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 City of Abilene Environmental Health Department (serves Abilene / Taylor County); Texas DSHS covers areas with no local ordinance issues the health permit.
What the local foodservice landscape looks like — useful whether you’re opening here or sizing up the competition.
▲ 3.1% change in establishments since 2022 (321 → 331).
The average foodservice wage here is $1,859 below the Texas average ($23,083); Texas has about 60,229 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.
Annual food establishment permit fee is NOT published online; City of Abilene Environmental Health requires an application and fee; a $50 preliminary inspection fee is charged before the Certificate of Occupancy; Full annual permit fee schedule is not posted; Contact (325) 676-6291 / environmentalhealth@abilenetx.gov
Abilene-Taylor County Public Health uses Texas TFER demerit scoring (100 minus demerits); reports public.
As of July 1, 2026, Texas mobile food vendors obtain a state license from DSHS (SB 1008 / HB 2844) rather than a local mobile permit; City of Abilene mobile-unit fee was not published online; contact City of Abilene Environmental Health (325) 676-6291
Fees/payment and forms are on the department site; application steps vary by concept — see the checklist below.
U.S. Census 2023 population; County Business Patterns 2022 (NAICS 722).
Under 2015 UPC and 2015 IPC (state-adopted minimum; municipality selects), food establishments here must control fats, oils & grease (FOG) with a grease interceptor or trap, and typically register with the local sewer/wastewater authority. Restaurants must install an approved grease interceptor under the state-adopted plumbing code, with discharge governed by the local sewer authority's FOG program.
Size the interceptor with our grease-trap sizing calculator, compare units in the grease-trap catalog, and confirm the local FOG permit with City of Abilene Environmental Health Department (serves Abilene / Taylor County); Texas DSHS covers areas with no local ordinance (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 must meet NFPA 96 and the locally adopted International Fire Code, enforced by the local fire marshal (no single mandatory statewide edition). See do I need a hood? and the hood CFM calculator.
Backflow prevention: Backflow prevention assemblies (typically an RPZ) require annual testing by a certified tester through the local water utility's cross-connection control program. A certified backflow assembly (often an RPZ) on the water service, tested annually, is standard — confirm with your water utility.
| Category | Annual fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary / seasonal event | — | Contact (325) 676-6291 |
| Pushcart / mobile vending | — | Statewide DSHS mobile license required from July 1, 2026 |
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 Taylor 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 →