Opening a Café / Restaurant

Launching any public catering establishment involves knowledge of legal and technical issues:

• which legal form to choose for opening a catering establishment: a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur,
• what concept and at what times the establishment can operate,
• how to correctly arrange equipment in the kitchen area,
• whether it is possible to sell alcoholic beverages without a license,
• what costs can be expected when opening a cafe/restaurant?

In practice, businesses face these and other related issues when opening a catering establishment.

There is no single regulatory act in Belarus that governs the procedure for opening a catering establishment.

Therefore, when opening a cafe or restaurant, it is necessary to have a comprehensive knowledge of the legislation and take into account the requirements of various legal acts, for example: the Civil Code, the Labor Code, the Tax Code, the Laws “On State Regulation of Trade and Public Catering,” “On Licensing,” “On Consumer Rights Protection,” TR 021/2011, etc.

What is required to open a catering establishment?

1. Choose the form of operation (through a legal entity, e.g., LLC, or as an individual entrepreneur).

It is important to remember that operating as an individual entrepreneur imposes certain restrictions on the number of employees (no more than three). Therefore, if you plan to open a restaurant, the form of presence will be a legal entity, since the staff must include a manager, kitchen workers, cooks, waiters, administrators, etc.

2. Find a premises.

Renting a premises for opening a catering establishment is the main step for the successful development of your business. Lease agreements must be carefully negotiated not only in terms of the rental rate and term, but also taking into account all other conditions, without which it would be practically impossible to launch a public catering facility.

Tenants should also carefully check:

1. whether the floor plan and technical passport match the actual premises* if not – then there was most likely a redevelopment, which will complicate passing the sanitary inspection
2. how the approval of the signage placement with the owner is handled
3. whether the parties have the right to unilateral termination of the contract and under what conditions
4. whether the ventilation system passport is transferred upon conclusion of the contract* remember that without this document it is impossible to pass the sanitary inspection
5. whether the cost of inseparable improvements is compensated or not and the procedure for agreeing them with the owner
6. whether the owner has the right to unilaterally increase the rental rate*especially relevant given the inadmissibility of linking the rental rate to foreign currency

3. Obtain permits to open a cafe/restaurant.

The mandatory conditions for launching a public catering facility are inclusion in the Trade Register and passing the sanitary-hygienic examination.

The conclusion from the sanitary inspection must be obtained within 1 month from the date of opening the restaurant, but preparation for the examination should begin in a timely manner.
Since any catering establishment requires the development of a large number of documents, including:

1. production control program
2. ventilation system passport
3. formalization of labor relations with employees
4. process flow charts
5. evacuation plans
6. passing a medical examination

4. Obtain a license for alcohol trade.

Licensing in the field of alcoholic beverages is possible in different areas: wholesale or retail trade, production, storage.

If your restaurant, bar, or cafe plans to sell alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of 7% or more, then the establishment must have a retail trade license to sell such beverages to visitors.

A common question in practice: if the establishment plans to make cocktails or tinctures – does that mean a license for the production of alcoholic beverages is also needed?

The Law contains several exceptions when a production license is not needed. So, if you are preparing cocktails or tinctures, then subject to the following conditions, a catering facility only needs a retail trade license:

• the preparation is carried out from already finished alcoholic beverages
• by mixing and infusion

5. Determine the operating hours.

If the establishment operates after 11:00 PM and sells alcoholic beverages, then approval of the night-time operating mode with the local police department is mandatory. In practice, compliance with a large number of requirements is necessary to meet public safety criteria.