How to start a coffee shop in the US (2026 guide)

To start a coffee shop in the US, decide on your format (café, kiosk, drive-thru or cart), write a plan and budget, form your business and get an EIN, find a site that allows food service, have your build-out plans approved by the health department, then get your food permit, equipment and staff in place. Demand is steady: in the National Coffee Association's fall 2026 survey, 66% of American adults had coffee the day before, and 48% had a specialty coffee, a record. Your margins depend on keeping drink costs low and serving the morning rush fast.

Not legal advice. Permit and zoning rules are local. Check with your city and county health department. Figures were read on the sources' own pages on October 20, 2026.

Step 1: Pick a format that fits your budget

The format decides your rent, build-out and how many cups you can sell an hour.

If you want to start small, a cart or a pop-up at a market lets you test your drinks and prices before you sign a lease.

Step 2: Write your plan and budget

Count your costs before you commit. Your plan should cover your format, location, menu and prices, start-up costs, monthly costs and how many drinks a day you need to sell to break even.

Use our free coffee shop business plan template and the restaurant startup cost calculator. The SBA's 10 steps (market research, plan, funding, location, structure, name, registration, tax IDs, licenses and a business bank account) are a useful outline.

Step 3: Register the business and get tax IDs

Do the paperwork early, because landlords, suppliers and permit offices ask for your business details.

• Choose a structure, such as a sole proprietorship or an LLC.
• Get an EIN from the IRS online. The IRS says you never have to pay a fee for one.
• Register for sales tax with your state; drinks and food sold for here or to go are often taxable. See sales tax on restaurant food.
• Open a business bank account.

Step 4: Find a site and check it can serve food

Before you sign a lease, check that the space can legally become a food business and that the plumbing and power can be upgraded.

• Zoning and use. Ask the city whether a café is allowed at that address and whether a change of use needs approval or new parking.
• Plumbing. Espresso machines and dishwashing need water and drains in the right places. The FDA Food Code calls for at least one handwashing sink, a three-compartment sink for washing utensils (unless an alternative is approved), a service sink for mop water and at least one toilet.
• Power. Commercial espresso machines and grinders often need dedicated circuits.
• Accessibility. The ADA's Title III covers restaurants as public accommodations, so plan the counter, entrance and restroom with access in mind.

Step 5: Get your build-out plans approved

Most health departments want to approve your plans before construction. The Food Code's model rule says plans and specifications must be reviewed and approved before a food establishment is built, converted or remodeled, and that you apply for your permit at least 30 calendar days before you plan to open.

Permit fees often depend on your risk level and sales. In Austin, for example, a fixed food establishment permit runs from $309 to $927 a year depending on risk category and gross sales (fee schedule effective November 1, 2026). A coffee-only menu usually sits in a lower risk tier than a full kitchen, but the health department decides.

Step 6: Get your food permit and food safety basics

When the build-out passes inspection, the health department issues your permit. Before then:

• Certified food protection manager. Under the Food Code, the person in charge should be certified by passing an accredited exam, unless the health department treats your operation as low risk.
• Written employee illness policy. The 2026 Food Code, released September 17, 2026, adds a requirement for one, kept available on request.
• Cold milk at 41°F or below. That's the Food Code's cold-holding limit, and refrigerated ready-to-eat food made on site and kept more than 24 hours must be date-marked (up to 7 days at 41°F).
• Allergens. Milk, soy and tree nuts are three of the nine major food allergens the FDA lists, and they're everywhere in a café (dairy, soy milk, almond milk, nut syrups). Train staff to answer questions and avoid cross-contact.

Step 7: Choose equipment and coffee suppliers

Your espresso machine and grinder are the heart of the shop. Buy for the volume you expect at the morning peak, and budget for water filtration and a service plan.

Roasting your own? A café that sells mostly to its own customers is a retail food establishment, which the FDA exempts from food facility registration. Under FDA rules, a business counts as retail when its direct sales to consumers are worth more than its sales to all other buyers. If you start roasting beans and selling more of them wholesale to other cafés and stores than you sell direct, you may need to register with the FDA as a food facility.

Caffeine questions. The FDA says 400 mg a day, about two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee, is an amount not generally associated with negative effects for most adults. Staff should know which drinks are strongest.

Step 8: Hire and schedule staff

Coffee shops are labor-heavy around the morning rush. The BLS put the national median wage for fast food and counter workers, the group for staff who take orders and serve food and drinks at a counter, at $15.00 an hour in May 2025. Check your state and city minimum wage, which is often higher than the federal $7.25, and the tip rules if you'll use a tip jar or tip screen.

Every hire needs a Form I-9, which USCIS says every US employer must complete for each person it hires, and you must report new hires to your state.

Step 9: Set up ordering, payments and loyalty

A long line at 8 a.m. sends commuters elsewhere. Make it easy to order ahead:

1. Order-ahead for pickup. Regulars order on the way and collect at the counter. Read how to set up online ordering for a café.
2. QR codes on tables so seated customers can order a second drink without queuing. See QR code menus for cafés.
3. A simple loyalty card for the daily regular. See loyalty programs for cafés.

How Menuthere helps. Menuthere's Free plan gives you an ordering page and QR codes with 0% commission and 50 orders a month, plus table ordering and allergen tags on every dish. Lite (US$17 a month) adds unlimited orders, scheduled pickup times and card payments through your own Stripe account. A digital loyalty card is on Pro (US$39 a month). See Menuthere for cafés or our coffee shop app page.

Let regulars order before they reach the counter. with 0% commission and free QR codes.

Create your free ordering page

What does a cup of coffee cost you?

Here's the ingredient cost of two common drinks at the BLS U.S. city average retail prices for September 2026. Wholesale prices from roasters and dairies will differ, so redo this with your own invoices.

Coffee: $9.332 a pound (ground roast, all sizes). Milk: $4.106 a gallon (whole). The gram amounts and menu prices are example assumptions. Cups, lids, sleeves, syrups and waste come on top.

Ingredient cost is the easy part. Rent, labor and the hours when nobody comes in decide whether you profit, which is why the morning rush and order-ahead matter so much. To price the rest of your menu, use the menu price calculator and our guide to food cost percentage.

How much does it cost to start a coffee shop?

It ranges from a few thousand dollars for a cart to six figures for a sit-down café with a full build-out. Build your own budget from these lines; the permit example is from Austin's fee schedule, and the rest are planning items to get real quotes for.

Add it all up in the free restaurant startup cost calculator.

Your coffee shop start-up checklist

• Format chosen and tested (pop-up or cart if you can)
• Business plan and budget
• LLC or other structure, EIN, state sales tax registration, bank account
• Site checked for zoning, plumbing and power
• Build-out plans approved by the health department
• Food permit; certified food protection manager; employee illness policy
• Equipment, water filtration and coffee supplier
• Staff hired; I-9s and new-hire reports done
• Insurance in place
• Card reader, QR codes and order-ahead page ready

Related guides

Planning a full sit-down or counter-service restaurant? Read our step-by-step guide on how to open a restaurant, with a 6-month timeline. You may also want to read how to start a juice bar and how to start a bakery business.