Coffland Corp: Cafés: Regulations and Licenses You Must Comply With

Technical and legal aspects to open a café.

There are specific technical and legal procedures to do before starting a business.

If you are thinking about starting a coffee shop or a café in the U.S, you have to follow current regulations and ask for special licenses. Opening a business in the food industry is neither a short nor a simple process, but we are here to help you.

Once you comply with those requirements, the rest of the process is fun and exciting. As an entrepreneur, you should know that success carries lots of responsibilities. If you are one step ahead of everything, in legal and financial terms involving the opening, then it will be a piece of cake, paired with a good cup of joe, of course!

To get to have all food and drinking licenses and permits, you need to do a lot of paperwork and develop patience. These documents do not differ that much from the ones required for opening a restaurant because a coffee shop is usually considered as a small and informal type of restaurant.

We have tackled a simple list for you to start making the necessary diligence, so take notes!

Business license

You are probably already aware of this one. To operate any business in the United States, you need to legitimize it as an entity. If you want to add some alcohol to that coffee, you better get a Federal Business License and a State Business License. For this you have to pay a fee, the percentage will depend on the location, and they will be charged annually.

Employer Identification Number

The EIN is a registration you need to get for every employee you hire. It is assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the good news is you do not have to pay any fee. You can apply for an EIN through the IRS website, by fax, phone, or mail, but you can only request one per day.

Certificate of Occupancy

In this aspect, every state is different. Overall, zoning department in your city will issue a certificate of occupancy, which declares that you passed the inspections and your business location is properly constructed and in good conditions.

Food Service License

The city or county Health Department will give a food service license as long as you pass an in-person visit to your establishment to make sure you have accomplished every food safety regulations in the book. But remember these visits will happen regularly, so stick to the rules!

Liquor License

Are you a fan of Irish coffee? You need a liquor license issued by the state’s Liquor Authority to serve it. The prices to get this license differ in every state, but they are the most expensive. The process is long because the department investigates you, and the neighbors near your establishment.

Sign Permit

Sign permit from the city government will flash the green light to draw attention to your restaurant. Size, location, and lighting vary by city. Do some research before making any investments.

Music License

Even for entertaining your clients with some music you need a license. You do not want to pay the expensive fines for playing copyrighted music! You should contact The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers or Broadcast Music Inc. to ask for the right permission. You do not want to be sued by Adele, do you!?

Health Permits

As it happens with the food services license, the Health Department of your city will regularly inspect your coffee shop and has the power to issue a fine or revoke the health permit.

Seller's Permit

Your state government needs to know to whom collect taxes from. In the food and beverage industry, this permit is obligatory. Visit your official state website to know how to ask for one. This permit has no cost when applying, but you'll need to pay a security deposit.

Resale Permit

Some states require business owners to charge their customers with sales taxes. This permit allows you to make certain non-taxable purchases for your coffee shop. It avoids you the double collection of sales tax in food products. That being said, the second part of the taxes come from your customer's purchases.

Other permits you might need

As this list goes on, other permits and licenses will depend on what you want your business to become or the special products and services you wish to offer to your clients. These are other permits you might need:

Dumpster Placement Permit.
Building Health Permit.
Employee Health Permit.
Valet Parking Permit.
Live Entertainment License.

At Coffland Corp, we want to make sure you have all the requirements to open your dreamed business. Once you finish all this process, please contact us to know about our services as private label coffee and specialty coffee providers. We want you to stand out from your future competition!