Project 1: Create a one-stop digital guide to starting a restaurant in Philadelphia
Starting a restaurant can be a gateway to financial growth in Philadelphia for many. A small business such as a restaurant can help families new to our area to set down roots in our communities. Unfortunately, starting a restaurant requires navigating a labyrinth of shifting regulations, government agencies that cannot communicate with each other, and much more. This project would benefit new restaurant owners, particularly those starting a restaurant with limited English proficiency, whether written or spoken.
About the non-profit: The Merchants Fund, a Philadelphia charity established in 1854, provides charitable gifts to business persons facing financial hardship.
Goal: Create an interactive and accessible digital informational resource for new Philadelphia restaurants about how to start a restaurant.
Top three goals of the project (from the non-profit)
- Create a digital informational resource for new Philadelphia restaurants about how to start a restaurant.
- The guide needs strong support for internationalization and other forms of digital accessibility.
- The guide should be interactive.
Who are the top target beneficiaries (users, stakeholders, etc) of the project? What do you hope they gain from the value your project delivers? (from the non-profit) New restaurant owners, in particular those who are starting a restaurant with limited English proficiency, whether written or spoken.
Project Scope - Rank, to the best of your ability, what you hope to deliver with the project. At the very least, if you could choose to deliver only one feature, what would it be? (from the non-profit)
- Create a digital informational resource for new Philadelphia restaurants about how to start a restaurant.
- The guide needs strong support for internationalization and other forms of digital accessibility.
- the guide should be interactive.
Are there other dependencies, resources, or partners you anticipate using or needing in order to deliver the project? (from the non-profit) See this starter kit from San Francisco. https://businessportal.sfgov.org/start/starter-kits/restaurant
Guide to opening a stationary food business: https://www.phila.gov/media/20211005103506/Plan_Review_for_Stationary_Food_Businesses-9.30.2021.pdf
Food Business Documents: https://www.phila.gov/documents/food-business-documents/
Other resources in Philadelphia: It was mentioned to me that the City of Philadelphia has these: Guide to opening a stationary food business: https://www.phila.gov/media/20211005103506/Plan_Review_for_Stationary_Food_Businesses-9.30.2021.pdf Food Business Documents: https://www.phila.gov/documents/food-business-documents/ Who are the key contacts and stakeholders? What are their roles, involvement expectations, and skill sets? (from the non-profit) Judy Ni from Baology, judy.ni@baology.com Questions:
Where can I learn more about the community partner? https://merchantsfund.org/about/
Which government agency regulates these types of businesses? The City of Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health and the City’s Department of License and Inspections.
[1] https://billypenn.com/2022/02/16/philadelphia-business-regulations-barriers-difficult/
What is a brief summary of the steps required to start a restaurant? First it’s worth noting that there are 2 categories of restaurants that Philadelphia recognizes: stationary (e.g., food establishments operating out of a building/fixed location) and non-stationary (e.g., mobile food establishments such as food truck) These are the basic steps required in starting up a stationary restaurant[1]: Step 1 → Zoning/use registration permit Step 2 → City of Philadelphia food safety personnel certificate Step 3 → Plan review approval Step 4 → Building permit Step 5 → Plumbing permit Step 6 → Electrical permit Step 7 → Construction inspections (includes electrical, building, plumbing, and mechanical inspections) Step 8 → Pre-operating inspection Step 9 → Final licensing (includes commercial activity license and food license) Step 10 → Food liability insurance
These are the basic steps required in starting up a non-stationary restaurant[2]: Step 1 → Non-stationary location license Step 2 → Philadelphia Food Safety Certificates Step 3 → Plan review approval Step 4 → Commercial activity license Step 5 → Food liability insurance
[1] https://business.phila.gov/media/2017-Opening_a_Stationary_Food_Business_2017_revised.pdf. Note that the guidance has not been updated since 2017; however, when comparing the 2017 version to the 2013 version, there appear to be no changes to the general steps listed here. Therefore, it is likely safe to assume that these steps are also current as of 2022. [2] https://philadelphia.score.org/resource/food-service-industry-resources. Phila.gov does not have a comprehensive guide to opening a non-stationary food business like they do for stationary food businesses. This link provides the best guidance we could find; however, it should be noted that this website is not operated by the City.
There aren’t too many steps involved in opening a restaurant in Philadelphia. What is the issue here? On its surface, it does indeed seem like a manageable checklist of steps to take. However, this is not the reality given that each step has many sub-steps. In fact, one source on the internet says that as of 2022, there are 58 steps that a hopeful restaurateur must follow before opening shop.[1] But even before tackling the to-do list itself, prospective restaurant owners first need to find the list as well as the various forms and publications associated with each step. This is a feat in and of itself as relevant information is scattered across all corners of the internet. Ideally, it should all be in a centralized location (i.e., under a single domain name).
Where can we find the laws that affect these types of businesses? The City Council of Philadelphia’s website: https://phila.legistar.com/ The City Council site “provides quick and easy public access to information concerning Philadelphia City Council bills and resolutions.” The Philadelphia Code website: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/overview The Philadelphia Code is a codification of all Philadelphia ordinances of general applicability. See § 6-301 of the Code for regulations pertaining specifically to food establishments: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/philadelphia/latest/philadelphia_pa/0-0-0-272774
Are subject matter experts available from the non-profit or partner organization? Who can we ask questions about this challenge? Judy Ni - judy.ni@baology.com If they are not available in person, or zoom, could we send them questions over email or via a shared google doc?
Are there recommended tools that I can consider using? Are there examples of similar information resources that we could be inspired by? This is answered above
If we are able to make the new system available in more than one language, what non-English languages should we consider? In Philadelphia, the next most frequently spoken language behind English is Spanish. As of the 2021 census, approximately 11% of Philadelphians either speak Spanish or live in a household with Spanish speakers.[1] In light of this data, it would certainly be beneficial to make the new system available in Spanish. If budget and bandwidth allow for the system to include even more languages than the two above, coders might consider looking to the official languages of the UN (excluding English and Spanish): Arabic, Chinese, French, and Russian.
[1] https://censusreporter.org/profiles/16000US4260000-philadelphia-pa/.
Additional resources from Miguel https://merchantsfund.org/rebuild-philly/ SME wiil be available
Notes from Kevin M, Neota Logic: Breakdown by categories e.g. stationary v mobile restaurant, fine dining v. regular etc.
Built With
- api
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.