Relocating a Restaurant Kitchen: Equipment Moving Checklist

The chest freezer is still half full of chicken, the gas cylinders are connected, and the new shop has no power yet. That is how a two-day kitchen move turns into a week of no sales.

A restaurant, canteen, bakery or catering kitchen is full of heavy, awkward and sometimes hazardous equipment, and every closed day is money you do not make. Here is what to move, how, and in what order.

Plan the closure first, vehicles later

Pick your quietest trading days. For many food businesses that is early in the week, but check your own sales. Let regular customers and move partners know when you close and when you reopen.

In the days before the move, run perishable stock down. Order less, push specials and aim to empty the freezers as far as you can.

Then make sure the new kitchen is actually ready: power, water, gas points, ventilation and drainage. Carrying equipment into a site that cannot use it only stretches the downtime. request a driver gas fitters, electricians and refrigeration technicians early to disconnect at the old site and reconnect at the new one.

List every piece of equipment

Walk through the kitchen with your phone and write it all down. A typical list looks like this:

• Cookers, ovens, burners and grills
• Chest freezers, upright fridges and display chillers
• Gas cylinders and regulators
• Freestanding work tables, shelving and sinks
• Blenders, mixers, fryers and other small appliances
• Pots, pans, trays and utensils
• Plates, cups, cutlery and glassware
• Dry stock, packaging and cleaning supplies
• Tables, chairs and front-of-house items

Note the size and rough weight of the big items. This list becomes your load description.

Cookers and ovens

1. Get a qualified gas fitter to disconnect gas cookers. Do not touch the gas lines yourself.
2. Let ovens and burners cool down completely before anyone handles them.
3. Pack grates, racks and loose parts separately so they do not rattle or break.
4. Tape the doors shut and cover knobs and glass panels with cardboard or blankets.
5. Move them upright and strap them in the vehicle.

Chest freezers and fridges

Empty and defrost them the day before if you can, then dry the inside. Skip this and you get water on the truck floor and a smell that greets you at the new shop. Tape lids and doors closed, and either secure the shelves or take them out.

Keep them upright where possible. If a unit has to be tilted, check the manufacturer's guidance on how long to wait before switching it back on. Our fridge and freezer moving guide goes through it step by step.

For stock that must stay cold, move it separately in cool boxes with ice packs, or ask a trusted business nearby to hold it for a day.

Gas cylinders: keep it cautious

Gas cylinders need more care than anything else in the kitchen. Be conservative and follow your gas supplier's guidance above everything here.

• Close the valve fully and disconnect the regulator before moving.
• Fit valve caps or protective covers if your cylinders have them.
• Keep cylinders upright and secured so they cannot roll or fall.
• Never carry them in a closed cabin with people. They belong in a well-ventilated load area, away from heat and anything that could ignite.
• Move only what you need. Ask your supplier whether they can collect, exchange or deliver cylinders at the new site instead.
• Tell the driver in your request that the load includes gas cylinders, how many and what size. They need to know before they accept.

If any of this is unclear, ask your gas supplier or a qualified gas fitter well before moving day.

Ready to move?

Book a truck or van on Sphere

Choose your vehicle, propose your price, and verified drivers in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan accept or send a counter-offer.

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Utensils, crockery and the small stuff

Nest pots, pans and trays together in sturdy boxes. Wrap plates, glasses and bowls one by one in paper or bubble wrap, and stand plates on their edge in the box. Knives go in with blades covered, in a box that says so on the outside.

Label boxes by station: Grill, Pastry, Front of house, Cleaning. Staff can then unpack straight into place.

Keep one "first day" box with you: a few pots, knives, chopping boards, cleaning supplies, a first aid kit and the spanner for the gas regulator.

One trip or two?

A small kitchen can often go in one truck. Bigger operations do better splitting it. Send non-essential items, spare crockery, dry stock and furniture a few days early. Then move the core cooking equipment, freezers and gas cylinders on closing day.

That can cut the days your kitchen is actually shut. Our Lagos business moves page covers repeat and multi-trip jobs for businesses.

On the day

Put one person with the driver at each end. Load the heavy equipment first and strap it. At the new site, unload in setup order, and do not let anyone cook until the technicians have reconnected gas and power.

How to do this on Sphere

1. Open the Sphere app and pick a truck or pickup van based on your list.
2. Add the old and new addresses, with parking and access details.
3. Describe the load fully: cookers, freezers, the number of gas cylinders, boxes and furniture.
4. Agree loading and offloading help with the driver before you accept an offer.
5. Propose your price. Verified drivers accept it or counter, and you choose.

Sphere is available in Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan.