TL;DR: Opening a restaurant in NYC is mostly a compliance and systems problem, not a hospitality problem. This is the 47-item pre-open checklist I wish every operator had before they signed a lease. It covers DOH, DOB, SLA, insurance, POS, payroll, delivery, and the operating systems nobody tells you to set up until week three, when it is already costing you money.
Who this is for
Operators opening a restaurant, bar, or cafe in New York City in the next 90 days. Also useful for anyone who opened something in the last year and keeps getting surprised by a document they forgot to file.
The punch list below is in the order I would actually do it, not in the order a lawyer or accountant would present it. The sequence matters. Most operators do this in the wrong order and pay for it.
How to use this checklist
Start at the top. Do not skip. If a line does not apply to your model, write "N/A" next to it and keep going. The point is that you touched every line.
If this list makes you feel behind, good. That is the feeling that prevents a failed inspection.
Phase 1: Legal and financial foundation (before you sign anything)
- Form your operating entity (LLC or corp). Do not sign a lease personally.
- Get an EIN from the IRS. Takes ten minutes online.
- Open a business checking account and a business savings account.
- Set up a bookkeeping system (Xero, QuickBooks, or a dedicated hospitality tool).
- Find a restaurant-specific CPA. Not your cousin who does taxes.
- Get a business insurance quote. General liability, workers comp, liquor liability if applicable.
- Line up a hospitality employment attorney for the 1-2 questions you will have at hire time.
- Run a 36-month cash flow forecast. Include the three months you will be open with no revenue.
Phase 2: Location and buildout (before the lease is signed)
- Pull the Certificate of Occupancy for the space. Confirm it permits your use.
- Check the zoning. Confirm your use is permitted or grandfathered.
- Pull the DOH inspection history for the prior tenant. Previous violations predict current problems.
- Inspect the grease trap, ventilation, and electrical panel before you commit.
- Get an architect's preliminary drawings. Know the DOB filings you will need.
- Negotiate a lease that includes a permit contingency. Do not sign without one.
- Confirm landlord approval for your signage, your hood, and any exterior work.
Phase 3: Permits and licenses (the paperwork phase)
- DOB filings: new building permit, plumbing, electrical, as-built drawings.
- DOH Food Service Establishment permit application (FSEP).
- Food Protection Certificate for at least one manager per shift.
- State Liquor Authority application. Start this 120 days out minimum. It is the bottleneck.
- Community Board 30-day notice if you are applying for a liquor license.
- NYC Fire Department permit (if you have gas cooking or a hood).
- Sidewalk cafe permit if you want outdoor seating. Separate DOT process.
- Sign permit if your exterior sign is over 6 square feet.
- Sales tax Certificate of Authority from NYS.
- Workers compensation insurance policy bound.
- Disability benefits insurance policy bound.
Phase 4: Systems and technology (the month before open)
- POS system selected and installed. Test every button. Test offline mode.
- Payroll system set up with direct deposit and tip reporting.
- Reservations system (Resy, OpenTable, Tock, or SevenRooms). Import projected covers.
- Inventory system or spreadsheet. Set par levels for everything.
- Scheduling tool (7shifts, Homebase, or similar). Build template schedules.
- Delivery integrations (Toast, Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub) configured and tested.
- Gift card system live with a reconciliation process.
- Customer database set up. Not "we will collect emails later."
- Review monitoring in place for Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Resy, and OpenTable before day one.
- A written system for how every review gets a response. Not maybe. Written.
Phase 5: People and training
- Employee handbook specific to NYC wage and hour law. Not a template from another state.
- I-9 and W-4 collection process. Store them for seven years.
- Department of Labor wage notice issued on day one to every new hire.
- Harassment prevention training scheduled within 30 days of hire.
- Food Handler certificates for all FOH and BOH staff.
- Two-day soft open with a private list. Nobody opens cold and survives it.
- A written opening and closing checklist for every station.
- A written end-of-shift cash and tip reconciliation process.
Phase 6: The 72 hours before open
- Final DOH pre-operational inspection. Do not schedule opening until this passes.
- Test the POS with staff for a full service simulation. Use real card terminals.
- Confirm insurance binders are in hand. Physical copies behind the bar.
Frequently asked questions
How long before I open should I start this checklist?
120 days minimum. The SLA liquor license alone is 90-120 days if the application is clean. Most are not clean on the first pass.
What is the one thing operators underestimate most?
The cash gap. Most operators model two months of zero revenue. The real number is three to five, and the burn rate starts the day you sign the lease, not the day you open.
How do I avoid DOH violations on the first inspection?
Pull the prior tenant's inspection history before you build out. You inherit the space's problems. If the prior operator had repeat temperature violations, there is probably a walk-in that needs to be replaced, not a staff training issue. A Punch List NYC pre-audit report surfaces these before you spend money fixing the wrong thing.
Do I really need a 47-item checklist?
You need a checklist of at least 47 items. Mine is a starting point. Add your own. The operators who run clean restaurants are the ones who wrote things down.
What to do next
If you are 90+ days from opening, send this list to your ops lead and your attorney. Mark the ten items you have not done yet. Those ten items are what you work on this week.
If you are already open and this list is making you nervous, good. Run a Punch List NYC pre-audit on your current location. It will find what you missed.
If you want the system that runs this checklist for you, with automated reminders, document storage, and a dashboard you check once a week, that is what KMS was built for. Book a 15-minute walkthrough.
About Jason Littrell
Jason Littrell is a hospitality consultant and systems builder based in New York City. He has spent twenty years in the industry, ten behind the bar and ten building systems for operators. He runs KMS (Kinetic Management Systems) and Punch List NYC, and hosts the Hospitality Strategy Lab podcast.