Many first-time retail shop owners don’t realize how difficult, expensive and daunting it is to get your doors open. Aside from the obvious requirements of insurance, inventory, and advertising, you have to deal with your store’s build-out and city permitting. Meeting city and county codes can cause serious delays and you may incur large expenses that you didn’t expect.
You need an Occupancy Permit from the city, which includes building safety and fire inspections. If you sell or prepare food a health department inspection is required. Most cities are making sure that new businesses are conforming to the rules, so if your space is lacking in some respect, you must bring it up to code – at whatever the cost. Some requirements are simple but some are not, and there are a lot of them.
For the building safety inspection, you need a lighted exit sign with battery backup, proper electrical wiring, etc. You also must satisfy the American Disabilities Act, which includes signs and a store configuration that comfortably accommodates wheelchairs. For the health department you must go through their plan check process which specifies the right materials for walls, floors, ceilings, shelving, etc. The fire inspection requires sprinklers, alarms and an extinguisher.
Generally, if you have to do a space modification to meet codes, it is your responsibility, not the landlord’s. To protect yourself from surprises, spend some money up front to get a competent contractor to assess your space. Talk to other tenants in your shopping center, and call the city if you are unsure about anything. If you need a health department permit, call them and get the plan check process started before you do any work at all.
Pia Maffei is opening Artisan’s Palate, a gourmet gift shop featuring food items from local artisans within a 100 mile radius. Artisan’s Palate will open this month in Temecula, visit www.artisanspalate.com , and www.facebook.com/artisanspalate to learn more.