The buying library
The food permit is usually issued to a person/entity at an address — in most jurisdictions a new owner applies fresh (often fast if the space is unchanged), and the old permit does not simply ride along.
The certificate of occupancy attaches to the space and its use — it typically survives a sale, which is one reason an intact restaurant space is worth more than raw retail.
The liquor license follows its own track entirely: in open states the buyer applies anew; in quota states the license itself is an asset that transfers with ABC approval — and its value can rival the business. Some states issue a temporary permit so the buyer can pour during processing; others leave a dry gap you must price.
Florida: Temporary license available on transfer/application under Fla. Stat. 561.331 for qualified applicants (temporary fees reported roughly $100-$455 by license type), letting a buyer operate while the permanent license is processed. Quota licenses transfer with DABT approval and are the tradable asset; SFS licenses do not transfer - the new operator applies fresh.
Texas: Temporary/event permits exist for specific occasions, but there is no transfer of an existing owner's permit: TABC does not allow person-to-person transfer - a buyer of an existing bar/restaurant applies for its OWN new permit (a permit may move locations only with TABC approval, and beer licenses must stay in-county).
New Jersey: No general temporary permit for a plenary consumption transfer - the buyer waits for transfer approval. Licenses transfer person-to-person and place-to-place (within the municipality; across municipalities only under the 2023 reform) with municipal + ABC approval.
California: Interim/temporary retail permit may be available while an application or transfer is pending. General licenses transfer person-to-person and place-to-place within the county (intercounty transfers only through the drawing/transfer rules) through escrow and ABC approval.
New York: Licenses are premises- and principal-specific and are NOT transferable as assets; a sale of the business requires an SLA-approved corporate change or a new license application. Temporary retail permit can bridge the gap for eligible buyers.
The transfer-verification sheet in the Opening Pack walks these three tracks for your state, with the exact office questions — asked before the deposit, not after.
Don't read the table — run your verdict. Bracket a real listing in a minute.
Included in the $49 Opening Pack: the filled templates, trackers, calendars and worksheets for this door — built from the same dated datasets as the free checker above.
Sources: The FirstTableCheck cost + liquor datasets; valuation conventions: CT Acquisitions — Business Valuation Multiplier 2026; BizBen — How to Value a Restaurant in California 2026; 7shifts — How to Calculate Restaurant Value, 2026-10. Dataset checked October 23, 2026. Where a fee or rule is set by a county or city, this page says so instead of guessing a number.