So, you want to open a coffee shop in Tallahassee? You’ve got a lease, a business plan, and some solid beans from a local roaster. Should be easy, right?
Cue the circus music.
Before you serve your first oat milk latte, you’ll need the blessing of a dizzying array of government entities, each with its own forms, timelines, and “standard review windows” that make continental drift look speedy.
Let’s start local. You’ll need:
- Business Tax Receipt from the City of Tallahassee
- Certificate of Occupancy from Growth Management
But we’re just getting started. For civil review, you’ll need even more:
Then, if triggered, you may also need:
- Letter of Agreement
- Parking Standards Review
And if the state is involved, the project may also trigger a FDEP water permit DEP sewer permit. That’s all civil. For building, you need a building permit, which is no simple task.
Next up: A visit to the Sign Police. If you want to do anything the least bit creative with your sign – including anything to do with its size, location, illumination, location on the building, etc. – you may need a variance from a board of volunteers, which meets on a monthly cycle that may or may not fit your project timeline.
Want outdoor seating? Heaven help you if your space’s espresso machine is interpreted to mean your coffee shop is located in a non-retail, making it a “non- conforming use.” That kicks it to a different zoning code altogether — possibly requiring a new permit and perhaps even a public notice to neighbors, who may suddenly discover they’re deeply offended by caffeine.
Now zoom out. You’ll also need:
- State license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR)Florida Sales Tax Certificate
How long does all this take? Officially: “Depends.”
Unofficially: anywhere from 10-12 months, assuming you don’t run into a reviewer on vacation or a missing document that mysteriously got “kicked back” into the void. And, of course, given that you are moving through the building department, the growth management department, the traffic department, the electric department, the underground utilities department, public infrastructure and more, it’s not exactly a system set up to be business-friendly.
And the kicker? After all this hoop-jumping, no one — not a single agency — can tell you what your total startup costs will be. Each fee is siloed, and there’s no master checklist.
This isn’t just a Tallahassee issue. It’s a Florida issue. But as the seat of government, the capital should be a model of streamlined small-business support. Instead, we’ve created a permitting gauntlet so cumbersome it rewards only the well-connected or the well-lawyered.
So the next time you walk into your neighborhood café, tip your barista. And maybe also offer condolences to the owner, who probably aged two years before opening day — all because they had the audacity to sell muffins and macchiatos in the Sunshine State.