Driven by a growing population, the United Arab Emirates has experienced an unparalleled hike in the food industry. As per the facts and figures suggested by Business Registration and Licensing (BRL), Dubai witnessed a total number of 11,813 restaurants and cafes in the year 2018.

This has made it quite easy for business owners to do business in the city with their favorite cuisines and business strategies influenced by the taste, population, interests, infrastructure, or anything else. Opening a restaurant in Dubai isn’t as easy as it seems. This is why the Dubai Approvals Team is there to make the approval process easy for you.

How to open a restaurant business in Dubai?

For a rookie, setting up a restaurant business in Dubai may seem quite a daunting task. This is why you need professional assistance to strategize every aspect accordingly. If you don’t want to be in any legal trouble with the authorities, you should always follow the rules. Here are the steps involved in opening a restaurant in Dubai. Have a look!

1. Drafting a business plan

A professional business plan is indispensable to making your business successful in the long run. Along with that, you need to do the SWOT analysis, prepare a contingency plan for adverse situations and a finance plan, target marketing, market survey, break-even analysis, cash flow projections, and a lot more. Every factor can be a vital force to determine the success of your business, so keep these in mind before opening a restaurant in Dubai.

2. Food and Trading License

You need to acquire the food and trading license first, and for this, you need to approach the Department of Food and Safety, whereas for the trade license, you need to go to the Department of Economic Development (DED), which may cost you around ED10,000 to AED12,000. Along with this, you also need to get approval from the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM Dubai) as well.

3. Location preferences

The next vital step in opening a restaurant in Dubai is to find the ideal location for your business. If you are planning to open a restaurant in the mainland area, then the approval of the DED authorities is inevitable. In this case, the owner will have 49% of the shares, while the sponsors will hold 51% of the shares. For free zones, the consent of the free zone authority is necessary. Though you may gain authority over 100% of the shares, your trade will be restricted.

4. Getting the right documents

The documents required for starting a business in Dubai include a trading license, NOC from a local municipality, Food and safety license, Liquor, Ramadan, Pork, and permit, and common professional licenses, as well as certifications for the trained staff, which can be a cherry on top. Once all these documents are obtained, every business can function without any interference.

But all this isn’t as easy as it appears on the surface. Get in touch with the professionals of the Dubai Approvals Team and start your business in no time as you get the approvals in the minimal possible time.

5. Food Control Department

Before opening a restaurant in Dubai, it is extremely crucial to take into consideration the exact role that the Food Control Department would play. This department is mainly responsible for making sure that the restaurants and food outlets offer safe and hygienic cuisine to the customers.

Thus, its guidelines must be strictly adhered to by the new restaurant. From the very start of food production to when it is presented to the customers at their table, the focus must be paid to the hygiene factor. Following the proper food code would play a vital role and help the business to have strong and long-lasting goodwill in the market.

In case you think that the rules and guidelines of the Food Control Department would restrict the restaurant business in Dubai, you are mistaken. The specifications that have been presented by the department would guide the new restaurant to focus on the quality of the wide variety of food.

The food code would provide updated guidelines relating to the food safety standards and regulations so that a win-win situation could arise for the business as well as the customers. The focal points would include the protection of the health of the consumers and the establishment of a safe environment. Thus, some of the main areas of business processes that would have to be designed to meet the food safety requirements include the availability of adequate space for making food and the cleanliness of the spaces, including the kitchen and restroom.

Similarly, the exact location of the kitchen equipment would play a key role in making sure that healthy food items are prepared. The entry and exit passages must be used systematically so that no unauthorized individual or party can enter the kitchen premises. Hence, the Food Control Department Dubai would play a key role in influencing the new restaurant business.

Related Blogs