DABS plan and the permit set as one document from day one.
What a bar build-out actually involves
A bar is a dense piece of construction packed into about three feet of depth: a framed die wall carrying the top overhang, a drink rail, a foot rail, and a run of under-bar equipment that each needs its own drain, water, or circuit. Most of what makes or breaks the project happens below the top.
- Die framing and blocking sized to the top material: quartz, solid surface, wood, concrete, or zinc each need different support and overhang limits
- Under-bar plumbing: three-compartment sink, hand sink, dump sinks, glass washer, and ice bins, each with indirect drains to floor sinks, plus a trench drain where the layout calls for it
- Beer and glycol line chases from a remote keg cooler to the tap towers, roughed in before the slab is closed
- An accessible section of the counter at a lower height, as ADA standards require for bars with customer seating
- Back bar millwork and liquor display anchored to structure, since seismic anchorage of tall shelving is an inspection item on the Wasatch Front
- Lounge acoustics: absorptive ceiling and wall treatment so a full room stays at conversation level
Framing, blocking, millwork installation, and finishes are performed by Grandview. Plumbing, electrical, and HVAC are performed by licensed subcontractors under our MEP coordination: Grandview holds the contract, sequences their work, and checks it before the next trade covers it up.
How we sequence a bar from the slab up
- Lock the bar layout first. Bar length, service stations, and the under-bar equipment list get settled before anything else, because every drain, floor sink, and circuit comes from that drawing. The same drawing goes to DABS and the building department.
- Verify the utilities. A second-generation bar space may have floor drains in the wrong place and a panel with no spare capacity for refrigeration. We confirm both before lease terms are final.
- Underslab and rough-in. Saw-cut the slab, run the drains and floor sinks, set the beer-line chase, rough the electrical. Once the slab is poured back, moving a drain is a demolition project.
- Die, back bar, and top. Frame the die, set blocking for the foot rail and top, install the back bar millwork, then template the top after the under-bar equipment is placed, not before.
- Finishes, lighting, and sound. Acoustic panels, lighting zones and dimming, soft seating, and the finishes that only read correctly at low light levels.
- Inspections and opening. Building and health finals, fire sign-off, and the DABS premises inspection, scheduled so the license and the certificate of occupancy land together rather than months apart.
What does a bar build-out cost in Salt Lake City?
As ballpark planning numbers only: a finished, plumbed, and wired bar, meaning die, top, back bar, and under-bar rough-in, commonly runs from roughly $1,500 to $4,000-plus per linear foot, with lounge finishes, lighting, and acoustics priced on top by room size. Real numbers come from a defined scope, not a per-foot rule.
What moves the number most:
- Slab work. Drains and floor sinks already where your bar wants them save thousands. Saw-cutting and trenching a slab to relocate them is the most common surprise.
- Top material and length. Solid-surface and quartz tops are predictable; zinc, concrete, and live-edge wood cost more and need heavier blocking.
- Refrigeration and ice. Back-bar coolers, a keg cooler, and an ice machine each add circuits, and in Wasatch Front hard water, the filtration the ice machine’s warranty quietly assumes.
- Occupant load. Standing bar areas raise the occupant count, which drives restroom fixtures and exits.
We give a budget range at consultation, a real estimate once the bar drawing is settled, and a proposal you can take to your lender or landlord.
Questions we actually get
Does the bar layout really have to match my DABS application?
Yes. Utah’s bar license defines the licensed premises by the floor plan you submit, so the bar, storage, and dispensing areas we build need to match that drawing. We coordinate the construction set and the DABS plan together, and if the design changes mid-build, we flag it so your application is updated before the state inspects.
Can I reuse the bar in a second-generation space?
Sometimes, and it’s worth checking before you commit to the lease. The die and top may be fine, but the under-bar drains, the hand-sink location, and the accessible counter section are inspected against current Utah-adopted code, not the previous tenant’s approval. A bar that looks finished can still fail review.
How long does a bar build-out take?
Plan on roughly six to twelve weeks of construction after permits for a bar and lounge without a full kitchen, plus plan review time in front of it. Back-bar refrigeration, custom tops, and millwork are the long-lead items, so we order them during permit review, not after demolition.
Tell us what you’re working on
Bar and lounge build-outs sit inside our restaurant build-outs, part of Grandview’s renovation services. Send us the space, the bar drawing if you have one, and the target opening date. We reply within a couple of hours during business hours, a day at most, with a straight read on scope, sequence, and budget.