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Engineering monograph: The steps to open a restaurant

Differences between bars, restaurants and bar-restaurants

Decree 317/1994, dated November 4, establishes a distinction between restaurants, bars, and restaurant bars. Bars are establishments that have a bar service, although they may also have a designated area with tables. In any case, they can only offer hot or cold drinks, tapas and sandwiches. The restaurants, on the other hand, are establishments that have a kitchen and a dining room service. The restaurant bars are bars that have a kitchen and the necessary infrastructure to offer a food menu.

Open a bar

As mentioned, a bar is an establishment that has a bar (with or without table service) and that can offer hot or cold drinks, tapas and sandwiches. The price list must be displayed inside the premises (it does not need to be displayed outside). Prices are considered to include taxes, unless otherwise specified. The steps necessary to open a restaurant are the following:
First of all, it is essential to obtain a municipal activity license (environmental license) for a bar or cafeteria. At Enginytech Engineering we are specialists in obtaining activity licenses.
Secondly, it is necessary to register the company in the Registry of Companies and Tourist Activities of the Department of Commerce, Tourism and Consumption of the Generalitat.
Third, it is necessary to obtain a certified identification plate, which must be placed outside the establishment. The identification consists of a white B on a blue background.
Fourth, claim forms must be obtained and made available to the public at the facility. The availability of these claim forms must be announced at the establishment.

Open a Restaurant

Restaurants are establishments that have kitchen and dining services. Unlike bars, restaurants must display the price list both inside and outside the establishment. The steps to open a restaurant are the following:
Firstly, it is essential to obtain the municipal restaurant activity license, that is, the environmental license. In Barcelona, restaurants are included in Annex III.1 of the Municipal Activities Ordinance and the Comprehensive Intervention of the Environmental Administration, and it is necessary to process the license through the corresponding activities project and, if works must be carried out, through the corresponding works project.
Secondly, it is necessary to request an opening authorization and register the company in the Registry of Companies and Tourist Activities. These two procedures can be done together using the same form. To obtain this authorization, a technical project of the establishment must be attached, with indicative and representative plans of the establishment, and a copy of the environmental license.
The third step will consist of obtaining an identification plate, (an R on a blue background in the case of restaurants, or the letters R and B on a blue background in the case of a bar-restaurant), and place it in a very visible way.
Finally, the establishment must have the required claim forms. It is also important to note that in the design of the establishment, the current Accessibility Code must be taken into account, so that our premises are adapted for disabled people.