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 St. Francois County Health Center, Environmental Health Department issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▼ 2.3% change in establishments since 2022 (128 → 125).
The average foodservice wage here is $4,247 below the Missouri average ($22,153); Missouri has about 12,481 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.
St; Francois County charges no food establishment fee; Page states 'There is no fee for inspections' and, for new establishments, 'There are no fees or permits required.' Pre-approval consultation recommended before opening; (573-431-1947)
Mobile food trucks/trailers/carts require pre-approval but 'There are no fees or permits 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 $0 for St. Francois 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).
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 by locally adopted plumbing codes and municipal FOG programs, as Missouri has no statewide plumbing code.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with St. Francois County Health Center, Environmental Health Department (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. Commercial kitchen hood suppression follows NFPA 96 and locally adopted fire codes, as Missouri has no statewide fire code. 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 St. Francois County with its neighbors.
This is a typical sequence — confirm the exact sequence with your authority having jurisdiction.