I'm currently shopping for insurance for my new store but every insurance site I use asks if there's a restaurant located on the premises
The store will have prepared foods but nothing is cooked on site in the normal sense
It's all just precooked, pre cut, foods that get heated in the commercual microwave or ventless pizza oven and then placed in warming cabinets.
So no frying, deep frying, boiling etc takes place on site.
I just am not sure if this still constitutes a restaurant or not.
Does a convenience store with prepared foods count as a restaurant for insurance purposes?
byu/TribalHorse88 inInsurance
Posted by TribalHorse88
3 Comments
You need to find a legitimate insurance agent and work with them. This is your entire living you are gambling with. Please don’t trust a lizard on the internet to protect you.
Get real insurance from a real agent/broker.
No is the correct answer. You only sell pre-prepared food and package goods. If the agents you’re dealing with don’t know this or cannot ask you the correct questions, you need a new agent. You can find an independent agency by going to the independent agent association website at http://www.trustedchoice.com and clicking find an agent
Technically, yes, but there’s more to it.
Judging from what you’ve described if I were to write your store in my state and *everything you’ve said is absolutely accurate with nothing omitted*, and I’ve verified this through inspection and questions, you’d likely be classified as “Convenience Store with Limited Cooking Restaurant.” Limited Cooking basically means you serve prepared cold food or food that’s cooked/warmed using equipment that doesn’t emit grease vapors or smoke and doesn’t require restaurant hood vents. Things like microwaves, roller warmers, toasters, etc.
If you cook with anything that emits grease vapors or smoke like a grill, deep fat fryer, open broiler, solid fuel cooking appliances, etc it turns into “full cooking restaurant” classification and would also require you have hood vents and automatic fire extinguishing systems that are active and serviced at regular intervals.
You really need an agent or independent broker in your state to review and quote your insurance. You don’t want to accidentally get a policy that is classed incorrectly as you could have a claim denied if it is classed incorrectly. An agent or broker can fully review your store and make sure you are quoted properly. Commercial insurance is very tedious and detailed and it is *highly* recommended to *never* do a commercial policy on your own.