Don’t Let a Cheap Grill Destroy Your Outdoor Kitchen Investment

Every day, we get walk-ins and phone calls from heartbroken customers. They invested $25,000, sometimes more, on a stunning outdoor kitchen—custom stonework, gleaming granite, a custom outdoor patio the works. But to save a little upfront, they opted for a “deal” grill from a big-box store.

Just three to five years later, that “deal” has become a nightmare. The burners are shot, the flame tamers are toast, and replacement parts are nowhere to be found. Lower-end grills simply aren’t built to go the distance—especially in a thoughtfully designed outdoor kitchen. And when they give out, you’re left with a beautiful setup missing its heart: the grill, the very thing that brings it all to life.

But here’s the real headache: when those grills break down, no standard model fits the original cutout. The openings are often built with odd dimensions, leaving homeowners faced with tearing out granite, reworking stonework, or rebuilding part of their island just to make a new more premium grill fit.  That initial “saving” decision didn’t just cost them more money; it rendered their entire outdoor entertaining space unusable. It’s a tough lesson in the true cost of cutting corners.