DHSed practical guide · Sources checked November 12, 2026
A food business starts with two separate tests: will enough customers buy the food, and can the proposed operation be approved at that location? Work through both before committing most of your money.
Write a small proposed menu first. Include how food will be prepared, stored, served and delivered. County Environmental Health needs to understand the operation, not just the business name.
Choose your operating model
A fixed restaurant, a mobile food operation and a home kitchen use different permit routes. The County's restaurant page distinguishes taking over an existing food facility without changes, taking over with changes, and opening a new facility. It tells prospective owners to contact the local Environmental Health office before a takeover or changes.
For a home kitchen, compare the County's Cottage Food and Microenterprise Home Kitchen routes. Do not assume a home-food approval covers catering or selling any menu item. Describe what you actually want to sell and ask which route fits.
Check the address before the lease
Ask City Planning about the intended use and ask Building about the work. Tell Environmental Health whether the space already operated as a food facility and whether the menu, equipment or layout will change. The plan-check contact page provides the responsible regional offices.
- Is the existing kitchen suitable for the proposed menu?
- What must change in ventilation, plumbing, refrigeration or waste handling?
- Who pays for required work and inspections?
- Which approvals are needed before preparing or selling food?
A former restaurant can still need work. Ask for records and written answers instead of treating installed equipment as proof that everything is approved.
Test a realistic sales day
List the customers you are trying to reach: nearby residents, workers, visitors or existing businesses. Compare competing menus and opening times. Speak to potential buyers about a specific offer and price. These are research steps, not proof that a restaurant category is missing or guaranteed to succeed.
Make a simple example day: expected orders multiplied by the average sale, less ingredients, packaging, labor and other operating costs. Clearly mark estimates. Then ask what happens with fewer orders or higher ingredient costs. Include money needed for approvals, repairs and the weeks before opening.
Your next step
Take your menu, proposed address and equipment list to the City and County before buying equipment or signing a lease. Use the lease checklist and the opening budget, and ask the appropriate office to identify the next review. Business advising can help test the plan without promising demand, approval or funding.
Keep going
Sources and updates
- County Environmental Health: taking over or opening a restaurant
- County Environmental Health: home kitchen permit routes
- County Environmental Health: food and pool plan-check contacts
- City business licensing: current application route
- OCIE Small Business Development Center: business advice
Prepared by DHSed with AI assistance from the linked public sources. Check current availability and the rules for your situation with the responsible provider. Send a correction.