About AdvantEdge Services

Encore’s guiding principle is to provide a high level of customer service by “going the extra mile” for our customers. AdvantEdge Services goes further than any program ever offered, anywhere. Specifically developed for Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM) and Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) members, AdvantEdge Services targets both renovation and new restaurant construction projects between $250 thousand and $2 million in size.

How AdvantEdge Came About

Since Encore joined RAM and RAMW two years ago, we have had the opportunity to personally meet with literally hundreds of independent restaurant owners, and time after time, we have heard almost exactly the same story of past building heartaches.

In virtually every case, problems stem from a gap between the design and what gets built, which inevitably leads to budget overruns, schedule delays and tremendous stress. This gap is caused by a single critical step missing from most restaurant construction projects: the upfront construction services legwork that needs to be completed at the time between lease negotiations and commencement of design.

AdvantEdge: The Missing Link

AdvantEdge Services is specifically targeted at closing this gap. Unlike the “preconstruction services” offered by other firms, the AdvantEdge Services program actually starts before you ever sign your lease - with an analysis of existing conditions and the landlord’s work letter, so you can identify any deficiencies and negotiate a more favorable lease.

In order to make this a comprehensive program, we partner with the project architect to provide professional services for the code survey and quantification portions. We are the only general contractor to have a unique program that is also this hard-hitting. Essentially, you are bringing a contractor and architect in to serve as your “construction department”, and to provide vital pre-lease and pre-design services.

AdvantEdge Services include concept review, risk assessment, conceptual budgeting and code survey. All of these services contribute to an improved design that allows owners to select the best solutions at the stage where they cost the least money, while minimizing costs and eliminating surprises.

Implementation

AdvantEdge Services’ implementation phase brings together the owner, architect and contractor as a team. This team works together to design and build the project to meet the owner’s needs and predetermined budget, in a process called Integrated Project Delivery.

This turnkey approach delivers a number of benefits, including:

• Eliminating the adversarial nature between owner/architect and contractor that inherently exists with competitive bidding.
  
  
• Ensuring the entire team is working to deliver the owner’s vision, while achieving the established budget and schedule.
  
  
• Negotiating a better lease agreement.
  
  
• Reducing or eliminating costly change orders.
  
  
• Delivering a smooth building process.