A TYPICAL LEGAL PROCESS FOR BUILDING A RESTAURANT
RESTAURANT CONSULTANTS OF AMERICA™
A Typical Legal Process for Building a Restaurant
The process for building a restaurant usually includes these steps:
• Check with the zoning board to ensure that the zoning at your proposed location allows a restaurant. If it doesn’t, don’t panic. Zoning restrictions can sometimes be changed. Contact your lawyer or real estate business broker for assistance.
• Obtain a site approval from the planning board or commission.
• A public hearing takes place at which time people can and sometimes do voice their objections concerning your business and plan, especially if you’re serving alcoholic beverages. Try to find out about any possible objections before the meeting so that you can address them appropriately during the meeting. At the hearing, the board considers environmental impact, traffic impact, community impact, and more.
• A plan review meeting is held with a building department official and a fire department official present. They review the plans in detail for structural integrity, fire code compliance, occupancy capacity, and more.
• Make a formal application for a building permit. After a building permit is issued, construction may begin.
• The building inspector makes periodic announced and unannounced inspections of the construction or renovation to ensure its compliance with codes.
• When the construction is complete, both the fire inspector and the health inspector make a final inspection.
• When everything meets the required codes and guidelines, a certificate of occupancy (C of O) is issued to the owner of the business.
Tip Jar: Hire the best lawyers and accountants you can afford. They are worth it.
Other Agencies
Depending on the locality of your restaurant, you may need to contact a few other agencies and offices and find out specific details of what their responsibilities are with regard to your restaurant:
• The signage commission controls all aspects of signage and usually requires a permit to be obtained before a sign is installed.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Commission determines all disability guidelines and wheelchair accessibility requirements.
• The water and sewer commission determines water supply and septic system guidelines.
• Dairy commissions are more common today than they were when they surprised me years ago. Many times they are combined with the health department.
• The United States Department of Agriculture and Department of Homeland Security ensures the safety of the food supply.
You Have Your Permits, Now What?
Once you have all your permits, you must perform these essential tasks:
• Copy them for your records
• File them or post them per the requirements
• Get ready to conduct business
Some agencies require you to post the permit or license while others have you file them. Again, this requirement is specific to the state, county, and city that your restaurant is in. Usually building permits, health permits, and fire permits are posted in an easily visible and accessible area. Follow your given agencies’ directions exactly. You may want to post the licenses under a piece of plastic for safekeeping and easy readability.
Tip Jar: Registering a trademark (which is a symbol, word, or design used to identify a business) is more difficult than registering a name. Owning a trademark gives you the right to prevent others from using a confusingly similar mark, name, logo, or symbol. Not every business has or needs to have their logo trademarked. That can be determined based on your growth objectives. Consult a business attorney to determine if a trademark is necessary for your business.
Your Legal Name
Once you’ve selected your business name, you must get it approved and registered with the secretary of state’s office in your restaurant’s home state. You should do some research to ensure that your restaurant’s name hasn’t already been taken. A good lawyer can do this research for you, or you can do it yourself at your local library. Just tell the librarian what you are searching for and he or she will direct you through the business name search process. Or you can contact your secretary of state’s office and request a search. The business name you select will be put into a computer and screened through the database to see if anyone else has previously registered it. If it has not been previously registered and you want it, you can register it.
Registering a business name is simple. The secretary of state’s office (usually in your state capital) can send you the appropriate forms. Fill out the forms by following the easy instructions and make sure to include a check for the requested fee. Then the restaurant name is legally yours.
The Least You Need to Know
• The restaurant business is about more than food and service. It’s about being an amateur lawyer and private investigator, knowing where to go for help, and playing by the rules.
• Your business structure will affect you in many ways, not the least of which is taxes, funding flexibility, and personal liability, so get some good advice about how to set it up.
• Federal laws, from taxes to labor laws, are enforceable across the United States.
• Local laws vary from place to place.
• Professional advice will help you avoid costly mistakes.
