Laws and Permits to Roast in-store?
- Thread starter jsab
- Start date
wwcove
Banned
- Jun 20, 2014
- 186
- 0
I would call the city you live in. Every city has its own ordanaces. Most cities allow up to a certain size roaster before the actual roaster needs approved. But some cities are very strict. Generally if under 10 kg. unit per roast you are good as long as you set it up properly with proper exhaust. It's when you get to the bigger units that you might be required an afterburner which becomes an expensive investment. But most coffee shops can get by with a 3kg roaster and still roast a lot of coffee to brew and bag and resell.
- Aug 14, 2003
- 3,920
- 67
Where in Florida? It helps if there is or has been another roaster in the area. I had a hell of a time with the city when I was getting started. No one wanted to sign off on my equipment in case something went wrong. They made me add a 15.5 ton A/C unit to my existing 5.5 ton unit. They said the reason was because my after burner can run at 1,100 degrees...sigh. I tried to explain that it didn't put off any heat in the room... They said I would thank them when I was roasting and not sweating. I fought it and had to basically give in. I can now make it snow in my roastery. Contact your city first and then department of Agriculture. Good luck 
chast
New member
- Jul 30, 2006
- 658
- 1
There is a roaster in Clearwater who purchased an Ambex roaster and the city would not allow it but they allowed a Toper Roaster. They also made them put in a triple sink!!. They only roast coffee and do not have walk in customers nor do that they have any food. The city made them jump through hoops more than once
Music_Geek
New member
- Apr 17, 2013
- 24
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We're in the process of getting set up with a town in Illinois, and they're going to make us follow all of the same protocol as though we were a bakery. I wish we lived in a more flexible area, that just wanted good craft industry... but yup, triple sink, almost certainly independent NSF certification for the roaster (we were told of some ways to work around this, but we can't afford to get shut down for a certification that basically no one I know has had to get)... I run another retail business, unrelated, that I started from the ground up. I have gotten the sense that some local government workers see themselves as gate-keepers, and actively impede work, whereas others are active supporters. Go in expecting the worst, and be charismatic.
Its all a bunch of nonsense. Aside from needing a 1 compartment sink for cleanliness, clean space, non combustible floor for obvious reasons and access to a bathroom, its basically legalized racketeering. The gov't just wants to get paid. eg. the percentage of "construction" costs. So if I make improvements, I need to pay them off with a percentage of that. Local gov'ts are essentially legalized mafias once you get past the reasonable requests.
- Thread starter
- #8
Thanks for the feedback. It is true that Florida really loves their 3-comp sinks, as my family owns a restaurant and went through that a few times. I am thinking about a 3 or 5 kilo roaster. I suppose I will check with the city and then move up from there.
While we're on the subject about licensing and permits... anybody have information on permits required to sell coffee and coffee beans at farmer's markets? I found some general information about going through the Division of Food Safety here in Florida but does anybody have real experience selling coffee (cold brew, pour over, whole beans) at a farmer's market?
While we're on the subject about licensing and permits... anybody have information on permits required to sell coffee and coffee beans at farmer's markets? I found some general information about going through the Division of Food Safety here in Florida but does anybody have real experience selling coffee (cold brew, pour over, whole beans) at a farmer's market?
soliloquy
New member
- Feb 13, 2014
- 25
- 0
I'm currently in the process of getting licensed in MN. Department of Ag tells me I need a three compartment sink, a hand sink, a mop sink, washable floors, walls, ceilings, and last but not least a bathroom.
For farmers market, they want me to have a hand washing sink, a dish washing sink, waist water storage, and oh yeah, it all has to be NSF certified equipment. The kicker is that they want a $200 non-refundable application fee.
I told the inspector that it's just coffee. I don't need to wash any dishes, or even my hands for that matter. Pour water over coffee into a cup, dump filter and spent coffee into a bucket--simple as that. She said she'd ask her supervisor, who happens to be on vacation for two weeks.
For farmers market, they want me to have a hand washing sink, a dish washing sink, waist water storage, and oh yeah, it all has to be NSF certified equipment. The kicker is that they want a $200 non-refundable application fee.
I told the inspector that it's just coffee. I don't need to wash any dishes, or even my hands for that matter. Pour water over coffee into a cup, dump filter and spent coffee into a bucket--simple as that. She said she'd ask her supervisor, who happens to be on vacation for two weeks.
Redswing
New member
- May 30, 2013
- 227
- 0
Another consideration is checking the municipal code of the city you plan to do this in. In my city in CA, coffee roasting is considered manufacturing, so the facility must be in an area developed as light commercial. Even the state recognized cottage food law that legalizes roasting from your home kitchen within certain parameters doesn’t apply in my town, because food manufacturing is not allowed in a residential (or even downtown business) area. So, if you are looking for a business license, it is my experience that you just never exactly know what the rules are gonna be. It might come down to some local zoning requirement.
Breifne
New member
- Feb 11, 2015
- 102
- 1
This is absolute madness. Why do our government entities work against small businesses so vigorously? Absolutely ridiculous.
Business is one of the few sources of money they have to leverage to keep their sad operations running, while employing 10X the people necessary (with pensions). They need to generate this revenue somewhere, and if you're opening a business, you look like a big bag of cash to them. Yes, they do serve well in some cases, and order/control is needed. But a 3 compartment sink, mop sink, washable walls, ceilings...gimme a break. That's lunacy. It's officials not knowing anything about a given industry and applying blanket standards to it. "Well, line 2345 in paragraph 123452456 says this, so do it. And pay me after."
