The Permits needed To Open A Food Truck Opening a food truck is an excellent way to start a food business, and you need to know all the components involved. This article details everything you need to achieve it. When you are going to open a food truck, you need to get pretty much all permits that a typical restaurant is going to need.
ServSafe Certification
The first permit you need to get is a Food Manager Certification (ServSafe) because the local regulatory authority will not allow you to operate without it.
Register The Name Of Your Business
You need to register the name of your business to make sure it is not already used by another person/entity. After that, you need to get an employer identification number, also known as an EIN. Once you have your EIN, you need to get a business bank account. The purpose of getting a business bank account is to separate the business from your personal account. Another reason or purpose is that if you are going to apply for a business loan, the bank or entity lending you the money will ask for it.
Contract Letter From A Commissary In A Commercial Kitchen
The second is a food permit from the State, which you need to provide a commissary arrangement demonstrating where you will store, prepare food, and discharge waste. When you submit your floor plan, the State will ask you for that. Why? Because as mentioned before, you need to explain where you’re going to be preparing your food in a sanitary manner. City Permit The third is a city permit along with a Business Tax Receipt. After that, you need to get a County Tax Receipt. Yes, it would help if you got a license from the city, depending on the city’s ordinance. Make sure you check the local regulations for zoning. Here in Florida, depending on the city, you can pay around $160 to $170 per year for the city. The annual county permit could be less than $40, just to give you an idea. Another thing you will need to get before you open your truck as part of your floor plan is to wrap the vehicle. Whether a trailer or a bus, you need to put it on the side and in the back. When visiting your mobile food truck, you need to draw the same way an inspector will see it. Remember to have the business name, telephone number, website, and part of the menu you’re going to have over there. You need to have that and believe me; everything takes a little bit of time. I have a client opening a food truck, and even today, the client was supposed to get an appointment to get that done. However, I think there is a little bit of delay. We talked last night, and it looks like it might take a few more days to get it out of the way. So, you need to get that, and of course, you need to have a system in place to get paid. You need to get the point of sale (POS) system.
Employee Training
Furthermore, you need to train your employees if you’re going to have at least one or two employees. When you operate a food truck, sometimes you can hire part-time for a few hours a day. Remember that you need to train employees on handling food, and those employees only have 60 days to get that certification. If the health inspector goes to your establishment and one of your employees is not certified in food safety, it could cause a problem. In summary, those are some things you need for your food truck. I just wanted to put that out there because sometimes some people struggle when trying to open food truck businesses. If you need my help, reach out to me, and I’ll be able to help. I am ready to do the same for you that I have done for other business owners. Guide you through what you need to succeed. One last thing before you need is to be familiar with tax planning. You need to have that in mind or at least work with a business consultant who knows how to guide you in terms of taxes right from the beginning by doing it the right thing, the right way.
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