What permits do you need to open a coffee shop in Gaston County?

Food Service Plan Review (restaurant, mobile food unit or pushcart)

A new restaurant or coffee shop in Gaston County, or an existing one changing its food service area, submits plans to Gaston County Environmental Health before construction starts. The Restaurants & Meat Markets page states: 'Plans for food service facilities, other than “franchise” or “chain” establishments, must be submitted to the local health department for approval prior to beginning construction of a new establishment or prior to making changes to the food service area of an existing establishment. Plans for “franchised” and “chain” establishments must be submitted to the state along with a state plan review application.' A food truck or pushcart submits a Mobile Food Unit or Push Cart Plan Review Application; the Food Trucks & Hot Dog Carts page states that mobile food units 'must operate in conjunction with a permitted establishment such as a restaurant, food stand, or commissary', that a commissary agreement is required, and that both mobile food units and push carts 'must report to Gaston County Environmental Health on a weekly basis on where they intend to be operating.' The plan review is $250.00, labeled in the schedule as 'Fee set by State'. The figure is as published in the FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule, the 'Fee Schedules' section of Gaston County's FY 2027 Adopted Budget (page 141), which the budget describes as listing 'the fees and charges adopted by the Board of Commissioners for County services'. The Board of Commissioners adopted the FY 2027 budget on May 12, 2026, and the schedule applies for fiscal year 2027, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. The Environmental Health Fee Schedule page, the Restaurants & Meat Markets page and the Food Trucks & Hot Dog Carts page show the same $250.00. Environmental Health: 704-853-5200.

Temporary / Limited Food Establishment Permit

A vendor selling food or drinks at a fair, festival, carnival or other special event in Gaston County needs a temporary food establishment (TFE) permit from Gaston County Environmental Health. The Fairs, Festivals, and Fundraisers page states: 'A TFE permit is required to sell food or drinks at these special events. To receive a TFE permit, an Event Organizer Application and Vendor Applications must be completed and submitted with Vendor Fees at least 15 days prior to the event for consideration.' It adds that 'applications received less than 15 days before an event are not guaranteed to be reviewed.' The permit is $75.00, labeled in the schedule as 'Fee set by State'. The figure is as published in the FY 2027 Adopted Fee Schedule, the 'Fee Schedules' section of Gaston County's FY 2027 Adopted Budget (page 141), which the budget describes as listing 'the fees and charges adopted by the Board of Commissioners for County services'. The Board of Commissioners adopted the FY 2027 budget on May 12, 2026, and the schedule applies for fiscal year 2027, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. The Environmental Health Fee Schedule page lists Temporary Food Establishment (TFE) and Limited Food Event (LFE) at $75.00 each. Environmental Health: 704-853-5200.

Certified Food Protection Manager

North Carolina charges nothing and issues nothing — an accredited programme certifies, and its exam fee is what you pay. The person in charge must hold it, with two narrow exemptions the base food code does not have: congregate nutrition sites, and risk category I establishments serving only non-hazardous foods. A normal restaurant is category II or higher and is not exempt. A training course alone will not do; the rule requires passing the accredited test. New permit holders get two hundred and ten days to comply. There is no statewide food handler card in North Carolina — the word handler does not appear anywhere in the sanitation rules — so rank-and-file food employees need no state credential. The five-year validity often quoted belongs to the certifying programme, not to North Carolina law, which sets no term at all.

Food Establishment Permit

One number for the whole state, which makes North Carolina unlike almost every other. The statute sets $120 a year and local boards of health are barred from adopting any rule about grading, operating or permitting food facilities, so no county charges its own annual restaurant fee — Wake County's schedule footnotes every permit line back to the $120 paid to the state. Seventy of every hundred and twenty dollars is passed back to the county health department that does the inspecting. The permit itself never expires while you trade; only the fee recurs, and it expires a year after an establishment closes. What a county may still charge is plan review, capped by statute at $250, and a mandatory $75 for a temporary event. Late payment adds $25 after forty-five days and reinstatement after a suspension costs $150. Chain and franchise plans approved by the state need no further local review.

Shared with other businesses in Gaston County

• ABC License Inspection (Building) — existing building with no active permit — Gaston County Building & Development Services — Building Inspections, $180 per request; includes one inspection trip by the electrical/mechanical inspector and one by the building/plumbing inspector, with additional trips charged as re-inspections, per request. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• ABC Permit Inspection (Fire) — Gaston County Office of Emergency Management and Fire Services — Fire Services Division, $185 per inspection, per inspection. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.