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

Food Establishment Permit (food service, by seats and risk level)

A restaurant, café or other food service establishment anywhere in Benton County needs a food establishment permit from the Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD), the health district serving both Benton County and Franklin County. BCC 6.40.030 makes it unlawful to operate a food service establishment without an unrevoked permit issued by the health officer, and BCC 6.40.060 sets the fee by resolution of the Benton-Franklin District Board of Health. Per the BFHD fee sheet 'BFHD Food Establishment Fees', stamped 'Effective 01/01/24' and linked by BFHD's Food Safety Applications page as its 'Current Food Safety Fee Schedule', the annual permit is priced by seats and risk level 1/2/3: 0-20 seats $200/$300/$400; 21-50 seats $300/$400/$500; 51-100 seats $400/$500/$600; 101+ seats $500/$600/$700. Plan review for a new establishment is $500, $600, $700 or $800 by the same seat bands. The same sheet lists a caterer at $200/$300/$400 (plan review $350); a cocktail lounge, bar or additional kitchen at $100/$200/$300 (plan review $300); food service from a commissary kitchen at $200/$300/$400 (plan review $250); a change of ownership at $250; a reinspection at $150; and a late permit payment at $100. BFHD's Applications page adds that 'All new applications are subject to an application submission fee.' Under BCC 6.40.050 the permit expires December 31 each year, and under BCC 6.40.070 the renewal fee is due by January 31 and is delinquent after that date. Contact BFHD Food Safety at 509-460-4205.

Retail Food (Grocery Store) Permit

A grocery or other store that sells food in Benton County holds a grocery permit from the Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD), which serves both Benton County and Franklin County. Per the 'Grocery Stores' block of the BFHD fee sheet 'BFHD Food Establishment Fees', stamped 'Effective 01/01/24' and linked by BFHD as its 'Current Food Safety Fee Schedule', a basic store is priced by its number of registers: 1-4 registers $200, 5-9 registers $300 and 10 or more registers $400 a year, with a $300 plan review. A store with food service of 0-20 seats pays $200/$300/$400 by risk level, with a $150 plan review, and each additional department (bakery, meat, produce and the like) is $200/$300/$400, with a $150 plan review. A micro market or vending machine with time/temperature-control-for-safety (TCS) food is $75 a year, with a $150 plan review. The annual permit follows the BCC 6.40 cycle: it expires December 31 and the renewal fee is due by January 31. Contact BFHD Food Safety at 509-460-4205.

Food Worker Card

Food workers in restaurants, cafés and food trucks in Washington carry a state food worker card. The fee is set by the State Board of Health, not by the county: WAC 246-217-025(2) states, 'Each applicant for a food worker card must pay a fee in the amount of ten dollars.' The Benton-Franklin Health District (BFHD), which serves both Benton County and Franklin County, lists the same 'Food Worker Card $10.00' under Food Worker Education on its fee sheet stamped 'Effective 01/01/24', together with a $5 duplicate card. The card is separate from the establishment's own food permit. Contact BFHD Food Safety at 509-460-4205.

Food Establishment Permit

The state writes the retail food code and prices nothing — the whole chapter contains no dollar figure anywhere. The local board of health, acting through the local health officer, is the regulatory authority, and each of the thirty-five local health jurisdictions sets its own schedule capped at actual cost. They do not even band the same way: King County crosses establishment type with seat count and a three-level risk category, from $441 to $1,386; Spokane bands by complexity, $290 basic, $380 limited and $850 complex; Pierce County bands by seats from $1,080 up to $2,400 for a large buffet. King County's permit year runs from 1 April and prorates by quarter. Plan review is separately and substantially charged — a thousand dollars and upward in King County. A single Washington restaurant permit fee does not exist and any figure offered as one is invented.

Food Worker Card

Ten dollars, and unusually the card is issued locally but valid across the whole state — the exam is uniform and any legally issued card works everywhere in Washington. The term rewards staying current: two years for a first card, three on renewal, and five if you document additional food safety training within the previous two years. One warning worth repeating because the state itself repeats it: there is exactly one authorised online provider, foodworkercard.wa.gov, and other sites offering a similar card are not valid in Washington. You may renew up to sixty days early. This is a separate thing from the certified food protection manager requirement in the food code.

Shared with other businesses in Benton County Wa

• Mobile Food Unit Permit (per unit) — Benton-Franklin Health District, $200–$400 a year per unit by risk level 1/2/3: $200/$300/$400 (BFHD sheet effective 01/01/24); plan review $500, annual; expires December 31 (BCC 6.40.050). Also required for food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Temporary and Seasonal Temporary Food Establishment Permit — Benton-Franklin Health District, $30–$400 per permit by hazard level low/moderate/high (BFHD sheet effective 01/01/24): temporary permit $60/$90/$120; qualified operator at a temporary event $30/$45/$60; seasonal temporary $200/$300/$400; seasonal temporary (caterer) $100/$150/$200; additional event days $15; application less than 14 business days before the event +$50; late changes $30, per event; a temporary permit runs for the period stated in the application, not more than 21 calendar days (BCC 6.40.050). Also required for restaurants and food trucks; what it involves is set out on the food trucks page.
• Liquor License — County Notice and Objection (locations outside city limits) — Benton County Board of Commissioners, No fee, not applicable — the state license carries its own term. Also required for restaurants and retail stores; what it involves is set out on the retail stores page.