Restaurants, commercial kitchens, and food trucks.
Cache County food-facility health permits run about $250–$550 annually, depending on size or sales volume. Plan review runs about $250–$800. Confirm the exact amount with Bear River Health Department (BRHD), Environmental Health Division (serves Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties) 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 Bear River Health Department (BRHD), Environmental Health Division (serves Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties) issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 2.0% change in establishments since 2022 (196 → 200).
The average foodservice wage here is $3,048 below the Utah average ($21,152); Utah has about 6,174 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.
Risk level is assigned at plan review; An additional catering permit is +$200. Establishments must have a certified Food Safety Manager on staff (Utah Code Title 26, Ch; 15a)
Utah has no statewide grading; Bear River Health District posts inspection reports online.
New/remodeled mobile units submit plans, equipment list, menu and commissary letter, and pass a pre-operation inspection before licensing
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 $850–$2,150 for Cache 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 IPC, 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 state 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 Bear River Health Department (BRHD), Environmental Health Division (serves Cache, Box Elder, and Rich Counties) (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (IFC): 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 hood suppression must meet NFPA 96 and the state fire code enforced by local fire officials. 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 | $200 (additional catering permit, added to a food service permit) | Bear River Health Department; catering is an add-on to a permitted food service establishment |
| Commissary / central preparation kitchen | not broken out separately; covered by the risk-based food service permit ($250-$550); Mobile plan review (which commissaries support) is $800 | Risk level assigned at plan review |
| Temporary / seasonal event | $70 event permit; $225 multi-event permit (valid one year); $75 day-of-event late processing fee | BRHD Environmental Health temporary food fee schedule |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | Tier 1 mobile $350 / Tier 2 mobile $500 (annual); $800 mobile plan review | Tiers reflect the extent of on-unit food handling |
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 Cache 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 →