What permits do you need to open a restaurant in Grayson County?

Temporary Food Establishment Permit

$35 for up to fourteen consecutive days at a single event, with a further $20 if the county has to collect the fee on site — so applying in advance saves more than half again. A non-profit holding a 501(c)(3) determination with the county pays nothing. Applications are due five business days before the event, and food handler cards must be on site throughout. The permit is not transferable.

Day Care and School Sanitation Inspection

$150 per inspection, and the structural change behind it matters more than the price. Day care and school retail food permits were DISCONTINUED on 1 September 2025. A facility that needs a general sanitation inspection for its state licensing agency must now request that inspection from the county separately, rather than holding a food permit that included one. If your licensing renewal depends on a county inspection, it is now something you ask for rather than something that arrives.

Food Manager Registration

No separate fee, but it is a real filing obligation and it is easy to get wrong. Every certified food manager must be listed on the establishment application by name, permit number and expiry date, with additional managers listed on the back, and copies of all manager and handler permit cards must be filed with the application along with the work roster. A food manager must be present during all hours of food activity — not merely employed, present — so a site trading breakfast through late evening needs enough certified managers to cover the whole trading day. The county's older paper application, produced in February 2019, required a registered manager on duty during each shift and separate manager registration with the county; the September 2023 packet that replaced it drops both sentences. The county has not published a manager registration fee, and none appears in the September 2025 fee restructure.

Change of Owner, Name or Location Application

There is no transfer fee because there is no transfer. The permit is non-transferable and a new one is required for a new owner, a change of name or a new location — three separate triggers, any one of which restarts the process rather than amending what exists, and the county's farmers market and temporary food forms of 29 July 2026 repeat the non-transferability in their own terms. What a change of ownership actually costs is set out in the county's September 2023 packet: notify the Environmental Health Division, which reviews the previous establishment's inspection reports for structural or equipment defects and may require correction; a plan review at $150, waived where only minor corrections are needed; then the applicable annual permit fee, which since 1 September 2025 is risk-based at $250 low, $400 medium, $550 high and $773 for a multiple-department establishment such as a deli, meat market or bakery. Budget for the plan review being charged rather than waived until the division says otherwise. Note also that the packet's $50 late fee is superseded: the September 2025 notice sets it at $100.

Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)

Read directly from the TABC two-year licensing fee schedule: Mixed Beverage Permit (MB) $5,300 original, $2,650 renewal, charged on a two-year cycle. A Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG) is $1,900 if you do not need spirits. Note a widely-cited competitor lists $6,006 for this permit, which does not appear in the TABC schedule.

Shared with other businesses in Grayson County

• Liquid Waste Transporter Permit — Grayson County Health Department — Environmental Health Division, $50 per vehicle, per year, 1 calendar year, expiring 31 December. Also required for auto repair shops, coffee shops and contractors and trades; what it involves is set out on the contractors and trades page.
• Retail Food Establishment Permit — Grayson County Health Department — Environmental Health Division, $250–$773 per year, by risk category, 1 year. Also required for coffee shops and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.
• Farmers Market Permit — Grayson County Health Department — Environmental Health Division, $35–$100 annual or one-time, one calendar year, or seven calendar days for the one-time permit. Also required for coffee shops, food trucks and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the coffee shops page.