Contact your city clerk's office for information. If you serve alcohol, you will need an alcohol permit, which can be expensive. If you serve food, you will need special permits. Your facility will need to be inspected by your health department and fire marshall. Your facility will need to comply with zoning regulations, which will control location, hours of operation, noise, and other issues.

Bizminded,   Opening and operating a business, such as a catering hall in New York State usually requires permits and approvals from a number of different sources and where you intend to open it up, can make all the difference in the world. It's not an insurmountable hill to climb, mind you, but it is a process requiring a number of different steps.   If your plans are to sell or serve alcoholic beverages, you'll need a license from the NYS Liquor Authority. Their website is really easy to navigate and has links to forms for you to download.   Similarly, if you plan on serving food. If it's going to be prepared on site, you'll need a food handler's permit from your county health department along with the other necessary permits and inspections for the kitchen's equipment and operation. Of course if you plan on just having the food brought in from an outside vendor and serving it, that may change a few things, but your county health dept will probably still require the handler's permits.   In most cases, Public Assembly Licenses, Cabaret Licenses, etc are all handled on a local level (as would be your building permit and certificate of occupancy). So that's where I would suggest you start. Find the address of your city, town or village municipal offices and stop into their building or planning department and ask them.   First, I would find out if your intended use is even permissible under their current zoning laws then I'd go from there. Aside from getting a 'quick read' on the hurdles you'll need to jump over, these folks can sometimes be a wealth of information as to your next steps.   If you'd like, there is a an interactive map with direct links to most of the government agencies you'll need to contact on www.locationisland.com, just follow the links to the National Resource Map and then to the specific county where you're looking to do business in (a Flash Player plug-in is required).   As you can probably see, the rules, regulations & permits that are required to operate a simple open banquet hall over, say one of a large catering hall complete with a kitchen and bar can be huge, so you should think about consulting with an experienced attorney early on. Aside from helping you form your corporation and all, they may be able to expedite some of the permitting process for you.   I hope this helps and Good luck to you!    

Hi BizMinded - I check out NY State's Online Permitting Assistance & Licensing page for you... I didn't find the any results for banquet halls or reception sites, but that may be a good reference for you once you have a clearer picture of the licenses/permits you need. For example, you can search for 'catering' or 'liquor license.' Other useful resources will be the New York Small Business Guide which provides you with links to free training and assistance centers, city/county requirements, and the legal steps you will need to start your business. Have any of our Community members had experience in starting a business like BizMinded's?

Bizminded, Opening and operating a business, such as a catering hall in New York State usually requires permits and approvals from a number of different sources and where you intend to open it up, can make all the difference in the world. It's not an insurmountable hill to climb, mind you, but it is a process requiring a number of different steps. If your plans are to sell or serve alcoholic beverages, you'll need a license from the NYS Liquor Authority. Their website is really easy to navigate and has links to forms for you to download. Similarly, if you plan on serving food. If it's going to be prepared on site, you'll need a food handler's permit from your county health department along with the other necessary permits and inspections for the kitchen's equipment and operation. Of course if you plan on just having the food brought in from an outside vendor and serving it, that may change a few things, but your county health dept will probably still require the handler's permits. In most cases, Public Assembly Licenses, Cabaret Licenses, etc are all handled on a local level (as would be your building permit and certificate of occupancy). So that's where I would suggest you start. Find the address of your city, town or village municipal offices and stop into their building or planning department and ask them. First, I would find out if your intended use is even permissible under their current zoning laws then I'd go from there. Aside from getting a 'quick read' on the hurdles you'll need to jump over, these folks can sometimes be a wealth of information as to your next steps. If you'd like, there is a an interactive map with direct links to most of the government agencies you'll need to contact on www.locationisland.com, just follow the links to the National Resource Map and then to the specific county where you're looking to do business in (a Flash Player plug-in is required). As you can probably see, the rules, regulations & permits that are required to operate a simple open banquet hall over, say one of a large catering hall complete with a kitchen and bar can be huge, so you should think about consulting with an experienced attorney early on. Aside from helping you form your corporation and all, they may be able to expedite some of the permitting process for you. I hope this helps and Good luck to you!