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

Food Establishment Permit (fixed establishments, mobile units and pushcarts)

A restaurant, coffee shop, convenience or grocery store, caterer, child care kitchen, food truck or pushcart in the area served by the county's Health Protection team needs a county food establishment permit. The county Food Code (County Code Chapter 42, Article IV, Division 5) adopts the 2022 FDA Food Code with local amendments, most recently by Ord. 2023-23 (September 26, 2023). As amended, 8-302.11 requires the application at least 14 calendar days before the planned opening; 2-102.12 requires that "At least one employee per food establishment that has supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service shall be a certified food protection manager"; 8-303.20 renews a permit after an invoice statement is approved, the renewal fee is paid and the latest inspection shows compliance; and 8-303.21 issues a new owner's permit after application and inspection. The Food Safety page states that the team regulates "approximately 500 food service establishments in the unincorporated area of Bernalillo County" and inspects them one to three times a year by risk category. Fees: new food service establishment $200.00; renewal 0.003 times the previous year's gross receipts, at least $200.00 and at most $700.00; bars/taverns $100.00; self-contained mobile unit $120.00; non-self-contained mobile unit or pushcart $75.00; variance application $50.00. The figures are from the county's current Food Establishment Permit Application (footer "Effective as of 2023"; uploaded May 29, 2026), which the county's Food Safety page links as its Food Permit Application. The county Food Code provides for "the issuance of permits and collection of fees"; the fee resolution that sets these amounts is not published online, and the Food Safety page says to call (505) 314-0310 for fee information.

Food Establishment Permit

As amended effective 1 October 2026 (New Mexico Register Vol. XXXVII, Issue 12, 23 June 2026), section 8-303.15 sets a $200 permit fee for food establishments, mobile food establishments, servicing areas and food processing plants, and $25 for a temporary food establishment per single event or celebration. The same amendment raised the late renewal fee from $25 to $175 and the re-inspection fee from $100 to $500, and added a $400 variance application fee and plan review fees: $300, $600 or $900 for a food establishment (up to 1,000, 1,001–2,000, or over 2,000 square feet of kitchen, storage and ware-washing area) and $400, $900 or $1,400 for a food processing plant. Permit fees are waived for operations that provide food at no charge, and for temporary food establishments serving only non-TCS food or operating no more than two days in a calendar month. The amendment also repealed the home-based food processing section and its $100 permit tier. The Environment Department's food program states that it 'does not have jurisdiction in Bernalillo County and Albuquerque, as they have their own food safety programs'.

Food Handler Card

No state fee is set — the Environment Department's training page states the card is obtained through an accredited food handler training program. Under section 2-104.11 of 7.6.2.8 NMAC (carried unchanged into the 1 October 2026 amendment), food employees must pass a food handler training test and hold a valid card, obtained within 30 calendar days of starting work and valid for three years from issuance. The rule exempts certified food protection managers, employees of an entity whose own training program the department has approved, employees who do not prepare or handle time/temperature control for safety food, people who only occasionally function as food employees, workers at temporary food establishments (where the person in charge must hold a card or manager certification), and volunteers for charitable organizations serving the needy; exempt workers must receive documented food safety training from the employer. Separately, section 2-102.12 requires at least one supervisory employee per food establishment to be a certified food protection manager.

Shared with other businesses in Bernalillo County

• Temporary Food Event (TFE) Permit — Bernalillo County Planning & Development Services, Health Protection, No fee amount is stated on the county's current Temporary Food Event (TFE) Application; contact Health Protection at (505) 314-0310 or HealthProtection@bernco.gov for the current amount., per event. Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.