A new restaurant? Boy, does THAT bring back memories! I'd like to share a few pointers....
First of all, the load calc on the last place I did turned out to be optimistic. We had a number of problems, not the least of which was that the calcs put us over 320 amps, yet under 400.
Lesson #1: Push things with the PoCo. Better for them to up their metering before the place opens.
The next point is to look at the PoCo feed to the place. What else are those transformers feeding? Just because you're getting good voltage during construction does not mean there will not be voltage issues in the summer, when both the restaurant and the supermarket next door have their A/C running full blast!
In other words ... make sure the folks you are talking to at the PoCo actually considers that the new loads will overload the transformers.
Load calculations aside, be prepared to run a lot more circuits than you think you will need. For example, a coffee / soda station is likely to need at least 5 separate circuits. The ice machine, and the ice cream maker, are likely to require two circuits apiece.
Then there is the matter of the Ansul system. Again, you are likely to have a dozen circuits on the Ansul system. It might be easiest if you have a separate panel for these circuits. Think it over.
I know, I've gone well beyond simple load calculations. The place I did still likes me, though .. which is more than some of the other trades involved can say!
