Brooklyn's Progress
April/May 2008

BY JILL D’AMICO

Brooklyn’s growing cachet as one of the most inventive and varied restaurant destinations is cause for celebration. Every week, new dining destinations pop up in all corners of the borough and hungry hordes are ready to take them on.

Unfortunately, opening up a restaurant is not for the faint of heart. Along with a skilled chef, plenty of buzz, and a (hopefully) very hungry public, the process is wrought with red tape. As Jimmy Udom Sripan noted, it is often hard, especially for the immigrant population, to navigate the red tape in opening up a business.

New York City’s Small Business Services heard this complaint loud and clear, and in an attempt to cement New York City’s reputation as a world-class foodie destination, the agency created Restaurant Express. A “wizard” application walks potential restaurateurs through the process and with a series of questions, lets them know what forms and paperwork they will need to handle before the doors can open.

The basics are all covered – it will prompt you to answer questions on your business structure, the building, the people you plan to hire, and the products you plan to serve. The simple five-step process will end you up with a checklist of things you need to do, depending on where you are in the process, and where to find the proper paperwork and licenses and what level of government (city, state, federal) you can find it. It will even specify where you need a licensed professional. Everything from getting the sidewalk café license to handling the less-glamorous side of the restaurant industry, like cooking grease disposal, is covered.

The application also attempts to connect owners with the services and information they will need, such as energy-saving incentives, job preparedness and training programs and Empire Zone benefits.

“Opening a business today requires making trips to several agencies, filling out dozens of forms, and making sense of information from multiple sources,” said David Margalit, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Small Business Services, who is leading the initiative in which 18 agencies are participating.  “This complexity can add costs that are far too often shouldered by businesses. We’re changing that by establishing a website that will make it clear and simple for businesses to navigate and receive what they need from city government so they can focus on opening their doors, generating revenues, and creating jobs.”

Building on restaurants, this year NYC Business Express will expand to include the retail, services, wholesale, arts and recreation, and healthcare sectors.

For more information, call 311 and ask for “business assistance,” or go to http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/businessexpress.