But the one thing that almost never makes it onto the first draft of the project plan is what 400 employees are supposed to eat for the next five months if the cafeteria is also part of the renovation.
For HR teams, this lands as a workforce problem.
The Real Cost of Losing On-Site Foodservice
Pull the cafeteria offline, and employees leave the property to find food, which adds 30 to 45 minutes to a standard lunch break. This includes the drive, the line, and the trip back.
Across 200 people eating off-site daily, you're looking at roughly 100 person-hours lost per day.
The time drain is the measurable part; the morale drag is harder to quantify. Renovations already carry disruption, such as construction noise, displaced desks, blocked entrances, and constant scheduling changes. Removing on-site meals within the same window compounds it further.
For hourly workers and lower-wage staff who depend on subsidized canteen meals, losing that benefit without a replacement is both an inconvenience and a pay cut. If retention is already under pressure, this accelerates it drastically.
HR Gets Told, Not Asked
The standard planning flow goes like this: operations locks in the renovation scope, brings in contractors, confirms the timeline, and then notifies HR that the cafeteria will be unavailable starting on a certain date. HR gets two weeks' notice and a comms brief.
HR should be inside the scoping conversation right from day one, specifically to flag workforce questions:
- When does access disappear?
- How long will the renovation take?
- What's the replacement plan?
If no budget line exists for temporary foodservice, HR has both the standing and the business case to create one.
The framing that lands with finance teams is operational continuity. You're preventing measurable productivity loss and retention risk during a period that already carries significant pressure from disruption.
Practical Options for Keeping the Workforce Fed
When an on-site kitchen goes dark for months, three approaches typically surface.
- Catered delivery contracts work for small headcounts. If you have fewer than 100 staff, this can cover the gap at a manageable cost. Above that, per-meal pricing can climb fast, and you may still not have enough dining space if the lunch area is also under renovation.
- Nearby restaurant vouchers or partnerships solve the problem if your office sits in a dense urban area. For suburban campuses, industrial facilities, or remote job sites, this may not be your best option.
- On-site mobile kitchen infrastructure. A fully outfitted trailer at your facility connects to existing power and water, serving your workforce without anyone leaving the property. Companies with a large lot area can run multiple units across meal periods.
When the New Orleans Saints needed to maintain foodservice operations during a major facility renovation, they brought in Response Logistics' mobile kitchen solutions to keep operations running. Multiple cooking units, refrigeration, and full buffet infrastructure were set up and operational before the permanent kitchen went offline.
Northeastern University used a similar approach when construction delays left their Oakland campus without a dining hall ahead of freshman move-in. A temporary 8,000-sq.-ft. dining facility was operational within 12 days.
Fast deployment is achievable when the infrastructure is purpose-built for it.
Five Questions to Settle Before You Call a Vendor
If you're scoping a temporary kitchen solution for an upcoming renovation, lock down these details first:
- Peak headcount. Compute the capacity. If 60% of your workforce eats between noon and 1 PM, that's your sizing number.
- Site access. Trailer units need clear approach routes and stable ground. Confirm before you set delivery expectations.
- Utility availability. Most mobile kitchens need a power hookup and a water source. Map those connections before the inquiry.
- Renovation timeline with buffer. Add at least 30% to the contractor's estimate. Plus, renovations can run long. Build that into your temporary kitchen contract duration.
- Permitting. Temporary food facilities require approval from the local health department. Work with a vendor who owns that process. If they hand it back to your team, try to look for someone else.
The Budget Conversation
Single-unit mobile kitchen deployments for 100 to 200 people typically fall in the low-to-mid-thousands per month, depending on configuration and contract length. Larger multi-unit setups cost more, but they're competing against a specific number: employees leaving the area daily, burning 30 to 45 extra minutes, multiplied by headcount, multiplied by renovation duration.
Run that calculation before the finance meeting. The productivity math tends to make temporary kitchen infrastructure look inexpensive by comparison.
Start the Vendor Conversation Earlier Than Feels Necessary
Most organizations begin scoping temporary kitchen solutions three to four weeks before a renovation starts. That's not enough lead time, particularly in Q2 and Q3 when construction peaks and mobile kitchen vendors book out quickly.
Starting six months out locks in better equipment options, more scheduling flexibility, and enough runway to clear permits without rushing.
The renovation is happening regardless. So, make sure the workforce experience is part of the plan from the start, not something HR will scramble to address once the construction walls go up.
What HR Actually Owns Here
HR can't control the contractor's pace or the project scope. What HR can control is the workforce impact, including cafeteria continuity and whether the renovation is treated as a planning requirement right from the very start of the project.
Companies undergoing major renovations should have plans for foodservice if the cafeteria is part of the renovation. HRs should set a temporary kitchen contract the same way they set a janitorial or security contract.
Don’t skip this, or you’d spend the back half of the renovation addressing complaints, watching engagement scores slip, and explaining to a lot of your employees why no one planned for lunch.
