AEO Answer · Mechanical

How Are Concession Stands Engineered for Food Service Codes?

By Jeremy Mills, CEO & Founder, Apex Grid Engineering — USAF Veteran. · Updated 2026-09-15

Concession stands are engineered as compact commercial kitchens: plumbing with required sinks and hot water capacity, electrical for simultaneous cooking equipment loads, code-compliant exhaust ventilation over cooking equipment, and a layout meeting health-code separation and finish requirements. Health-code compliance is designed in, not inspected in.

I'm Jeremy Mills, CEO & Founder of Apex Grid Engineering and a U.S. Air Force veteran. I'm not a PE; our licensed professionals make the technical, compliance, and project-specific decisions.

Illustrative diagram of building MEP systems: ductwork with diffusers, an electrical panel with conduit, and piping runs.

The concise answer

Concession stand design is commercial-kitchen MEP engineering at small scale: health-code plumbing (sinks, hot water, grease waste), electrical sized for every appliance running at once, grease-hood exhaust with fire suppression over cooking equipment, and washable finishes throughout. The health department reviews the plans before construction — the design has to pass on paper first. The opening-day failures I see are always the same short list: no hand sink, undersized water heater, no makeup air for the hood, or a panel that's full before the menu is. Every one is a design omission, and every one is cheap to prevent on paper and expensive to fix after inspection.

Where the engineering actually lives

Plumbing and electrical design carry the health-code load. The plumbing engineer lays out the required sinks, sizes the water heater for the peak rush, designs grease waste handling, and provides the floor drainage and washdown the code expects. The electrical engineer calculates the simultaneous equipment load — warmers, fryers, refrigeration, POS — and designs the service and distribution with room to grow. Ventilation and layout complete the package. Cooking equipment gets the code-required exhaust hood with fire suppression and designed makeup air; the equipment layout maintains the code's separation of raw and ready-to-eat flows and provides the clearances the equipment needs; and the finishes, lighting, and ventilation rates are specified for the health department's plan review. The drawings should read as a food facility, not a shed with appliances.

What to get right on day one

Concession stands get one health inspection before the season starts. Here's how to pass it.

Draw for the health reviewer: sinks, flows, finishes, and equipment on the plans before submittal
Size hot water for the rush: the busiest 30 minutes sets the water heater, not the average
Ventilate the cooking line: grease hood, fire suppression, and makeup air designed as one system
Calculate the real electrical load: simultaneous equipment plus spare — menus always grow
Separate the flows: raw and ready-to-eat, clean and dirty, in the layout from the start

Which related engineering resources can help?

When should I hire a structural engineer?What does a PE stamp mean?What is MEP engineering?Commercial kitchen plumbing design IPC plumbing code requirements explained Electrical load calculations explained Request a project review Engineering service for this question Metro engineering guides Verified service areas

What else do project teams ask?

What plumbing does a concession stand need?

At minimum: a three-compartment sink for wash-rinse-sanitize, a separate hand sink, a mop sink, and hot water capacity for peak demand — all per the health code. Floor drains and hose bibs for washdown, grease waste handling where fryers are used, and backflow protection on the water service. The plumbing plan is drawn for the health department's review.

What electrical load does a concession stand draw?

More than it looks: fryers, warmers, griddles, freezers, refrigerators, point-of-sale, and lighting can total 100 amps or more in a small stand. The electrical engineer does a real load calculation for simultaneous equipment operation and sizes the service, panels, and branch circuits accordingly — plus spare capacity, because menus grow.

Does a concession stand need a kitchen exhaust hood?

Wherever grease-producing cooking equipment is used — fryers, griddles, charbroilers — yes: a Type I grease hood with fire suppression, sized and ducted per the mechanical code. The hood, duct routing, and makeup air are designed together; the exhaust can't work without replacement air, and the fire suppression has to cover the appliances below.

What finishes does the health code require?

Typically smooth, washable, non-absorbent floors, walls, and ceilings in food areas; sealed concrete or quarry tile floors with coved bases are common. The finishes, the lighting levels, and the ventilation all get reviewed in the health department plan check — the engineering drawings should anticipate that review.

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