Restaurant repair costs are rising. Learn how Primanti Bros. and 86 Repairs cut hidden R&M costs with proactive maintenance and smarter vendor management.
Every restaurant operator knows that food and labor costs are tough to control—but repairs and maintenance (R&M) may be the quietest budget killer of all. Equipment breakdowns are inevitable, yet many operators underestimate the time, labor, and expense behind each service visit.
In a recent 86 Repairs webinar, CEO Daniel Estrada sat down with Nick Seibel, Director of Construction and Facilities at Primanti Bros., to discuss what’s really driving R&M expenses, and how restaurant leaders can take control of them.
Their insights reveal one clear truth: mastering restaurant repairs management isn’t just about fixing equipment faster or at the lowest quoted cost. It’s about preventing problems before they start, building strategic vendor partnerships, and using data to make proactive, cost-saving decisions.
According to 86 Repairs’ State of Repairs Report, restaurant repair and maintenance costs increased nearly 18% year over year, a trend continuing into 2025.
Why?
As Estrada explained, “Hourly rates will keep rising. The key is reducing the number of service visits.”
In other words: the smartest restaurant maintenance strategy is a proactive one.
Primanti Bros. is a 38-location chain across four states, and was founded in 1933. Responsible for facilities at the iconic restaurant chain, Seibel knows how much invisible work sits behind each repair ticket. Every service call involves multiple follow-ups, quote approvals, and coordination between store staff and vendors.
“Operators often don’t think about the load on the frontline staff,” Estrada said. “There’s a lot of hidden cost in chasing repairs, confirming work was done, and reviewing invoices.”
Partnering with 86 Repairs helped Primanti Bros. streamline that entire process, saving an estimated 4,000 hours of labor and $120,000 in avoided dispatches.
“Without 86 helping tackle the day-to-day, I couldn’t get the rest of my job done,” Seibel shared.
Ask any facilities leader what keeps them up at night, and they’ll tell you: finding and keeping reliable vendors.
“Technician availability is a huge risk,” Seibel explained. “Sometimes you have to call three or four companies just to get someone to show up.”
At the same time, national consolidation is shrinking competition. As smaller vendors are absorbed by larger service groups, operators lose local relationships and leverage. “Fewer options mean less buying power,” Estrada noted.
Primanti Bros. combats this by maintaining a tight, trusted network of vendors in each category—HVAC, plumbing, refrigeration, and beyond—and letting 86 Repairs handle the follow-ups and performance tracking. The result: fewer delays, better communication, and clearer insight into true vendor performance.
One of the simplest (and most powerful) ways to reduce restaurant maintenance costs is to prevent unnecessary dispatches.
“Before, we’d roll a truck for things like flipping a breaker,” Seibel said. “Now, 86 Repairs troubleshoots first. We don’t send a technician unless it’s really needed.”
Each avoided visit saves hundreds of dollars and keeps the restaurant running smoothly. Across a large portfolio of restaurants, those savings add up fast.
While many operators try to negotiate vendor rates down, Seibel argues that the best results come from building long-term trust.
“I always prefer self-performing vendors,” he said. “Our teams get to know their techs. They build relationships, and that reliability pays off.”
Estrada agreed. “The days of beating vendors up on hourly rates are gone,” he said. “You have to focus on partnership. Take care of your vendors, and they’ll take care of you when it matters most.”
When restaurant repair management is rooted in mutual respect, not just price, response times improve and downtime drops.
Before adopting 86 Repairs, Primanti Bros. used a traditional CMMS platform. While robust on paper, the automated dispatching system had a major flaw: it depended on operators selecting the right asset type.
“If someone logged a cooler issue as electrical, it sent an electrician instead of an equipment tech,” Seibel recalled.
The outcome was predictable: frustration, wasted labor, and wasted dollars.
By contrast, 86 Repairs combines software with human support. Their customer service team verifies issues, troubleshoots remotely, and ensures the correct vendor is sent the first time. “It’s really bolstered our ability to support operations and reduce frustration,” said Seibel.
Preventative maintenance (PM) can feel like an optional expense—but in reality, it’s one of the smartest investments a restaurant can make.
“When I started here, we didn’t have a consistent PM schedule,” Seibel said. “We’ve since added quarterly coil cleanings and routine inspections on grease-prone areas, and we’ve seen a big drop in emergency calls.”
He also shared a lesser-known strategy: “We pump our grease traps quarterly, but once a year, we jet the main line from the trap back into the building. That keeps our main lines clear and prevents backups.”
The takeaway? Every dollar spent proactively on maintenance prevents multiple dollars spent reactively on emergency repairs.
Every operator faces the “repair or replace” dilemma. Primanti Bros. follows a simple principle: if the total repair cost reaches 50% of the price of a new unit, it’s time to replace the original one.
The key is tracking that spend before it’s too late. “We ask vendors to note when equipment is nearing end of life,” Seibel explained. “That allows us to plan for replacements rather than scramble when something fails.”
With ongoing supply-chain delays, proactive planning isn’t just smart—it’s essential to staying open and profitable.
The conversation between 86 Repairs and Primanti Bros. reinforces a crucial mindset shift: restaurant repair management isn’t about cutting corners; it’s about optimizing processes.
To control hidden R&M costs, operators must:
As Estrada put it, “You can’t stop repair costs from rising, but you can control how much of that cost is truly necessary.”
In today’s volatile market, restaurants can’t afford to treat R&M as an afterthought. The operators thriving in 2025 are those using proactive repair management to protect their margins, strengthen vendor relationships, and keep kitchens humming.
With the right mix of people, process, and technology, controlling the hidden costs of restaurant maintenance isn’t just possible, it’s profitable.
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