From Vacant Office
to Finished Café
FAIME Construction Inc. was the general contractor, engaged directly by the owner, for the complete interior renovation and fit-out of Café Luka in North York, Ontario. Between April and June 2024, the 1,300 sq ft unit — previously used as office space — was stripped back to its shell and rebuilt as a café. The kitchen was relocated, the washroom was renewed, the drywall was replaced and painted, the exposed ceiling was spray-painted, and new lighting, plumbing fixtures, flooring and vinyl baseboards were installed. The project was delivered on schedule, within budget and with zero safety incidents.Commercial fit-outs & tenant improvements · Greater Toronto Area · 15+ years' trade experience · WSIB Active · $2M CGL · 2-year workmanship warranty
Project Overview
Café Luka occupies a ground-floor commercial unit in a North York plaza. The unit had previously been fitted out as office space, and its existing layout did not suit a food-service business: the rooms, finishes and service locations were all arranged for desks, not for a kitchen, a washroom open to customers and an open dining floor.
The owner engaged FAIME Construction directly as general contractor. That meant a single contract and a single point of accountability for the entire job — demolition, finishing work, and the scheduling and supervision of the licensed trade partners who carried out the plumbing, electrical and flooring work.
Starting Point: A Clean Slate
The first decision was to remove the office interior entirely rather than adapt it. Working around an existing layout limits where a kitchen and washroom can go and usually costs more in the long run. FAIME's crews demolished the former office fit-out and cleared the unit back to its shell, exposing the structure, ductwork and services overhead. With the floor plate open, the café's layout could be planned around how the business would actually operate, rather than around walls that were already standing.
Relocating the Kitchen & Renewing the Washroom
With the space cleared, the kitchen was moved to a new position within the unit to suit the café's layout. The plumbing serving the kitchen and washroom was repaired and updated by FAIME's licensed plumbing partner, and new toilets and fixtures were installed throughout. The washroom was renewed in full, with new fixtures and new finishes.
FAIME scheduled this work early in the programme so that every service running through the walls was in place before the new drywall closed them in.
Walls & Ceiling
FAIME replaced the drywall, then taped, finished and painted it in a clean white that sets off the café's artwork and textiles. Overhead, the ceiling was left open and spray-painted in a single dark finish covering the deck, ductwork, piping and structure.
An exposed, dark-painted ceiling is a common choice for cafés and restaurants. It makes the overhead services recede visually, keeps the full height of the unit, and keeps every service accessible for future maintenance, unlike a closed ceiling. Spraying it also has to happen before the new floor is laid, because overspray must never reach a finished surface, and the work was sequenced accordingly.
Lighting, Flooring & Baseboards
New linear lighting was installed along the length of the dining room by FAIME's licensed electrical partner, giving the long, narrow unit even, uniform light from the storefront to the back wall. FAIME's flooring partner then installed new grey wood-look plank flooring across the unit.
The space was finished with vinyl baseboards. In a food-service setting this is a practical decision as much as an aesthetic one: vinyl stands up to daily wet mopping and to repeated contact from chairs and cleaning equipment, where painted wood baseboards would soon chip, swell and need repairs.
Coordinating the Trades
Three trade partners worked on the project alongside FAIME's own crews: flooring, electrical and plumbing. Over the course of the job up to fifteen workers were involved, scheduled in sequence rather than on site all at once. Each trade arrived when the space was ready for it and left it ready for the next one. That coordination is the core of what a general contractor provides. It is why a 1,300 sq ft fit-out with this many separate scopes was completed in approximately two months, with no safety incidents and no cost overruns.
The Result
Café Luka received a finished, fully fitted-out café on the agreed schedule and within the agreed budget: a bright dining room, a relocated and serviced kitchen, a renewed washroom, and durable, easy-to-maintain finishes chosen for daily commercial use. The project was handed over with zero safety incidents and a satisfied client.
For Business Owners & Property Managers
Converting a commercial unit from one use to another, whether an office into a café, a retail space into a service business, or a unit being prepared between tenants, involves more coordination than any single trade can manage alone. FAIME takes on commercial fit-outs and tenant improvements as general contractor across the Greater Toronto Area. We self-perform the demolition, drywall, painting and finishing work, and coordinate licensed partners for the regulated trades. Every project begins with a site visit and a written, itemized proposal.
