How to Start a Restaurant in Kitchener

The short answer

Zoning first, then Public Health, then the City licence — with the liquor licence running on its own track. To open a restaurant in Kitchener you need three separate approvals from three separate bodies: the City of Kitchener for zoning and the food shop business licence, Region of Waterloo Public Health for food premises notification and inspection, and the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) for a liquor sales licence if you serve alcohol. This guide walks the Kitchener mechanics only. The national restaurant guide covers the parts that are the same everywhere in Canada; nothing in this guide repeats it.

Step 1: Check zoning and the property before you sign a lease

Kitchener's own starting-a-business page lists restaurants among the small business industries in the city, and it puts finding a property before getting a business licence. Use that order: confirm the address allows a restaurant, and contact City staff about the space before you commit. The Waterloo Region Small Business Centre keeps a listing of commercial kitchens, co-working spaces, and makerspaces, which is worth checking if you are weighing a shared kitchen against a full restaurant fit-out. Region of Waterloo Public Health gives the same order from the health side: contact your local municipality first for information about zoning, construction, and business licence requirements, then notify Public Health.

Step 2: Notify Region of Waterloo Public Health

Under Ontario's Health Protection and Promotion Act, you must notify your local health unit if you intend to operate a new food business. In Waterloo Region, do that by filling out the Food Premise Notification Form or by calling Public Health at 519-575-4400. You need to provide a copy of your floor plan in the notification form. After you have followed the steps, a public health inspector reviews your notification form and floor plan to confirm you meet all aspects of the Ontario Food Premises Regulation (493/17), and the inspector may contact you to discuss details or any required changes.

The Region's restaurants page sets out what inspectors look for, and it is worth building to it from the start: cold food below 4°C, hot food above 60°C, cooked and ready-to-eat foods stored separately from or above raw food, handwashing sinks in each food preparation area used for handwashing only, a three-compartment sink or commercial dishwasher for dishes used by customers, and washrooms with hot and cold running water, soap, and towels or a dryer. Operators receive a copy of the inspection report once the inspection is complete, and a re-inspection may occur to confirm a correction was made. All inspections and re-inspections are posted on the Region's Check it! We Inspect it. website. A business may be ordered to remove an immediate risk, close, or stop providing a service if a serious problem is identified that poses an immediate health risk.

Step 3: Apply for the City food shop licence

If you are opening a food shop in Kitchener, you need a business licence. Food shop is listed among the permanent businesses that need one, alongside commercial kitchens, convenience stores, nightclubs, and public halls. The City's licensing bylaw defines a food shop as a business where food products intended for human consumption are made for sale, offered for sale, stored, or prepared, and it expressly includes a restaurant.

When applying for a licence, these general conditions apply:

• Licence application fees cannot be prorated and are non-refundable.
• Licences are non-transferable.
• Businesses that fall into multiple categories may need multiple licences.
• Business licences expire on March 31, regardless of application date.
• Standard processing time is three to four weeks, depending on inspection requirements.

Inspections from planning, fire, public health, building, and plumbing may be required and are arranged by staff. You can apply for or renew a licence online through the City's online services portal. If you have questions, email Licensing Services or call 519-741-2275. Renewal notices, including instructions, are provided as a courtesy in early February, but it remains the business owner's responsibility to ensure the licence is valid and up to date.

Step 4: Certify your food handlers

Under Ontario Regulation 493/17, every operator of a food service premises must ensure at least one food handler or supervisor on the premises has completed food handler training during every hour the premises is operating. This is a provincial minimum that applies in Kitchener as it does everywhere in Ontario. The Region's page adds that operators should make sure the business meets the handler education requirements and understands the public health inspection expectations. Plan the training before opening week, so a sick day does not leave a service without a trained person on site.

Step 5: Apply for the AGCO liquor sales licence, if you serve alcohol

To sell or serve alcohol you need a liquor sales licence from the AGCO, applied for through the iAGCO portal. Selling or serving food or liquor does not have to be the primary business. Licences are available for a two-year or a four-year term, and the fee for a new application is $1,055 for two years or $1,355 for four years. Endorsements — add-ons such as caterer, room service, brew and wine pubs, and mini bars — can be combined with the licence.

Kitchener adds one City step to the AGCO process that is worth doing early. Before you apply to the AGCO, you need a Municipal Information form signed and approved by the City's manager of licensing. The completed form can be sent to City staff by email for review and approval, and the commissioning cost is $22.88. For the AGCO agency approval letters, the City directs applicants to fire prevention if the business is not under a building permit, and to building if it is under a building permit.

Before you apply, the AGCO also requires you to verify zoning with the City and verify tax compliance through the Ontario Ministry of Finance Tax Compliance Verification portal, which generates the TCV number you need for the application. Prepare entity disclosure for anyone with an interest in the business or a key management role, personal disclosures from sole proprietors, officers, directors, partners, shareholders holding 10 per cent or more, and the on-site manager where applicable, a signed signature form, and floor plans to scale showing dimensions, the proposed licensed areas, the layout of the whole location, and secondary areas such as washrooms and hallways in a different colour. If your application needs public notice, the AGCO emails you a poster to print and hang at the location. The AGCO inspects the location before issuing the licence. Liquor can be served between 9 a.m. and 2 a.m., or 3 a.m. on New Year's Eve, with all signs of liquor service cleared 45 minutes after closing.

The order that avoids rework

Confirm zoning and the property, then notify Region of Waterloo Public Health with your floor plan while the City food shop licence is in progress — remember the licence expires on March 31 no matter when you apply, so time the application against your opening date. Get the Municipal Information form signed by the City's manager of licensing before you submit the AGCO application, and start the AGCO application early, since it needs the municipal form and the agency letters. The expensive mistake is signing a lease on a space that cannot be zoned for a restaurant, or fitting out a kitchen the health inspector has not seen on paper first.

What the opened pages do not state

Two figures a reader would reasonably want are not stated on the official pages opened for this guide, so they are not carried here. The City's business licences page does not publish the current food shop licence fee, so this guide states no City licence fee. The Region of Waterloo Public Health page does not publish a fee for a food premises notification or inspection, so this guide states no health fee. The AGCO page does not publish a processing time for a liquor sales licence. Ask the City for its current licence fee when you apply, and the AGCO for its current timeline.

Related guides:

• How to Start a Restaurant Business in Canada — the national restaurant guide: format, kitchen, suppliers, hiring, and opening routines that are the same everywhere in Canada.
• How to Get a Liquor Licence in Ontario — the Ontario liquor licence guide, for the full AGCO picture beyond the restaurant sales licence covered here.
• How to Start a Restaurant in Toronto — Toronto's restaurant path, for the comparison on City licensing, DineSafe inspection, and the AGCO licence.
• How to Start a Restaurant in London — London's restaurant path, the nearest Ontario comparison, with a different City licence category and health unit.
• How to Start a Restaurant in Ottawa — Ottawa's restaurant path, for another Ontario comparison on the City food premises licence.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler certification, which sits alongside the Ontario food handler training requirement in this guide.

Certify every person who sells or serves liquor

A liquor sales licence covers the premises, but the people pouring need their own certification. Valid certification is legally required for every person involved in the sale, service, sampling or delivery of liquor, and for anyone taking orders for the sale of liquor. For liquor sales licensees and their employees, including restaurants, the AGCO Board approved program is Smart Serve. The Smart Serve full course costs $44.95, is available online and in person, and the certification is valid for five years: every liquor training certification in Ontario must be renewed every five years. Keep a copy of your own certification and your employees certifications on hand, because AGCO inspectors may ask the licensee for proof of a staff member certification at any time.

Sources

• Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Responsible liquor sale, service and delivery training: valid certification legally required for every person involved in the sale or service of liquor, Smart Serve as the approved program for liquor sales licensees and their employees, the $44.95 full course fee, and five year validity.
• City of Kitchener, Business licences — the food shop licence category, the non-refundable and non-prorated fees, the non-transferable licences, the March 31 expiry, the three to four week processing time, the inspections arranged by staff, the 519-741-2275 contact, the $22.88 Municipal Information form commissioning cost, and the AGCO agency approval letter contacts.
• City of Kitchener, Starting a business — restaurants among Kitchener's small business industries, finding a property before licensing, and the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre commercial kitchen listing.
• Region of Waterloo, Restaurants and Food Services Health Standards — the Food Premise Notification Form with floor plan, the 519-575-4400 contact, the Ontario Food Premises Regulation 493/17, the temperature rules, the inspection report and re-inspection routine, and the Check it! We Inspect it. posting of inspections.
• Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario, Apply for a liquor sales licence — the $1,055 two-year and $1,355 four-year fees, the iAGCO portal, zoning and tax compliance verification, the disclosure and floor plan requirements, the municipal information form and agency letters, public notice, the pre-licensing inspection, and the 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. hours of sale.
• Ontario, O. Reg. 493/17, Food Premises Regulation, section 32 — at least one trained food handler or supervisor on site during every operating hour.