How to open a restaurant or café in New York City
Seven stages from idea to opening day, in the order most owners work through them, with links to the agencies involved.
Concept and numbers
Test the idea and the budget before you commit.
Draft your startup budget and break-even
Use your own numbers to see how much you need and what sales cover your costs. Revisit it as quotes come in.
Check that your name is available
Search New York business name records and the free federal trademark search before you print signs. This is research, not legal clearance.
Get free help from NYC Small Business Services
The City’s Business Express Service helps with licensing and permits, and NYC Business Solutions Centers offer free one-on-one help in every borough.
Business setup
Register the business and its taxes.
If you’re forming an LLC or corporation, file with the state
LLCs and corporations file with the New York Department of State. Most new LLCs must also publish a notice in two newspapers for six weeks and file a Certificate of Publication within 120 days, or their authority to do business is suspended.
If you’ll use a trade name, file a business certificate
Sole proprietors and general partnerships using a name other than their own file a business certificate with the county clerk in their borough. LLCs and corporations file a certificate of assumed name instead.
Get a federal EIN if you need one
An EIN is needed if you hire employees or operate as a corporation or partnership. It is free from the IRS; be wary of sites that charge for one.
Get a sales tax Certificate of Authority
Anyone selling taxable goods or services registers with New York State for sales tax before they begin business, through New York Business Express. The Health Department asks for your Certificate of Authority when you apply for your food permit.
Your site
Find a space where a restaurant is allowed, and check its certificate of occupancy.
Check zoning and the certificate of occupancy
Look up the zoning on ZoLa, and check that the building’s certificate of occupancy allows a restaurant. A change in use, exits or type of occupancy needs a new or amended certificate of occupancy.
Review your lease before you sign
Confirm the lease allows a restaurant and check who pays for build-out and upgrades. Consider having a lawyer review it; OpeningIQ can’t give legal advice.
If the building is a landmark, get approval first
Work on a designated landmark or in a historic district needs Landmarks Preservation Commission approval before it begins. LPC’s Business Express Service helps with storefront work.
Plan for accessibility
Businesses open to the public must follow the ADA. New construction and alterations must be accessible, and barriers in existing spaces must be removed where that’s readily achievable. Small businesses may qualify for a tax credit.
Plans, permits and build-out
Get the approvals to build out and prepare the space.
If you’re building out, file plans with the Department of Buildings
A registered architect or engineer files construction plans with DOB, and the work must be done by licensed contractors. Plan for gas, electric, water and sewer needs early.
Install a range hood and fire-suppression system
Cooking that produces grease vapors, smoke or odors needs a hood and suppression system installed by licensed professionals and an FDNY commercial cooking system permit, with an inspection and test.
Install a grease interceptor
Commercial kitchens must capture grease. Only licensed plumbers install grease interceptors, and they must be properly sized and cleaned as often as needed.
Get your certificate of occupancy
No one may legally occupy a space until DOB issues a certificate of occupancy or a temporary one. Buildings from before 1938 without a change of use may use a Letter of No Objection instead.
If 75 or more people will gather, get a Place of Assembly certificate
Places where 75 or more people gather indoors (or 200 outdoors) to eat or drink need a Place of Assembly Certificate of Operation.
If you want outdoor seating, apply to Dining Out NYC
The Department of Transportation runs the permanent outdoor dining program, for sidewalk seating, roadway seating or both.
If you’ll put up a sign, check whether it needs a permit
Signs need a DOB permit unless they’re smaller than six square feet and not illuminated. Illuminated signs that extend past the building line may need a permit renewed every year.
Licenses
Get the licenses that let you open.
Get a Food Protection Certificate
A supervisor with a Food Protection Certificate must be on duty during all hours of operation. NYC Health offers a free online course with an in-person final exam, or a classroom course. The certificate doesn’t expire.
Get workers’ comp, disability and Paid Family Leave coverage
Virtually all New York employers must carry workers’ compensation, disability and Paid Family Leave coverage. The food permit application asks for proof, with the Health Department as certificate holder.
Apply for your Food Service Establishment Permit
Apply online. You may start operating 22 days after you apply, or sooner if you pass a pre-permit inspection. Have your Food Protection Certificate, sales tax Certificate of Authority, insurance certificates and certificate of occupancy ready. The permit runs one year.
Apply for an on-premises liquor license
Notify your community board at least 30 days before the State Liquor Authority can process your application, then apply to the SLA. Check the SLA’s 500-foot law if other licensed places are nearby. Start early.
Register with TTB before you sell alcohol
Businesses that sell alcohol must register with the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau before they start, for each location, and keep records of the alcohol they buy.
Get ready to open
Cover people, insurance and suppliers.
If you’ll hire, register with the NYS Department of Labor
Register for unemployment insurance once you pay $300 or more in wages in a calendar quarter, online through New York Business Express.
If you’ll hire, set up federal payroll taxes
Withhold federal income tax using each employee’s Form W-4, pay Social Security and Medicare taxes, and pay federal unemployment (FUTA) tax, which isn’t withheld from pay.
Complete Form I-9 for every hire
Employers verify each new employee’s identity and authorization to work on Form I-9 and keep it on file.
Report new hires to your state
Report each new employee to your state’s new hire directory within 20 days of hiring; some states require it sooner.
Put up required workplace posters
Which federal posters you need depends on the laws that cover you; the Labor Department’s free Poster Advisor tells you. States have their own posters too.
Give workers their NYC rights notices
NYC employers must give employees written notice of their rights under the Protected Time Off (paid safe and sick leave) law. Fast-food employers also follow the Fair Workweek law.
Hire a commercial waste carter for your zone
Choose a carter authorized for your commercial waste zone and sign a written agreement for garbage, recycling and organics. If you don’t, DSNY may assign one.
Arrange business insurance
Ask an insurance broker what coverage your lease, lender and licenses call for. This is an OpeningIQ suggestion, not an agency requirement.
Line up equipment, POS and food suppliers
Get quotes early and compare delivery, payment and support terms. Your budget should guide the choices.
Check every approval is in hand
Gather your food permit, Food Protection Certificate, certificate of occupancy, insurance certificates and sales tax certificate in one place, and confirm each matches your address and business name.
Open and stay current
Keep licenses, permits and filings current.
Keep permits and inspections current
Renew your food permit every year and keep your grease interceptor maintained. FDNY inspects commercial cooking systems every year, and the Health Department inspects restaurants.
Track these steps in a free private plan
Save your progress, notes and target dates, and see your next step at a glance. Your plan stays private and is never shared with suppliers.