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

Regular Vendor's License (form ST-1)

Every business making taxable retail sales from a fixed place of business in Lorain County, whether a shop, restaurant, coffee shop, salon selling retail products, gym selling merchandise or repair shop selling parts, registers each location with the Lorain County Auditor. The auditor's licensing page states that the regular vendor's license is 'issued by the County Auditor to vendors with a fixed place of business in Ohio' and that 'vendors must have one regular vendor license for each sales location', with 'Application fee of $50.00 – No Annual Renewal'. The amount is set by statute: ORC 5739.17(A), as amended by House Bill 366 effective April 9, 2025, requires 'a license fee in the sum of fifty dollars for each fixed place of business in the county that will be the situs of retail sales', and directs the auditor to transmit twenty-five dollars of each fee to the state organized crime commission fund, with the remaining twenty-five dollars credited to the county general fund. The auditor's page also states that 'there is no fee for transferring a regular vendor's license from one location to another within the same county', that a move to another county needs a new license from that county's auditor, and that 'any change in ownership' requires a new license. The auditor's office is at 226 Middle Ave., Room 200, Elyria, phone 440-329-5207.

Manager Certification in Food Protection

Ohio charges nothing for this. The Department of Health neither teaches the course nor sells the certificate — it approves providers, who set their own tuition, and the official application form carries no fee field at all. Two tiers exist and the names have changed: what was Level One is now person-in-charge certification, required for at least one person per shift at any operation first licensed after 1 March 2010, and what was Level Two is manager certification, required at risk level III and IV operations and needing an accredited exam as well as the course. Temporary, mobile and low-risk operations are exempt from the manager tier. Ohio has no food handler card in the California sense. The often-repeated claim that the certification lasts five years appears in neither the rule, the statute nor any Department page — the five-year term belongs to the third-party exam certificate, not to the Ohio certification, so no expiry is published here.

Shared with other businesses in Lorain County

• Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — Lorain County Public Health, Combined LCPH + state fee, printed as Health Department fee + State fee = Total. Commercial under 25,000 sq ft: risk 1 $170 + $28 = $198; risk 2 $190 + $28 = $218; risk 3 $360 + $28 = $388; risk 4 $454 + $28 = $482. Commercial over 25,000 sq ft: risk 1 $242 + $28 = $270; risk 2 $256 + $28 = $284; risk 3 $890 + $28 = $918; risk 4 $944 + $28 = $972. Non-commercial under 25,000 sq ft: risk 1 $85 + $14 = $99; risk 2 $95 + $14 = $109; risk 3 $180 + $14 = $194; risk 4 $227 + $14 = $241. Non-commercial over 25,000 sq ft: risk 1 $121 + $14 = $135; risk 2 $128 + $14 = $142; risk 3 $445 + $14 = $459; risk 4 $472 + $14 = $486. Micro Market $170 + $28 = $198 (RFE, Risk 1). Late fee: 25% of the local (Health Department) fee. The $28 and $14 parts are the state fee., not stated on the LCPH food safety page or in its 2026 fee schedule; contact LCPH at 440-322-6367 for the license period and renewal date. Also required for restaurants, retail stores, childcare centres and fitness studios; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Food Plan Review — Lorain County Public Health, $100–$200 per plan submission — $100 for facilities under 25,000 sq ft, $200 for facilities 25,000 sq ft or greater; no state part is printed; the mobile application states "There is no plan review fee for mobile operations.", per project; LCPH's application states that approved plans are valid for one year unless additional time is requested in writing. Also required for restaurants, retail stores and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Temporary Food Service Operation / Retail Food Establishment License — Lorain County Public Health, $22.50–$45 per day of the event — $45.00 a day commercial, $22.50 a day non-commercial; the schedule prints the state fee as N/A, so the whole amount is the LCPH fee, per event, charged by the day. Also required for food trucks and restaurants; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Vendor's License — Ohio Department of Taxation, $50 one-time, per fixed location, no renewal — stays in effect until cancelled. Also required for restaurants, retail stores, salons and barbers, fitness studios, auto repair shops and veterinary clinics; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.
• Food Service Operation License — Ohio Department of Health, Food Safety Program, $28 state fee for a commercial operation ($14 non-commercial, $6 per vending machine location), plus a license fee set independently by the local board of health, 1 March to the last day of February. Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the restaurants page.