Exhaust Wars, Sewer Smells & HVAC Truth Bombs: Restaurant Engineering Q&A

Mastering Restaurant Revenue

We help you turn restaurant dreams into significant profits. Take your margins up with strategic shifts from design & buildout to amazing FOH multiple revenue streams.

Exhaust Wars, Sewer Smells & HVAC Truth Bombs: Restaurant Engineering Q&A

S1 E13 • May 27, 2025 • 31 mins

Ep. 13 - In this no-holds-barred Q&A episode, we’re diving headfirst into the unseen forces behind every successful restaurant build – the mechanicals, HVAC, hoods, airflow, and all the nerdy-but-necessary engineering details that make or break your operation. Bruce Russo and Diane Armitage answer questions about 2nd-gen restaurant conversions, wood-fire grill compliance, and why your front door flying open might be your HVAC system screaming for help.You’ll learn what causes that dreaded sewer gas smell (and how to stop it), how exhaust and makeup air must balance to keep your team from walking out, and why “paid air” flying out of your hood is literally flushing your cash. Bruce also reveals power-broker strategies the big restaurant chains use to slash utility costs, and the truth about HVAC in different climate zones. Plus, he shares the behind-the-scenes engineering of his now-legendary all-glass hood and other nerdy adventures – yes, including the never-ending scheme to win the war on dirt.

Key Points

Do 2nd-gen restaurants really need a new hood system?
The stink behind sewer gas – and how to fix it
Why your front door flying open = exhaust fail
The ultimate engineering geek explains exhaust vs. makeup air (and why balance = peace)
Hidden costs of "paid air" flying up your hood
Multi-million dollar power plays with AC/heat across chain locations
Region-based HVAC sizing: why it matters
Bruce’s one-of-a-kind glass hood + secrets from geek-out "hood seminars"
Debunking square-foot cost myths once and for all

This episode is your backstage pass to the gear and guts of great restaurant builds. Here's the dirty work behind clean builds – and the knowledge that protects your bottom line by millions.

Drop into our community and drop your own questions while you're at it for Bruce and Diane at https://MasteringRestaurantRevenue.com

Speakers

Bruce Russo

Host • 70%

Diane Armitage

Host • 29%

Chapters

0:00	🔧 Welcome to the War Zone - Why restaurant builds go sideways – and how airflow might be your biggest unseen enemy.
1:18	🔥 Woks, Grills & Air That Pays Rent - How mixing hot equipment messes with your HVAC – and your bottom line.
8:25	💨 What’s That Smell? The sewer gas mystery solved, and how the big chains beat the airflow blues.
15:07	🧊 Bruce’s Glass Hood & Other Nerdy Brilliance - Sizing AC the right way – and the sexy science behind that all-glass hood.
22:21	♨️ Gas vs. Electric: The Real Cost of Heat - Bruce breaks down utility strategy, climate zone chaos and what not to cheap out on.
29:02	🧼 The Final Dust-Up- Dirt wars, closing thoughts, and how to make your system actually work for you.

Transcript

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