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The Regulatory Burdens of Opening a Restaurant in NYC

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by YankeeFan, Dec 29, 2010.

  1. YankeeFan

    YankeeFan Well-Known Member

    The City is trying to help small restauranteurs open new restaurants, but you'd have to be a masochist to put up with the burdens involved.

    The roadblocks put in front of entrepreneurs are incredible. And this is before you even get into labor law.

     
  2. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    Great lead.
     
  3. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Lots of due diligence involved in opening a restaurant in any North American city. Toronto's no different
     
  4. Stoney

    Stoney Well-Known Member

    So is the alternative that we just don't worry about fire safety, food borne illnesses and waste disposal? The regulations may suck, but I kinda like knowing the food I've ordered wasn't baked in mouse shit and I won't be walking out with a parasite in my belly.
     
  5. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    I think you're supposed to take personal responsibility for all these things.
     
  6. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    Yes. Those are the only two options. Baked mouse shit and parasites or this.
     
  7. YGBFKM

    YGBFKM Guest

    A deputy mayor is quoted as saying the process is onerous. Do you not believe him, or is it just easier to respond to the person posting instead of the content of what is posted?
     
  8. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    Yes, state governments, and through them, municipalities, have plenary authority to regulate anything related to the health, safety or general welfare of the citizens, which is pretty much everything. Fortunately, in contrast, our federal government is one of limited, enumerated powers. As a result, most of the regulatory road blocks faced by small business comes from state regulation and not from the feds.
     
  9. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Even with the DOH doing surprise inspections, there isn't a restaurant -- even the fanciest -- that isn't plagued by vermin and poor handling of food at one time or another. It's impossible to avoid. There are more rats than people in NY and mice congregate wherever there is food -- restaurants, supermarkets, etc. If those are real concerns, your best bet is to avoid restaurants in NY. Restaurants around here get DOHed every day. Shuttered for a few days until they fix whatever problems they got nailed with during a surprise inspection. Even some of the fanciest restaurants have been hit -- more than once. It's the kind of thing I would have figured a well-placed bribe could take care of, but apparently not, judging by some of the DOHed places I have seen. The new thing now is to grade the restaurants based on their inspections and make them put the grades in their windows. So far I have only seen restaurants that got "A's" doing it, but I thought the sign was mandatory no matter what the grade.

    The intent is to serve some public good, but the reality is that it is useless.

    By way of example, there was a place near where I live that got DOHed. In a big way. A gazillion violations. It was a fairly popular restaurant. The owners tried several times and the DOH kept them closed for not rectifying their problems. The place stayed shuttered for a few weeks. The owners denied that they were DOHed, even though the sign was in their window (they tried to hide it). Then one day, it re-opened. With an all new name, new sign in front and a different menu. If there really are that many permits required to open a restaurant, the owners of the old place sure expedited things, because the new place was the old restaurant -- same owners -- except with a new sign out front and a new menu. I am not sure how they pulled that off.
     
  10. holy bull

    holy bull Active Member

    Ragu, didn't Mario Batali get busted a few years ago?
     
  11. Armchair_QB

    Armchair_QB Well-Known Member

    [​IMG]

    SLIME IN THE ICE BOX!
     
  12. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Does it need a coffee machine?
     
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