TopStone Granite builds stone countertops for restaurants, bars, cafes and breweries in Baltimore and the surrounding counties. We fabricate the surfaces your guests see and touch: bar tops, service counters, coffee bars, host stands and dining counters.
Back-of-house prep tables are usually stainless steel, and that is the right call for most kitchens. Our work is front of house and the counters around it, where a surface has to look good, clean easily and pass inspection.
We have 15+ years in the trade and more than 650 completed jobs. TopStone is licensed and insured under MHIC #145977, and our seven-day hours make it easier to install around service.
A restaurant counter takes more punishment in a week than a home kitchen sees in a year. Glassware, keg deliveries, citrus, sanitizer and elbows all land on it, often at the same time. We fabricate and install:
Each job includes field measurement, fabrication with your chosen edge and cutouts, delivery and installation. Restaurants are one part of our broader commercial countertop work.
New and remodeled food service spaces in Maryland go through plan review before work starts. In the city, that means the Baltimore City Health Department plan review office; in the counties, it is the local health department.
Maryland's food service rules, found in COMAR 10.15.03, call for surfaces that are smooth, durable, nonabsorbent and easily cleanable. For stone, that means a sealed surface, tight seams filled flush with epoxy, and no open fissures or pits where food and bacteria can collect.
Some quartz products are certified to NSF/ANSI 51, the standard for food equipment materials. If your plan reviewer asks for it, check the manufacturer's listing for the exact color before you order.
Choose the surface by what it will face on a busy Saturday night, not by the sample board alone.
Lime juice, wine, soda and vinegar etch marble within minutes, leaving dull rings on a polished bar. Granite and quartz resist those acids and keep their finish.
Sealed granite countertops also hide wear well in busy bars. If you love marble, keep it to low-spill areas like a dining ledge.
Quartz is low maintenance and stain resistant, but its resin can scorch or discolor under sustained heat. Espresso machines, warming plates and heat lamps should sit on a mat or be placed with clearance.
Granite handles heat better and is the safer choice under a heat lamp at the pass. Our quartz countertops page covers where quartz works best.
Sharp square edges chip when glasses, trays and kegs hit them. An eased or half bullnose edge spreads that impact and holds up far better.
A softer edge is also kinder to guests leaning on the bar. Compare shapes in our countertop edge profiles guide.
Most bar tops overhang the die wall on the guest side so people can sit with their knees under the bar. That overhang, plus the weight of guests leaning on it all night, is more than stone can carry unsupported.
We plan concealed steel brackets or a steel substructure with your builder before templating, sized to the depth of the overhang. The die wall must be straight, level and finished to its final height, and footrail brackets and any bar rail or armrest should be located on the drawings so nothing interferes with the supports.
Restaurant counters are priced on the same basics as any stone job, with a few hospitality-specific drivers:
Our countertop cost guide explains what shapes stone pricing in the Baltimore area, and your written quote breaks out each item for your space.
Countertops often land late in a restaurant build, right before final inspections. We plan the schedule backward from your opening date, so templating happens as soon as the bar die walls and cabinets are set.
For a renovation, we can install overnight, on your closed day or on Sundays and Mondays, so you lose as little service as possible. Large jobs can be phased, finishing the bar one night and the service counter the next. Our seven-day hours make that scheduling possible.
A bar is the centerpiece of many restaurants, and the stone can carry your brand. A logo or accent band can be cut into the bar top or host stand, as shown on our custom countertop inlays page.
Behind the bar, a drainboard grooved into the stone beside the sink gives glassware a place to drain and keeps the work area drier. See how they are cut on our integrated drainboard countertops page.
Even well-built bars take hits. Edge chips from glassware and dropped kegs, dull spots from sanitizer and loose seams are all common on restaurant counters.
Most chips can be filled with color-matched epoxy and polished back to the edge profile, often without closing the bar. Our countertop repair service handles chips, cracks and worn finishes on existing stone.
Sealed granite is commonly accepted for front-of-house and many food-adjacent counters because it is smooth, durable and cleanable once sealed. The health department's plan reviewer makes the final call for your space. Confirm your surface choices with them during plan review.
In many cases, yes. We can schedule installs after close or on your dark day, and phase larger jobs over more than one night. Let us know your hours and opening date when you request a quote.
A granite bar top in daily service usually benefits from resealing about once a year, and more often if water stops beading on the surface. Quartz needs no sealing. Our stone sealing and polishing service can reseal bars on a closed day.
Granite is the most forgiving bar top because it resists acids, heat and scratches once sealed. Quartz is a good choice for a uniform look and no sealing, as long as heat sources are kept off it. Marble looks beautiful but etches from citrus and wine.
Send your floor plan, counter elevations and target opening date to info@topstonegranite.com, or call to talk through the schedule. We will help you plan the stone around your inspections and your first night of service.
Call (667) 400-3297