Hi All,
I am interested in opening a restaurant in Taipei and have some basic questions, hopefully someone here can help me out? I’ve searched the forum and read the related threads on opening restaurants, but i couldn’t find exact answers for what I’m looking for:
- I will be opening a Taiwan branch office of a HK company to run this business in Taipei. Does the branch office require a restaurant license to operate? If yes, is this difficult to obtain or can it be obtained in the course of forming the branch office?
- If the location i rent for this restaurant is not “restaurant ready”, are there basic regulations I need to comply for operating a restaurant in terms of renovation?
- Are there restrictions to importing supplies from HK? I might look to import certain dried herbs from HK, and I’m not sure if I’m allowed to simply ship those over?
- Does anyone have any recommendations for where to buy restaurant (kitchen, mostly) supplies? I will need to buy basic kitchen equipment like stoves, refridgerators, etc.
- Does anyone have recommendations for a good supplier of fresh pork and chicken?
- Does anyone have recommendations for how to find employees/managers, beyond looking at online job websites?
- Does anyone have recommendations for a company i can hire to design logos, create menus, etc?
Thank you all for the help!
Every location needs the required permits.
Not every location can become (no license will be given) a restaurant, if it’s allowed you can not hinder neighbors with noise, smoke or odors.
Some imports require permits, country of origin and sometimes quarantine, being controlled by the ministry of agriculture or something.
Kitchen/restaurant equipment … new or second hand?
There are many meat companies out there, didn’t find the best one yet.
Employees/managers … good ones that stay are going to be a problem in the restaurant business, be prepared to continually be on the lookout for them.
ONE MORE THING! Don’t cross post in multiple threads.
Thanks for your reply! Apologize for the cross posting but i didnt get any responses from my first post for a week or so and thought i’d try some of the other forums.
As for kitchen equipment, i’m interested in checking out both used and new. Can you point me to some places where i can check out prices for both?
If you’re in Taipei, check out the streets around these two locations for used/new restaurant equipment:
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=taipei&hl=en&ll=25.02542,121.516377&spn=0.001329,0.002642&sll=22.623868,120.317791&sspn=0.04302,0.084543&t=m&hnear=Taipei+City,+Taiwan&z=19&layer=c&cbll=25.025534,121.516347&panoid=hgmfnlbJZ8klWVotjZaivA&cbp=12,287.53,0,4.84
https://maps.google.com/maps?q=taipei&hl=en&ll=25.047032,121.504181&spn=0.002542,0.005284&sll=22.623868,120.317791&sspn=0.04302,0.084543&t=m&hnear=Taipei+City,+Taiwan&z=18&layer=c&cbll=25.047104,121.504258&panoid=LwIRoU830Dzz6GXydHt-RA&cbp=12,130.8,0,-12.06
I’m sure you’ll be able to find phone numbers via Google Maps, as well.
In terms of importing certain herbs, I’m sure you’ll be able to find all the Chinese herbs you want here. Barring that, you can certainly fly back to HK and bring them in your suitcase (if they’re vacuum-packed, of course). Many restaurant owners do this for their authentic cuisine, as they do not require large amounts of certain ingredients.