How to Start a Restaurant in Vancouver

The short answer

Zoning first, then health approval, then the licence — in that order, because each step depends on the one before it. To open a restaurant in Vancouver you need three separate approvals from three separate bodies: the City of Vancouver for zoning and the business licence, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) for food premises approval and the annual food service permit, and the Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Branch (LCRB) for a liquor licence if you serve alcohol. This guide walks the Vancouver 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 before you sign anything

Check whether zoning allows a restaurant at the location you want before you lease or buy. The City's small business guide puts it as a question to answer before committing: do zoning regulations allow your business to operate at the location you want, does the space meet building code requirements, and were any past renovations done properly. The City offers a zoning lookup and a Commercial Renovation Centre to answer those questions, and it is worth using both before you sign a lease — a space that cannot be zoned for a restaurant is a dead end no amount of fit-out spending fixes.

If you plan to serve alcohol, check the liquor zoning at the same time. The LCRB requires that your business be zoned for liquor service before you submit a liquor licence application, and the local government must sign off on the application. A site that works as a restaurant but is not zoned for liquor service can still open without alcohol, but it cannot add a liquor licence later without a zoning change.

Step 2: Get Vancouver Coastal Health floor plan approval

VCH must review and approve your floor plan before construction starts. That applies to new premises, premises under renovation, and premises needing alterations to meet current VCH requirements. Do not start building first and seek approval after — the VCH food service permits page states the approval must come first, and the pre-opening inspection checks that construction was completed according to the approved plan.

Before the first inspection for health approval, submit these items for an Environmental Health Officer (EHO) to review:

• The Food Service Permit Application Form, for food service establishments such as restaurants, caterers, and mobile food service providers. These are facilities where food is processed — cooked, reheated, or frozen — and intended for immediate consumption.
• A copy of the Certificate of Incorporation, if the premises are corporately owned.
• The menu, listing menu items including ingredients and processes for the foods and beverages being prepared, packaged, and served.
• A Food Safety Plan and a Sanitation Plan, developed and implemented for the premises. VCH publishes templates for both in its Food Premises Orientation Guide.
• A FOODSAFE Level 1 certificate or equivalent for every owner or operator. When the owner or operator is away, at least one employee must hold the certification.

Every operator of a food service establishment must hold a valid annual permit. The permit is not transferable to a new owner and is not transferable to a temporary event, so if you buy an existing restaurant you apply for your own permit rather than taking over the seller's. VCH states that permit fees will be processed at the time of approval, and no dollar figure is published on the page — see the "What the official pages do not state" section below.

Step 3: Build out, then pass the health inspection

Get the building permits for the build-out. The City's small business guide directs restaurant owners to check when a permit is needed and to use the Commercial Renovation Centre for help with the space and the improvements. Kitchen ventilation, plumbing, gas, and electrical work in a commercial kitchen all sit inside the building permit system, and the City's building permit guide for Vancouver walks the permit side in detail.

Once construction is complete, an EHO conducts an on-site inspection to assess whether the construction matches the approved floor plan and whether the premises meet food safety and sanitation standards. The inspection can cover food storage, temperature control, cleanliness of food contact surfaces and equipment, hand washing facilities, waste management, and pest control. Fix what the officer flags before you plan an opening date around the inspection — the permit follows a passed inspection, not a scheduled one.

Step 4: Apply for the City business licence

You need a business licence to operate in Vancouver. The City's small business guide states this directly, and adds that you can apply in person, by email, and by mail, that you should include all required documents to avoid a delay, that your licence may need engineering, fire, health, and police approvals before it is issued, and that business licences expire every year on December 31.

The 2026 fees are set in By-law No. 14479, which amends the Licence By-law No. 4450 and came into force January 1, 2026. The restaurant categories are:

• Restaurant — Class 1: $1,046 a year.
• Restaurant — Class 2: $1,046 a year.
• Restaurant — Class 1 with Liquor Service: $986 a year plus $10 annually per person, based on the person capacity set out on the provincial liquor licence, with a maximum fee of $5,928.
• Restaurant — Class 2 with Liquor Service: $986 a year plus $10 annually per person, on the same terms and with the same $5,928 maximum.
• Limited Service Food Establishment with Liquor: $723 a year plus $10 annually per person, based on the person capacity on the provincial liquor licence.
• Limited Service Food Establishment without Liquor: $723 a year.
• Caterer: $533 a year, if catering is part of the operation.

All licence fees are payable annually unless otherwise specified. The bylaw lists Restaurant Class 1 and Class 2 at the same fee; the bylaw does not state what distinguishes the two classes, so confirm which class the Licence Office assigns your restaurant when you apply rather than guessing from the names.

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

To sell or serve alcoholic drinks you need a liquor licence, and the City's guide directs applicants to meet its licence coordinator to discuss the application. The licence itself comes from the province, not the City. The LCRB issues two licences that matter to restaurants:

Food Primary — the restaurant licence. Food Primary licences are for establishments where the primary focus is the service of food, such as restaurants, bistros, and cafes. The establishment must have a fully equipped kitchen and a defined dining area controlled by one food outlet. Take-out-only restaurants, mall food fairs, food trucks, and banquet halls do not qualify. The application and first-year licensing fee is $950, charged when the LCRB receives the application, and the annual renewal fee is calculated from the amount of liquor purchased. To apply you need a Canada Revenue Agency Business Number, a Business BCeID to access the online licensing portal, a Personal History Summary form with the supporting documents it lists (police information check, criminal record and judicial matters check, statutory declaration, driver's abstract), a floor plan with the occupant load stamped by the local government, and a sample restaurant sign. Once a complete application is submitted, the LCRB works with the Liquor Distribution Branch to review it, offers an Approval in Principle if everything is in order, and sends the name and contact information of your local liquor inspector within six months. When you are ready to open, contact the inspector for a final inspection; if it goes well, the licence is issued. If you want liquor service beyond midnight or patron participation entertainment, include the local government sign-off with the application.

Liquor Primary — the bar licence. A Liquor Primary licence is for a liquor-focused service area, such as a pub, lounge, or nightclub, or for offering liquor service as an additional service. It costs a $2,200 application fee, paid when submitting, plus a $2,200 first-year licensing fee, paid when the licence is issued, with renewal fees based on annual liquor sales. Your local government must sign off on the application before you submit the completed package to the LCRB, and your business must be zoned for liquor service first. The application adds a Letter of Intent and a site map to the documents the Food Primary route needs. Most restaurants want Food Primary; choose Liquor Primary only if liquor, not food, is the focus of the room.

Step 6: Register the business, taxes, and workplace insurance

Before opening, register the business itself. The City's small business guide covers the sequence: choose a business structure, register for PST and GST if you will sell taxable goods or provide taxable services, and set up workplace insurance through WorkSafeBC if you will have employees. The guide also notes the hiring obligations that come with staff — record-keeping, employment standards, payroll, and workplace insurance — and points to the federal guidance on those obligations. These are the same registrations the national restaurant guide walks through; the Vancouver-specific point is that none of them substitutes for the City licence, the VCH permit, or the LCRB licence, and none of those three substitutes for the others.

The order that avoids rework

The sequence that wastes the least time and money is: confirm zoning, get the VCH floor plan approved, build to the approved plan, pass the health inspection, and hold the City business licence and the liquor licence until the approvals they depend on have landed. The expensive mistake is the reverse order — signing a lease on a space that cannot be zoned for a restaurant, or building a kitchen to a floor plan VCH has not approved and then rebuilding it after the inspection. The licence fees are the small money in this process. The lease and the fit-out are the large money, and both should wait until zoning and the floor plan are confirmed.

What the official pages do not state

Three figures a reader would reasonably want are not stated on the official pages, so they are not carried here. Vancouver Coastal Health does not publish a dollar figure for the food service permit — its page says only that permit fees will be processed at the time of approval. The City's pages do not publish processing times for a restaurant business licence application. And the bylaw lists Restaurant Class 1 and Restaurant Class 2 at the same $1,046 fee without stating what distinguishes the two classes. Ask VCH for the permit fee when you submit the application, and ask the City Licence Office which restaurant class applies to your premises.

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 British Columbia — the BC liquor licence guide, for the full LCRB picture beyond the restaurant classes covered here.
• How to Get a Food Handler Certificate in Canada — food handler certification, which sits alongside the FOODSAFE Level 1 requirement in this guide.
• How to Start a Food Truck in Vancouver — the Vancouver food truck path, which shares the VCH food premises process but runs under different City licensing.
• How to Get a Building Permit in Vancouver — the City building permit process for the restaurant fit-out.
• How to Start a Bakery Business in Canada — the national bakery guide, for readers weighing a bakery against a restaurant.

Sources

• City of Vancouver, Guide to starting or expanding your small business — the business licence requirement and application routes, the December 31 expiry, the food service and liquor service sections, zoning and the Commercial Renovation Centre, and PST, GST, and WorkSafeBC registration.
• City of Vancouver, By-law No. 14479, 2026 Business Licence Fees — the 2026 restaurant licence fees: Class 1 and Class 2 at $1,046, with liquor service at $986 plus $10 per person to a $5,928 maximum, limited service food establishments at $723, and caterer at $533.
• Vancouver Coastal Health, Food Service Permits and Health Approvals — floor plan review before construction, the annual permit and its non-transferability, the documents for health approval, the FOODSAFE Level 1 requirement, and the pre-opening inspection.
• Government of British Columbia, Apply for a Food Primary licence — what qualifies for Food Primary, the $950 application and first-year fee, the documents needed, and the Approval in Principle and final inspection sequence.
• Government of British Columbia, Apply for a Liquor Primary licence — the $2,200 application fee and $2,200 first-year fee, the local government sign-off and liquor zoning requirements, and the Letter of Intent and site map.