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Commercial Construction

Opening a Restaurant in Hornsby: Costs, Approvals and Fitout Timeline

A practical guide to opening a restaurant in Hornsby, including indicative fitout costs, council and food-business approvals, commercial kitchen requirements and a realistic opening timeline.

TL;DR Opening a restaurant in Hornsby commonly takes five to eight months from initial property checks to opening day. Reusing an existing approved restaurant with suitable services may reduce the programme to around three to four months . A complex venue requiring a Development Application, new exhaust, major fire upgrades, heritage work or extensive custom finishes may take eight to twelve months or longer . For early budgeting in 2026, a standard restaurant fitout in Sydney commonly requires an indicative construction allowance of about $2,500 to $4,500 per square metre . A basic reuse project may be lower, while high-end venues and technically difficult commercial kitchens can exceed $4,500 to $6,500 per square metre . These figures are starting points, not quotations. Rent, bond, desi…