Restaurants and food trucks.
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 Pike County General Health District issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 16.2% change in establishments since 2022 (37 → 43).
The average foodservice wage here is $3,656 below the Ohio average ($20,628); Ohio has about 24,162 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 FSO/RFE Plan Review Packet Chart B (Waverly, OH); Phone 740-947-7721. Some risk-level rows in the source PDF were not fully legible; Risk I Small and Risk III-IV Large not captured
Separate Mobile Plan Review packet; fee not captured
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 $28–$922 for Pike 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.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Under Ohio Plumbing Code (based on 2021 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. Grease interceptors are required under the Ohio Plumbing Code, with FOG discharge limits enforced by the local sewer authority.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with Pike County General Health District (contact above).
Hood fire suppression (Ohio Fire Code (based on 2021 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 kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 as adopted in the Ohio Fire Code and is 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.
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 Pike County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.