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Looking for some helpful tips.I would like to move to CR and open a small restaurant that caters mostly to tourist. Preparing fast foods such as hamburgers & Hotdogs,& Stir fry dishes as well as the local favorites. I would have about $100,000 to invest. My questions is what steps would I need to take to accomplish this. Would I be allowed to work it or would I have to have ticos work there? Could I live in CR full time? How long would it take to to get through the paperwork?
Where what would be the best area(s)to open my restaurant? Preferably near a beach area.PS: Enjoy reading this web site a faithful fan
Best regards to ALL
BiggdawggDo you have previous successful experience in running a restaurant?
Do you speak Spanish fluently?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comHello Biggdawgg,
As long as you don’t need a liquor license it’s legally pretty easy to open a business like that. A company you can establish in about a month and will cost you around 500$. If you own a sociedad anonima you can for sure work in your own business although depending of your location it would be good to hire some Tico help, the basic salaries are cheap and it’s good to have a native Spanish speaking person in the neighborhood.
Once you have your company you can get a cellphone and open bank accounts much easier then without any legal paperwork in this country. You should officially leave the country every 3 months for at least 72 hours, to stay here legally. You can even get a Costa Rican drivers license after tree months in Costa Rica showing your original from your resident country and do a fast medical exam. It’s some handy ID to have with you if you dodn’t have a residency yet.
For the perfect location I suggest you take out some time to visit the pacific coast for a few weeks, some spots are very Gringo orientated others are more for the locals. Keep in mind that it gets difficult to have your restaurant very close (at the beach for that matter) to the beach, most areas are protected or require special governmental lease contract that are almost impossible to get.
You will have some significant competition but like always only the best stand out and will be successful.Good luck.
Stephane
efi-costarica.comDepending on the location – liquor licenses can be IMPOSSIBLE to get and I know restauranteurs paying $1,500 – $2,000 per month to rent a license.
I don’t know what the residency requirements are to apply for a license.
If it’s a very popular location – the one you want – then chances are the liquor license won’t even be available.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comYes the best way to get a liquor license is to buy an existing business that has one, or sometimes you can buy one at local auctions. Anyways they can be VERY expensive, and the bidding has to be done by a local if you don’t want to get ripped off. There are locals owning liquor licenses for a certain area too. But your budget could get a big hit if you are concentrating on getting a license. I would rather concentrate on the food instead of the alcohol lol, if you attend to open a small snack bar.
All the best,
Stephane
efi-costarica.comHello Stephane,
Are you suggesting that it is very easy to work in Costa Rica if you open a business, a company (SA)? Is that true ? Are you 100% sure of that ? I think you are promoting the “perpetual tourist”.
Costa Rica is not waiting for that kind of goldseekers.Hello genn,
I’m European had a bar in Belgium for 5 years and sold it at age 28. I moved to Costa Rica and started an importing business 3 years ago. I’m NOT guaranteeing success in Costa Rica for everybody thinking setting up a business is a 5 minute job!!!
Only determination, research, a good business plan, and a sparkle of luck can do that for you. Thats just common sense. What I DO say is, that setting up a business (paper wise) is far more easy here then in the States or Europe.
Getting started that is, NOT succeeding, thats a totally different subject. I did read this post as questions on how to set up a business not on how to make millions in Costa Rica!Every lawyer can set up a sociedad, fully operative in a month, for a few 100$’s. So theoretically you can start doing business from that moment on. And taxes are not over 50% like we have them in Europe.
Costa Rica has a very positive investors climate or how would you explain the booming foreign investments??
Although it takes a lot of standing in line, frustration, and awareness of being ripped off possibility, it is perfectly possible to make a living in Costa Rica.
And yes there are numbers of scam businesses but aren’t they everywhere in the world?
But if you are passionate about your goals and are willing to WORK for them everything is possible.
Quick rich scams don’t work, but I’m going of topic.So YES it is easy and inexpensive to set up a sociedad in my opinion. But of course you need to learn Spanish, deal with the Tico mentality, research your opportunities,… or you will probably end up with an empty pocket and a very bad headache!
Sorry for not mentioning all of this in my first reply, but this seemed like common sense to me!
Success,
Stephane
Biggdawg
please make sure that you do your dilligence and not just listen to people on this or any other board.. misinformation is rampant here..
for example;
stephanie states that you can work in your own company here.. that is false.. you can own a company here but you cannot legaly work here. its not to say that you may never get caught.. but if your investing $100 stacks of high society.. then you want to weigh your risks
i know bar owners that immigration inspected and they were working behind the bar and they took them in.. you cannot work here unless you have a special work permit or be a legal resident.. and im not sure of the legal resident part..
another example.. is obtaining a liquor license.. just because you buy a license from someone or at an auction doesn mean you are allowed yet to sell liquor.. you still have to go through the process of obtaining the right to exploit or activate that license in your location which brings on that process.. inspections.. etc etc
even then you may not be approved… i have business owners in san jose.. and escazu that are experiencing major problems one owner is renting a liquor license for a restaurant in escazu paying $2000 a month for this… he is in court because the municipality denied him to exploit this license
i have real world examples of these and had my own problems.. it was not until i had to go through these actions where i had to learn the hard way..
my suggestion is to spend time here and visit the type of businesses that you are interested in and try and speak with the owners.. just to ask them some questions.. about what are the 5 worst problems you experience doing business here. please take what people say on internet boards with a grain of salt. its your money.
costa rica is a wonderful place to live but terrible place to do business… generally speaking.
I should also note that it depends on what kind of business you want to open up.. anything retail.. visible locations that rely on walk in traffic are the most difficult… online business would be a better way if you can..
many changes are coming along.. that will impact negatively in my opinion the small visible business owners. but that is another conversation
Edited on Apr 22, 2007 19:27
Hello harlonrichards,
If you are president of the company you are working in, are registered as a legal tax payer and send in those form every month at your bank, you are allowed to work in your business! You DO need a work permit if you are not a resident and are working for a company in Costa Rica that is not yours.
Multicipalidad licence, trimester taxes, santitary permits,…you have various paperwork to take care off. OF COURSE! Thats why I stated: do your research.
But please don’t act like this is all an impossible task!Two points of information: First, Costa Rica is cracking down on “perpetual tourists”. Don’t invest a lot of money here and then find out they won’t let you back in to visit it.
Second, if you are here for more than ninety days, you are REQUIRED to get a Costa Rican driver’s license. If you don’t get it in the first ninety days and get caught in one of the traffic police’s roadside checks, first they will make your life miserable and then the driver’s license office will.
In both instances (as well as with regard to business and liquor licenses), play by the rules and play it smart.
Biggdawg,
The story of harlonrichards is more realistic and has more good advices then the story of eficostarica. It seems to me that Stephane is a perpetual tourist. Those people don’t care about a lot of things and think Costa Rica is theirs. Remember: without a visa you are not allowed to work even if you have your own SA…….
In case of Stephane of course I could be wrong.
Some great advice here and visiting for a an extended period of time BEFORE making your mind up is crucial.
Starting a restaurant in any country is difficult enough, starting one in a foreign country where the laws and language are dramatically different makes it tougher and I don’t think we heard “if” biggdawgg had any previous experience in running a restaurant or not. I would respectfully suggest that if not, don’t try it here or that $100K will disappear before you can say Puravida!
Visit Costa Rica for three months, take a good look around and if you have an entrepreneurial mindset, you will see more opportunities than you can imagine and most of them will involves significantly less risk than opening a restaurant. But do it legally please.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comHello
Scott you hit the nail on the head, I spend my first year investigating, traveling around the country, trying to find the right contacts, learning Spanish, BEFORE investing my money. I did set up my sociedad right away, to have to ability to buy a phone, car,..
To Genn, please do come and visit my business or hold your peace before judging, do you even live or do business in CR????
I also agree with Scott that a bar or restaurant isn’t as romantic as it would look like in the movies, it’s hard work, lot of organization, and the profits of a snack bar are rather low for the work it brings up in my opinion.
Research a certain demand and on what people are willing to spend there money first, the consuming habits here are slightly different then what you are probably used in your home country. In the retail sector your LOCATION will be VERY important, people still go very much by word of mouth in Costa Rica, so make your business visible when you are starting out. Because there are no street names (except San Jose) here, you are better of located in front of a MC Donalds let say then in a back alley 250m south and 100m east of…Success,
Stephane
efi-costarica.com
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