If you are a newbie and want to open a restaurant in Dubai, this may appear to you as a mammoth task. It is always better to plan each and every step carefully. Non-adherence to rules may land you in trouble with the authorities. Let’s implore the steps involved while opening a restaurant in Dubai.

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Acquire Food and Trade licenses

The initial step is to get your Food and Trade license from the authorities. To procure a food license, you will have to approach the Department of Food and Safety. The trade license is obtained from the Department of Economic Development (DED), and The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM). This may cost you approximately AED 10,000 to AED 12,000.

Select a location

The next step is to select an appropriate location for your restaurant. And in this process, the first thing that comes is whether to select a mainland area or to operate within the free zones.

In order to open your restaurant on the mainland (where the business needs the support of the local sponsor), approval of DED is mandatory. Mainland provides you with the option to trade, but the sponsor will hold 51% of the shares and the remaining 49% is vested with the owner.

If you intend to set up your restaurant in the free zones of Dubai, you need to procure the consent of the corresponding free zone authorities. Free zone areas allow you to hold 100% of your shares and do not require a local sponsor. But this restricts your area of trade.

Once the area is selected, you need to select the locality. This depends on the type of cuisine you intend to recreate. If your planned cuisine is Indian, or Chinese, or French, you need to select your locality such that you target the customers. It is always better to get expert advice on business consultation to get an insight idea into the local areas and the target customers.

Draft the plan

Many necessary factors like SWOT analysis, preparing a financial plan, target marketing, preparing a contingency plan, cash flow projections, market survey, market research are required to set a professional restaurant business. Each factor contributes in its own way to your business growth.

Estimate cost and expenditure

Finally but importantly it is necessary to have a proper financial plan ready to keep track as to how much to spend. The restaurant costs, the cost of staffing, the cost of equipment, license costs. It is better to estimate all the investments and expenditures involved in a restaurant business.

Documents Required

• Before beginning your new restaurant or cafeteria business in Dubai, 3 main documents are to be submitted.
• Trading License
• Food and Safety License
• Non-Objection certificate obtained from the local municipality of Dubai

You can also avail of other permits like,

• Ramadan permit
• Liquor permit
• Delivery permit
• Pork permit

All the above said documents are required for hassle free business activities for every old and new restaurants without interference or shutting down by authorities.

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