Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Brown County food-facility health permits run about $50–$975 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $50–$200. Confirm the exact amount with Brown County Health & Human Services, Public Health Division (Environmental Health) - an agent of the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) that licenses and inspects retail food establishments in the Green Bay-area Brown County 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 Brown County Health & Human Services, Public Health Division (Environmental Health) - an agent of the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) that licenses and inspects retail food establishments in the Green Bay-area Brown County issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 0.3% change in establishments since 2022 (580 → 582).
The average foodservice wage here is $1,181 below the Wisconsin average ($20,340); Wisconsin has about 13,939 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.
From the Brown County Public Health 2022-2023 fee schedule (most recent published schedule located); Complexity (Simple/Moderate/Complex) reflects food-handling risk; a pre-inspection fee of 30% (existing establishment) or 40% (new establishment) of the license fee also applies
Wisconsin DATCP/agent local health departments inspect under the Wisconsin Food Code (priority/core violations); no letter grade or score. Reports online via DATCP's inspection portal.
Wisconsin licenses mobiles under Retail Food (Serving Meals for prepared food, Retail Food for packaged/grocery); a servicing base/commissary is required; Pre-inspection fee (30%/40%) also applies
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 $262–$1,602 for Brown 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.
Under Wisconsin Plumbing Code (SPS 382), food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. Grease interceptors are required under the Wisconsin plumbing code, with FOG limits set by the municipal sewer utility.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Brown County Health & Human Services, Public Health Division (Environmental Health) - an agent of the Wisconsin Dept. of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) that licenses and inspects retail food establishments in the Green Bay-area Brown County (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Wisconsin adopts the IFC via SPS 314): commercial cooking under a Type I hood needs a wet-chemical suppression system to NFPA 96, permitted and inspected by the local fire marshal. Commercial kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 as adopted through Wisconsin's fire and building codes, inspected by the local fire authority. See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Restaurants must install a testable backflow preventer (typically an RPZ) that is tested annually and reported to the local water utility. 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 | Licensed as Retail Food Service; Serving Meals by complexity and gross sales (Simple $499.00-$636.00; Moderate $682.00-$804.00; Complex $855.00-$975.00) | Wisconsin licenses catering under the Serving Meals (restaurant) category; DATCP program is 'Retail Food Establishments Serving Meals and Catering' |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | Mobile Retail Service Base: Non-processing $162.00; Processing $249.00 | The servicing base/commissary supporting mobile units is a distinct license line |
| Bakery / food processing | Retail Food (processing) by Ag code and gross sales: Ag Code 44 (process non-/potentially hazardous, sales under $25K) $162.00; Ag Code 33 (process non-potentially hazardous, sales at least $25K) $499.00; higher processing tiers up to Ag Code 11 (sales over $1M) $1,482.00 (2022-2023 schedule; verify exact tier mapping with the department) | A retail bakery is licensed under the Retail Food processing Ag-code categories; OCR-extracted tier alignment should be confirmed |
| Bar / limited food service | Tavern $106.00; Additional Tavern Area $149.00 | Wisconsin breaks out a Tavern license line for bars |
| Grocery / market with deli | Retail Food risk/Ag-code categories: Micro Market $149.00 (2+ in same building $40.00); Ag Code 55 (non-processing) $60.00; up to Ag Code 11 (gross sales over $1M) $1,482.00. A deli/food-prep area raises it into the processing Ag codes or a Serving Meals license | Grocery/market licensed under Retail Food; adding a deli/prep area increases the category; Figures from the 2022-2023 schedule |
| Temporary / seasonal event | Temporary Restaurant $191.00; Temporary Retail Food Establishment $191.00; Special Organization Serving Meals $129.00 | Flat temporary license fees on the published schedule |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | Mobile Restaurant: Pre-Pack $162.00; Full-Service Simple $249.00; Moderate $341.00; Complex $427.00. Mobile Retail Food base: Ag Code 55 $162.00; Ag Code 44 $249.00; Ag Code 33 $275.00; Ag Code 22 $317.00 | Wisconsin licenses mobiles under Serving Meals (prepared) or Retail Food (packaged); a servicing base/commissary is required |
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 Brown 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 →