How to Start a Restaurant in St. John's

The short answer

Zoning first, then the provincial Food Establishment Licence, then the NLC liquor licence — with the City's occupancy permit in the middle if the use changes. St. John's has no single restaurant licence. The City handles zoning, occupancy, and building permits; the province, through Service NL, handles the Food Establishment Licence; and the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation (NLC) handles the liquor licence. This guide walks the St. John's 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 occupancy with the City

The City of St. John's publishes a guide to municipal regulations for business, updated in January 2026, covering regulations, zoning, the application process, assessment and taxation, and home-based business. Start there: confirm the area is zoned for a restaurant and find out which permits apply to your address. The City's business contact is business@stjohns.ca, and BizPaL can generate a list of the permits and licences a restaurant needs from all levels of government.

If the use of the premises changes — for example, a retail shop becoming a restaurant — a Change of Occupancy Permit costs $50. Building permit fees for other construction are based on the estimated construction value: $9 per $1,000 of construction value up to $100,000, with a $50 minimum, and $9 per $1,000 for the first $100,000 and $7.20 per $1,000 after that for work over $100,000. Permit fees can be paid in person at the Permit Counter on the third floor of the John J. Murphy Building, City Hall Annex, or by phone at 709-576-8694.

Step 2: Apply for the Food Establishment Licence

A Food Establishment Licence may be issued to any premises involved with the sale, production, manufacturing, preparation, storage, or distribution of food, subject to compliance with all pertinent legislation. The licence cannot be transferred: if the business changes ownership or moves to a new location, a new application is needed.

The application needs four things:

• A completed Food and/or Tobacco Licence Application.
• A floor plan of the proposed premises showing the locations of equipment, rooms, and sanitary facilities.
• Municipal approval, if applicable.
• Food safety training, through Health and Community Services.

Service NL processes the licence, and the Government Service Centre's Manager of Operations in St. John's can be reached at 709-729-0248. The province also runs SkillsPass NL training for owners and managers of licensed food premises, including a course on what to expect during an inspection and a course on getting a new food premises licensed. The Food Premises Act and the Food Premises Regulations are the governing legislation.

Step 3: Apply for the NLC restaurant liquor licence, if you serve alcohol

If you are interested in obtaining a Restaurant liquor licence in Newfoundland and Labrador, the NLC publishes guidelines and an application package for it. A Restaurant licence authorizes the sale of spirits, beers, and wines on the premises. The NLC's requirements are:

• A completed application for a Liquor Establishment licence.
• Completed Personal Data Sheets for each shareholder, director, or officer who is in charge of the premises.
• A current Certificate of Conduct for each shareholder, director, or officer who is in charge of the premises.
• Written municipal approval.
• Written approval from the Provincial Fire Commissioner's Office.
• One set of floor plans, drawn to scale.
• A Food Establishment Licence, which is also required.

An application fee of $200 must accompany the completed form. All licences are subject to an annual licensing fee, and the application package points to the NLC's Licence Fee Schedule for the amount. A public notice measuring 8.5 by 11 inches must be posted on the proposed licensed establishment, and anyone with concerns or an objection can email licenseconcerns@nlliquor.com. Completed applications go to the NLC's corporate services team at corporateservices@nlliquor.com.

The order that avoids rework

Confirm zoning and occupancy with the City, then submit the Food Establishment Licence application with the floor plan and municipal approval while the building work is planned. Start the NLC application early — it needs the municipal approval, the Fire Commissioner's approval, and the Food Establishment Licence, so it cannot finish before those are in hand. The expensive mistake is signing a lease on a space that cannot be zoned for a restaurant, or fitting out a kitchen before the province has seen the floor plan.

What the opened pages do not state

Three 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 permit and licence fees page lists no general business licence fee for a restaurant, so this guide states no City business licence fee. The Government Services food premises page does not publish the fee for a Food Establishment Licence, so this guide states no food licence fee. The NLC application package states that all licences are subject to an annual licensing fee but points to a separate Licence Fee Schedule for the amount, so this guide states no NLC annual fee. Ask the City, Service NL, and the NLC for the current figures before you budget.

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 Start a Restaurant in Halifax — Halifax's restaurant path, the closest Atlantic-city comparison, with a different city licence and health authority.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler certification, which sits alongside the food safety training requirement in this guide.
• How to Start a Restaurant in Winnipeg — Winnipeg's restaurant path, for the prairie comparison on city licensing and health inspection.
• How to Start a Bakery Business in Canada — the national bakery guide, for readers weighing a bakery against a restaurant.
• How to Start a Food Truck in Ontario — the Ontario food truck guide, for readers weighing a mobile operation against a fixed restaurant.

Keeping the NLC licence: yearly renewal, transfers, and add-on licences

The liquor licence needs looking after once the restaurant is open. NLC licences must be renewed every year to maintain their active status, so put the renewal on a yearly calendar rather than treating the licence as a one time approval. If you sell the business, an active licence may be transferred to a new owner, provided all requirements are met, which makes the licence part of what a buyer needs to settle before taking over. A restaurant that grows can also apply to the NLC for secondary licences, including a Patio Licence and a Catering Licence, as well as amendments to its existing licence. The NLC publishes a Licence Fee Schedule listing the fees for licence purchase, renewal, and transfers, so check that schedule for the current amounts when you budget for a renewal, a transfer, or an add-on licence.

Sources

• Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, Alcohol Licensees: licences renewed every year to maintain active status, transfers of active licences to new owners where all requirements are met, secondary licences including Patio and Catering Licences, and the Licence Fee Schedule for purchase, renewal, and transfer fees.
• City of St. John's, Permit and Licence Fees — the $50 Change of Occupancy Permit, the building permit fees based on construction value, the Permit Counter location and phone number, and the Access St. John's contact numbers.
• City of St. John's, Starting a Business in the City of St. John's — the January 2026 guide to municipal regulations, zoning, permits, and taxation, the business@stjohns.ca contact, the BizPaL service, and the note that the Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation issues liquor licences while Service NL processes food establishment licensing.
• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Fixed and Mobile Food Premises — the Food Establishment Licence, its non-transferable status, the application, floor plan, municipal approval, and food safety training requirements, the Food Premises Act and Regulations, the SkillsPass NL training, and the St. John's Manager of Operations contact, 709-729-0248.
• Newfoundland and Labrador Liquor Corporation, Restaurant Licences — Guidelines and Application — the $200 application fee, the Personal Data Sheets and Certificate of Conduct, the written municipal and Fire Commissioner approvals, the floor plans, the 8.5 by 11 inch public notice, the annual licensing fee, and the requirement for a Food Establishment Licence.