Opening a Restaurant in Greenville, SC: Every Approval, Who Files It, and How Long It Takes

A restaurant is not one permit. It is eight to twelve approvals from separate offices that do not coordinate with each other, and the one that lets you open the doors, the health permit, is the one most owners hear about last. This guide lists each approval, who files it, and where the timeline actually goes.

The short version: plan on 18 to 30 weeks between submitting drawings and opening, before you count design time. The numbers below come from the agencies' published rules. Where a fee or duration is not published, it says so rather than guessing.

The approvals, in the order they matter

Approval	Who issues it	Who files	Needs
Building permit and plan review	City of Greenville or Greenville County	Contractor	Sealed drawings at 50+ occupants
Health plan review and permit	SC Department of Agriculture	Contractor, with the owner's menu	Plans, menu, finish schedule, equipment specs
Grease interceptor approval	ReWa	Contractor, through the plumbing design	Plumbing design
Sewer New Account Fee	ReWa	Owner	Meter size
Water capacity and tap fees	Greenville Water	Owner	Meter size
Gas service	Gas utility	Contractor or owner	Mechanical design
Electrical service upgrade	Duke Energy or Laurens Electric	Contractor, coordinating	Electrical design
Hood suppression test and occupant-load placard	Fire marshal	Contractor	Hood and suppression specs
Conditional-use permit (bars, breweries, entertainment)	City of Greenville zoning	Owner or contractor	Concept with a bar
Alcohol license	SC Department of Revenue	Tenant	Tenant's own application
Landlord approvals	Landlord or property manager	Contractor	Drawings, insurance

Not every row applies to every restaurant. A second-generation space that already has an interceptor, gas and a hood skips much of the new work. A vanilla box or cold shell adds all of it.

The building permit and plan review

Which office you deal with depends on the address. The City of Greenville and Greenville County run separate permit offices with separate portals, and the City requires a current City business license before it will issue a permit. The County does not.

Neither office promises a turnaround. A regional estimate for commercial permits is 4 to 12 weeks with two or three rounds of corrections. Greenville County's own page describes 6 to 8 weeks. The City publishes no turnaround times at all. The City's own permit records show a typical commercial alteration permit issued about 48 days after application; the numbers are in our commercial renovation cost article.

A restaurant with 50 or more occupants is classified A-2, and assembly occupancies are never exempt from needing sealed drawings. Greenville County also requires engineered plans when the electrical service is over 400 amps. Budget for an architect and engineers before you budget for construction.

Both offices publish fee schedules, and both have changed recently, so confirm the current figures before you quote one. For a $250,000 buildout the published formulas work out to roughly $1,400 at the City and $2,000 at the County, plan review included.

The health permit

The SC Department of Agriculture runs retail food plan review under Regulation 61-25. The program moved there from DHEC on July 1, 2024, so older advice that names DHEC is out of date.

What the department wants, at least 30 days before you open:

• Plans of the space
• The menu
• A finish schedule
• Equipment specifications

You then request the pre-opening inspection at least 14 days ahead of opening. The initial permit is $100, followed by an annual fee based on gross food sales.

Thirty days is the last possible date, not the target. Submit with the building permit. The health permit is the approval that lets you serve customers, and it runs on a clock nobody else on the job is watching.

The finish schedule is part of the review, not a design preference. Reviewers expect smooth, durable, easy-to-clean surfaces: fiberglass-reinforced panel (FRP), quarry tile or sealed concrete with an integral base, and sealed ceilings in food-prep areas. They also expect three-compartment sinks, hand sinks, a mop sink, indirect drains for food equipment and floor sinks. Cheaper finishes are where reviews come back with comments.

The grease interceptor

ReWa requires a grease interceptor at every food-service establishment under its January 2025 sewer regulation. Two points trip up owners:

• ReWa approves the device before it is installed. It is not inspected after the fact.
• Interceptors typically run 1,000 to 3,000 gallons and are sized under ReWa's Development Manual. Putting one in means excavating the slab, which is usually in the second or third week of construction.

Utility fees and the service upgrade

Utility fees are owner costs and they depend on meter size. Greenville Water's capacity fees effective January 1, 2026:

Meter size	Capacity fee
5/8 inch	$2,780
1 inch	$9,267
1.5 inch	$14,827
2 inch	$18,533
3 inch	$44,160
4 inch	$69,000

Tap fees add $910 for a 1 inch connection and $1,250 to $2,800 for 2 inch, plus an $800 commercial plan review fee. Confirm current amounts with Greenville Water, and outside its service area your utility sets its own.

ReWa charges a separate New Account Fee for sewer capacity, also by meter size. Since October 1, 2025, ReWa requires proof of prepaid fees before the municipal pre-construction meeting. Its schedule cuts the retail collection portion by 50% from October 1, 2026 and eliminates it on October 1, 2027. ReWa posts its amounts only as images, so ask ReWa for the current figure rather than relying on a number from the web.

The one that can control your schedule is electrical. A commercial kitchen usually cannot run on the service a previous tenant had. A Duke Energy or Laurens Electric upgrade is a long-lead item that can run for months, and the request should go in when the contract is signed, not when the panel is being installed.

Fire marshal and the last inspections

Hood, grease duct and suppression system sizing and UL listings are reviewed up front. After installation the fire marshal witnesses a hood suppression test, then does an inspection before the building final, then issues the occupant-load placard. Book the marshal as soon as trade finals are scheduled, because the marshal's calendar is not yours.

The inspection sequence for a commercial alteration runs: framing, electrical, mechanical and plumbing rough-ins, insulation, above-ceiling inspection before the ceiling closes, trade finals, fire marshal, building final, certificate of occupancy. The above-ceiling inspection and the fire marshal's final are where upfit schedules slip.

Bars, breweries and alcohol

If the concept includes a bar, brewery or entertainment, the City of Greenville's 2026 zoning update requires a conditional-use permit with noise and late-night limits. It is a zoning step on its own clock, separate from the building permit. Start it early.

The tenant's alcohol license comes from the SC Department of Revenue. It is the tenant's application, not the contractor's, but it gates opening, so it belongs on the schedule.

The landlord

Read the lease work letter and the building's rules before pricing anything. The ones that cost money or days:

• Landlord approval of the drawings
• Requirements to use the landlord's roofer, fire alarm, sprinkler or HVAC controls vendor
• After-hours limits on demolition, coring and noisy work, and freight elevator scheduling
• A construction deposit or review fee
• Insurance requirements naming the landlord as additional insured

The hood, grease duct and make-up air penetrate the roof. That is the landlord's roof and usually the landlord's roof warranty, which means their roofer does the work. None of this appears on the architect's drawings.

Before you demolish: the asbestos survey

South Carolina DES Regulation 61-86.1 requires a licensed asbestos inspector to survey a commercial building before any renovation or demolition. There is no age cutoff. Order it as soon as you have a space under lease or contract. A survey for a small suite costs a few hundred dollars, and abatement, if needed, is the owner's cost.

How long it takes

Stage	Typical duration
Design and sealed drawings	Before anything below; varies
Plan review	4 to 12 weeks regionally; 6 to 8 weeks per Greenville County
Construction, 2,500 to 5,000 sq ft	14 to 18 weeks
Health permit submittal	At least 30 days before opening
Pre-opening inspection request	At least 14 days before opening
Electrical service upgrade	Months; start at contract

Add plan review to construction and you get 18 to 30 weeks from drawings submitted to doors open. Work backward from your target open date. If you want to open in 24 weeks, drawings must be at the building department about now. That arithmetic is the most useful thing to do before you sign a lease, because it is what a landlord's free-rent period has to cover.

Also leave room for staff training and soft-opening days. The schedule should protect them, not absorb them.

One date worth knowing: South Carolina's 2024 I-codes and 2023 National Electrical Code take effect January 1, 2027. If your drawings go in late 2026 and review runs into 2027, ask the jurisdiction which code edition it will apply. We have not found a published answer.

What is not in a general contractor's price

These are the owner's costs, and a proposal should say so explicitly:

• Utility capacity and tap fees, including ReWa and Greenville Water
• The SC Department of Agriculture permit and annual fee
• The tenant's alcohol license
• The asbestos survey and any abatement
• Kitchen equipment, which is typically owner-furnished and contractor-installed, so the contractor's scope is the pads, the utilities and setting it
• Low-voltage wiring, point-of-sale systems and signage

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to open a restaurant in Greenville, SC?

Plan on 18 to 30 weeks from the day drawings go to the building department to opening day. That is 4 to 12 weeks of plan review plus 14 to 18 weeks of construction for a 2,500 to 5,000 square foot restaurant. Design time comes before that, and a Duke Energy service upgrade can run longer than both.

What permits does a restaurant need in Greenville, SC?

A building permit from the City of Greenville or Greenville County, a plan review and permit from the SC Department of Agriculture, ReWa approval of a grease interceptor, water and sewer capacity fees, fire marshal inspections, and an alcohol license from the SC Department of Revenue if you serve alcohol. The City also requires a conditional-use permit for bars, breweries and entertainment.

Who issues the restaurant health permit in South Carolina?

The SC Department of Agriculture, Retail Food Safety program, under Regulation 61-25. The program moved from DHEC on July 1, 2024. Plans, menu, finish schedule and equipment specs go in at least 30 days before opening, and the pre-opening inspection is requested at least 14 days ahead.

Does a Greenville restaurant need a grease interceptor?

Yes. ReWa requires one at every food-service establishment under its January 2025 sewer regulation, and ReWa approves the device before it is installed. They typically run 1,000 to 3,000 gallons and are sized under ReWa's Development Manual.

Do I need sealed drawings for a restaurant in Greenville?

Usually. A restaurant with 50 or more occupants is classified A-2, and assembly occupancies are never exempt from the sealed-drawing requirement regardless of floor area. Greenville County also requires engineered plans when the electrical service is over 400 amps.

About these numbers

Fees, durations and rules above come from published agency materials: City of Greenville and Greenville County permit schedules, SC Department of Agriculture Regulation 61-25, ReWa's sewer regulation, Greenville Water's fee schedule and the SC DES asbestos regulation. Several of these agencies changed fees or rules in 2025 and 2026, and some publish amounts only as images. Treat every figure as a planning number and confirm it with the agency before relying on it. Solidus is a new company, and this guide describes the approval process, not projects we have completed.