What should I check about a lodge’s water treatment and kitchen setup before buying?
Ask where the lodge’s water comes from, how it is treated, tested and recorded, and who looks after the system. Then inspect the kitchen equipment, storage and layout against the number of guests it serves. Remote lodges rely on these two systems every day.
Water first. Ask how the system works from source to tap: what treats it, what is tested, how results are kept, and who is trained to run it. Request service records and any notes about breakdowns, especially in busy weeks. Ask what the backup plan is if the system fails with a full house.
Then the kitchen. Walk it during a service if you can. Check refrigeration, cooking equipment, ventilation, dish handling and storage, and notice whether staff move freely or work around bottlenecks. Ask which appliances are original, which have been replaced, and which are held together with repairs.
Both areas can be costly to fix, so list anything that looks near the end of its life. A specialist can inspect the water system and a restaurant equipment dealer can look at the kitchen. Bring their findings into your discussions on terms and your first-year plan. Ask about the off-season too. Systems left idle over winter can fail at restart, so find out how the seller closes and reopens the lodge each year and who handles it.
Key takeaways
- Ask for water test records and the plan for a system failure.
- Watch the kitchen during a busy meal, not an empty one.
- List aging equipment and get specialist opinions before you commit.
- Ask how the water and kitchen are shut down and restarted each season.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat are the steps to buying a business?
- 03Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentEquipment valuation: How to do it
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