Case study · Restaurants & cafés
Gusto Giusto, Tankerton
A full commercial kitchen and restaurant fit-out for a new bar and pizza operation in Tankerton — converted from an old Chinese restaurant, with the proprietors carrying out the wider refurbishment themselves.
Client
Gusto Giusto, Tankerton
Location
Tankerton, Kent
Project value
£50k–£100k
Build time
6 weeks
The brief
Kitchen fit-out Tankerton Kent: Converting an old Chinese restaurant into a bar and pizza kitchen
Gusto Giusto is a bar and pizza restaurant in Tankerton, opened by proprietors new to the hospitality industry who were undertaking the wider site refurbishment themselves. Kent Commercial Kitchens was brought in to deliver the commercial catering package — kitchen, extraction, ventilation, hygienic finishes and flooring — alongside ongoing technical support and advice throughout the project.
The unit had previously operated as a Chinese restaurant, so the existing services and layout needed stripping back and redesigning for a pizza kitchen. KCK's scope covered the full catering installation: commercial kitchen equipment, extraction canopy and ductwork, air handling and air conditioning systems, UPVC hygienic wall cladding, Polyflor safety flooring in the kitchen, and LVT flooring throughout the restaurant. With the proprietors self-managing the broader refurbishment, KCK provided practical guidance at each stage to help them navigate the build alongside their own works.
What we did
Kitchen, extraction, ventilation, finishes and flooring
Commercial kitchen and pizza equipment
A kitchen fit-out Tankerton Kent for Tankerton.
Specifically, full kitchen fit-out including cooking suite, pizza oven, Rational combi oven, True refrigeration and Maidaid warewashing. In particular, bespoke stainless steel fabrication throughout the kitchen. Also, equipment specified and supplied direct, commissioned on handover.
Extraction, air handling and air conditioning
Additionally, extraction canopy over the cooking line with compliant ductwork designed for the pizza kitchen brief. In particular, air handling unit and air conditioning system installed as part of the same programme — covering both the kitchen and the restaurant floor to ensure the dining environment worked alongside a wood-fired pizza operation.
Hygienic finishes and flooring
Furthermore, uPVC hygienic wall cladding installed throughout the kitchen. In particular, polyflor slip-resistant safety flooring in the kitchen, properly coved. Also, lVT flooring laid throughout the restaurant area. Therefore, all finishes coordinated with the proprietors' own refurbishment programme.
Support for first-time operators
With the proprietors new to the industry and managing their own broader refurb, KCK provided technical advice and practical guidance throughout — on equipment selection, services sequencing, compliance requirements and how the catering installation needed to interface with the works being done around it. In particular, part design-and-build project, part consultancy.
Equipment specified
Specified for a bar and pizza kitchen
- Rational combi oven
- Blue Seal cooking suite
- True refrigeration
- Maidaid warewashing
The installation
Before and after
The outcome
A new restaurant opened and trading in Tankerton
Gusto Giusto opened as a bar and pizza restaurant, fully equipped and compliant from day one. The catering installation — kitchen, pizza equipment, extraction, air handling, wall cladding and flooring — was delivered in six weeks alongside the proprietors' own refurbishment programme. For a first-time operator taking on a full premises conversion, having a single catering contractor handle the technical package and provide ongoing advice through the build made the difference between a smooth opening and a complicated one.