Restaurants and food trucks.
Arapahoe County food-facility health permits run about $338–$581 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $60–$900. Confirm the exact amount with Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health (formerly served by Tri-County Health Dept., dissolved end of 2022) before you budget.
Confirm the authority for your exact address. Some cities run their own health division, and building, planning, fire, sewer/grease and business-license approvals are separate even when Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health (formerly served by Tri-County Health Dept., dissolved end of 2022) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 5.5% change in establishments since 2022 (1,378 → 1,454).
The average foodservice wage here is $198 below the Colorado average ($28,457); Colorado has about 13,675 food & drink establishments statewide.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (NAICS 722, food services & drinking places) — establishments with paid employees. Some small-county payroll figures are withheld by Census for confidentiality.
K-12 schools $0. Grocery w/deli $469 (<=15k sqft) to $894 (>15k); $50 late fee
Turnaround: not published; CO law requires plans approved before construction/remodel/takeover begins
No letter grades statewide; Arapahoe posts inspection reports (Pass / Re-Inspection Required) in an online lookup.
Separate Qualtrics plan review form for food trucks/trailers; commissary agreement required
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
The government permit & plan-review fees below total roughly $736–$1,962 for Arapahoe County:
That’s the paperwork only. Add buildout, equipment, deposits and licenses with the cost-to-open calculator. Fees change — confirm current amounts with the department.
Comparison uses the lowest published annual restaurant-permit figure in each county; confirm your exact tier with the department.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Plus building, fire, and business-license fees that vary locally — use the cost calculators and the checklist below to budget the full stack.
food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. A grease interceptor sized to the adopted plumbing code is required, with a municipal sewer-authority FOG discharge permit.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Arapahoe County Public Health, Environmental Health (formerly served by Tri-County Health Dept., dissolved end of 2022) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression: commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Type I hood fire suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the fire code adopted by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: An approved backflow preventer with a certified annual test is required by the local water purveyor. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| caterer | $481 / $538 / $581 | Caterers licensed with Restaurants by seating capacity (0-100 / 101-200 / over 200 seats) under Colorado statewide retail food fee schedule (SB25-285, effective 9/1/2025) |
| market/grocery with deli | $469 (<=15,000 sqft) / $894 (>15,000 sqft) | Grocery Store with Deli; grocery without deli $244 / $441 |
| pushcart/limited operation | $338-$481 | Mobile/pushcart: Prepackaged $338, Full Service $481; Limited Food Service Establishment $338 |
| temporary/seasonal/special-event | — | Special Events and Temporary Food Vendor licenses exist (per-event/per-day); flat amount not published in county summary |
| food processing/wholesale | — | Not a Colorado retail-food category; wholesale/manufacturing licensed by CO Dept of Public Health & Environment / Dept of Agriculture |
Health-department plan review looks for specific, code-compliant fixtures. Compare spec-filtered options, then confirm counts and sizes with your local requirements. See the full list in what equipment a commercial kitchen requires.
Permit costs and rules change at the county line — compare Arapahoe County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.
Official plan-check requirements: plan-check guide →