Opening a restaurant in Florida when you come from France isn’t a restaurant project with a visa attached: it’s an immigration project, a company formation and a family move, all run at the same time. This guide goes through the steps in the order they actually come up, with what takes time, what costs money, and what makes projects fail.
It’s written for restaurateurs, bakers, pastry chefs and caterers seriously considering the move. It doesn’t replace the immigration attorney or the accountant: it lets you walk into their office with a clear project.
1. Check that the project holds together
Before looking at premises or contacting an attorney, four questions need an answer. What concept, and for which customers? A bakery-café, a bistro, a pizzeria and a fine-dining restaurant don’t serve the same market and don’t require the same investment or the same staff. Which city? Florida is a set of very different markets; we compare them in Opening a Restaurant in Florida: Which City Should You Choose?. What total budget, including the visa, professional fees, construction, start-up cash and the family’s move — not just the purchase price? And what family calendar: school year, sale of a property in France, end of a lease?
This framing step is the one most often skipped, and it’s the one that costs the most months later on.
2. The E-2 visa: understand the rules before anything else
For a French national, the most common route to open and run a restaurant in the United States is the E-2 “treaty investor” visa. The principle: you invest a substantial amount in a real American business that you run, and that does more than support you — it has to be built to generate activity and jobs. There is no legal minimum amount: the investment has to be consistent with the type of business, and nobody expects the same from a food truck and an eighty-seat restaurant.
The funds must be committed before the visa is granted. That’s the point that worries candidates most, and there are protective mechanisms for it, such as escrow conditioned on visa approval. You must own at least half of the business or have operational control. The spouse is authorized to work and the children attend school. The visa is issued for a set period and renewed as long as the business operates and meets the conditions.
The immigration attorney builds and defends the application. Our role is to build the project and the business plan so that the attorney has a solid case to present. Details in The E-2 visa explained and, for timing, in How Long Does It Take to Get an E-2 Visa?.
3. Take over a restaurant or build from scratch
Both paths are compatible with the visa, but they don’t share the same timeline or the same risk. Taking over an existing business lets you open faster and rely on a track record of numbers, provided you seriously verify the financials, lease, equipment and licenses before signing. Building from scratch gives you a concept that matches your project exactly, but stretches everything: premises, lease, construction, permits, inspections. In between, taking over a space already equipped for food service and reshaping it is often the best compromise.
We go through the pros and pitfalls of each option in Buying an Existing Restaurant vs. Building From Scratch in Florida.
4. Form the company and lay the administrative groundwork
The business behind the restaurant is an American company, most often an LLC or a corporation. The choice depends on your tax situation in France and in the United States, and is made with the attorney and the accountant, not alone on the internet. Then come the federal tax ID (EIN), registration with the State of Florida to collect sales tax, and opening a business bank account — possible without a US history, but each bank has its own requirements.
An accountant who knows the restaurant business is essential from day one: payroll, tips, sales tax and filings can’t be improvised.
5. The premises and the lease
In Florida, most commercial leases are “triple net”: on top of the base rent, the tenant pays a share of property taxes, insurance and building maintenance. Everything is negotiable: the term, renewal options, a rent-free period during construction, and the personal guarantee asked of the owner — common, and worth limiting in time where possible.
Before signing, check the zoning (is the space allowed to house a restaurant, with or without alcohol?), the condition of the installations (hood, extraction, grease trap, electrical), parking, and have the lease read by a professional. For an E-2 project, the signed lease is also part of the application: it proves the project is real.
6. Licenses and permits
This is the most administrative part, and the one where you lose time without someone who knows the circuit. In Florida, a restaurant is licensed by the State, which inspects the establishment before opening and then regularly. At least one manager must be certified in food safety management, and employees receive food-hygiene training. The city or county, for its part, issues the local business authorization and the permits tied to construction and occupancy, with building and fire inspections.
For alcohol, there are two broad families of licenses: beer and wine, relatively simple to obtain, and full liquor, subject to county quotas or to conditions on floor area and the share of revenue from food. It’s a decision to make very early, because it weighs on the choice of premises and on the budget. Add insurance — general liability, workers’ compensation, liquor liability — and you have the full picture.
7. Construction, equipment and suppliers
Delivery lead times for professional equipment — ovens, mixers, walk-in coolers, hoods — are often longer than in France, and electrical standards are different: order early and check compatibility before buying. Food suppliers are the lifeblood: broadline distributors, specialty wholesalers, products imported from France. For a bakery-pâtisserie, flour and butter require adapting recipes or finding the right supplier; we cover this in a dedicated article.
Also plan for the point-of-sale system and card payments, reservations and delivery management: they’re part of the business model from day one.
8. Hiring and managing staff
The restaurant labor market is tight in Florida, and things work differently from France: server pay is largely based on tips, the state minimum wage rises every year, contracts are flexible but payroll and reporting obligations are precise. Payroll is almost always outsourced to a provider.
For skilled positions — bakers, pastry chefs, chefs — finding someone French-trained locally is difficult. Three options: train on site, recruit within the French-speaking community, or bring skilled staff over from France or Europe, a service we offer through Fabrice’s professional network. The employee’s immigration process is then handled by the attorney.
9. Settling the family
Housing, school, driver’s license, Social Security number, bank, health insurance: all of this is prepared alongside the restaurant, not afterwards. Your home address determines the children’s public school; without a credit history, landlords ask for additional guarantees; private health insurance is a budget line in its own right. Our guide Moving to Florida With Your Family covers each point.
10. How much it costs, how long it takes
A project’s budget includes, beyond the purchase price or construction: professional fees (attorney, accountant, advisory), the deposit and lease-related costs, equipment, licenses and insurance, the first months’ cash — almost always underestimated — and the family’s move. The total varies widely with the concept, the city and the path chosen, takeover or new build; that’s precisely what we quantify with you during the framing stage.
On timing, between the first conversation and opening day, our clients count in months: finding the restaurant is the most unpredictable variable, and building the E-2 application the most controllable when it’s run in parallel. See How Long Does It Take to Get an E-2 Visa? and our FAQ.
For the line-by-line breakdown — E-2 visa, premises, construction, licences, working capital — see how much it costs to open a restaurant in Florida.
11. The mistakes we see most often
Signing a purchase agreement or a lease without a clause tied to visa approval. Underestimating the first six months’ cash needs. Choosing a city for your vacations rather than for its market. Believing that a business advertised as “E-2 eligible” has been validated by anyone. Leaving the family’s move until arrival. And trying to do everything alone, from a distance, in a language and a system you’re discovering — which is exactly what Fabrice went through when he took over his first restaurant in 2018, and what led to Ameriadvice.
Opening on the right footing
Opening a restaurant in Florida is doable, and many French restaurateurs succeed at it. The difference between those who open on the right footing and the others rarely comes down to talent in the kitchen: it comes down to the order in which things are done, and to the quality of the professionals gathered around the project.
Each of these steps is part of our support: the visa and investment, the restaurant itself, settling your family. See our services for restaurateurs.
The first call is free and without obligation. Let’s talk about your project.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a visa to open a restaurant in Florida?
Yes. To run your own restaurant in the United States, a French national most often goes through the E-2 visa, reserved for investors from countries with a commerce treaty with the US, France included. The application is built and defended by an immigration attorney.
How much do I need to invest for an E-2 visa?
There is no legal minimum. The investment must be “substantial” relative to the type of business and sufficient for the business to genuinely operate. The amount is defined project by project, with the attorney.
Can I buy a restaurant before I have the visa?
The funds must be committed before the visa decision, but mechanisms protect the buyer, such as escrow conditioned on visa approval. Never sign without a clause of that kind.
How long does it take to open?
Between the first conversation and opening day, count in months. Finding the restaurant and building the application are the longest steps; a project that’s well framed at the start shortens them noticeably.