What Licenses Do I Need to Open a Restaurant - Restaurant Business ...

If you have recently decided to enter the restaurant industry then you likely have a number of questions in mind, such as: What steps to open a restaurant do I need to take?? How much money do I need to open a restaurant? Where is the best location?

And the topic of this post, what licenses do I need to open a restaurant?

The answer to these questions and others similar to them lies in knowing the industry in detail. Knowing the industry in and out will help you know what decisions and plans you need to make before the restaurant is operational.

When the question of licenses and permits arise, there are quite a few of them that you will need to acquire to get your restaurant business started.

The Answer to What Licenses Do I Need to Open a Restaurant?

Let?s just start with a list to answer the question ?What licenses do I need to open a restaurant?? and then you can read more detail from there.Note, not all permits will apply to all locations and businesses but most businesses will need most of these.

• Business license
• Sales tax license (also called a reseller permit)
• Health department license
• Fire department license
• Food handler?s permit (for all employees)
• Waste-water/sewer permit
• Liquor license
• Music system license
• Special city permits for signs, outdoor seating, late hours, etc.
• Building permits for any changes/modifications to the structure
• Exhaust air and ventilation permit for hood
• Landlord may have special requirements/permits needed

None of these are hard to get or necessarily expensive (aside from a full liquor license which can be quite costly depending) but you will want to start the process early and double check several times with several sources that you haven?t overlooked anything that will cost you lost time and money waiting to open.

The Explanations to What Licenses Do I Need to Open a Restaurant?

First, the type of business license for your restaurant will depend upon which city, county or state you want to locate your restaurant in. Registration procedures and fees for the same vary from area to area and you need to do your research thoroughly.

The first thing you need to obtain before you get your licenses and permits, is the Federal Employer Identification Number more commonly known as EIN from the IRS website. Here?s a look at some more licenses and permits that you will need for your restaurant.

A License for Business enables you to operate your business. You may be asked to pay a yearly fee or you could be charged a percentage of your gross sales. A Food Handler?s License allows you to sell edible goods. This also makes your restaurant eligible for health inspection on a regular basis. A Liquor License allows you to sell alcohol in your restaurant. It will also determine what type of alcohol you are allowed to sell in your restaurant. You must note that some states require a restaurant owner to obtain a separate license each for selling beer, wine and hard liquor as well.

When you set up your restaurant, you will want to put up signs to attract customers. You need to obtain a Sign Permit before you put up signs. For obtaining this permit, you need to find out about the restrictions on the location, size, shape and the lights used for the sign. A music license allows your establishment to play copyrighted music. Even though this license may cost you anything between $5,000 and $20,000, it is recommended that you obtain this license to avoid any trouble with the regulatory authorities. The fire department is one more authority that will need to be notified. For this, you will need to obtain fire certificates from this department even before you open your restaurant.

Of course, this is not the end of the list. There are other permits and licenses such as a Sellers Permit and even a Zoning or Building Permit.

The Bottom Line to What Licenses Do I Need to Open a Restaurant?

When you ask yourself the question ?what licenses do I need to open a restaurant??, the best thing you can do is get professional help from restaurant advisers who will guide you through this legal maze. Many of the licenses and permits will be easily attainable if the business was previously run as a restaurant as opposed to building new.

Finding out the answer to what licenses do I need to open a restaurant hopefully inspired you to see that it is a simple process and that you should not be intimidated or overwhelmed. In fact, with a little planning and the use of a good checklist and restaurant software package you will find that there are really no ?hard? parts in opening a restaurant. Doing it is simply a matter of doing each thing one at a time and eventually you get to where you want to be- the owner of? a successful and profitable restaurant of your own!

Tell Your Friends, Bookmark or Print:

Related Posts:

• No closely related posts found.

Source: http://restaurantfunds.com/blog/what-licenses-do-i-need-to-open-a-restaurant

brooke shields tom brady earth quake richmond va whole foods whole foods daily deal