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Playbook · Measured October 4, 2026 · Washington public records

When to call a new restaurant about payroll: the Washington timeline

Washington restaurants set up payroll when they start hiring: about two months before opening.

When the payroll decision happens, against the public steps of a Washington restaurant opening
Payroll decision: 75 days before opening to opening dayPayroll decision36027018090Open+90Days before opening (+ means after)Building permit filed: median 164 days before opening; middle half 345 to 81 days before opening; 20 openingsBuilding permit filed*164 daysBuilding permit issued: median 142 days before opening; middle half 284 to 108 days before opening; 14 openingsBuilding permit issued*142 daysLiquor license application: median 55 days before opening; middle half 75 to 34 days before opening; 8 openingsLiquor license application*55 daysBuilding permit finaled: median 49 days before opening; middle half 56 to 39 days before opening; 4 openingsBuilding permit finaled*49 daysHealth plan review filed: median 41 days before opening; middle half 50 to 33 days before opening; 2 openingsHealth plan review filed*41 daysBusiness license filed: median 9 days before opening; middle half 32 to 4 days before opening; 65 openingsBusiness license filed9 daysFirst health inspection: median 76 days after opening; middle half 43 to 107 days after opening; 60 openingsFirst health inspection76 days after Payroll decision: 75 days before opening to opening dayPayroll decision36027018090Open+90Days before opening (+ means after)Building permit filed: median 164 days before opening; middle half 345 to 81 days before opening; 20 openingsPermit filed*164 daysBuilding permit issued: median 142 days before opening; middle half 284 to 108 days before opening; 14 openingsPermit issued*142 daysLiquor license application: median 55 days before opening; middle half 75 to 34 days before opening; 8 openingsLiquor applied*55 daysBuilding permit finaled: median 49 days before opening; middle half 56 to 39 days before opening; 4 openingsPermit finaled*49 daysHealth plan review filed: median 41 days before opening; middle half 50 to 33 days before opening; 2 openingsHealth review*41 daysBusiness license filed: median 9 days before opening; middle half 32 to 4 days before opening; 65 openingsLicense filed9 daysFirst health inspection: median 76 days after opening; middle half 43 to 107 days after opening; 60 openingsFirst inspection76 days after

Median Middle half of openings Payroll decision window

* fewer than 30 openings; treat as a rough guide.

When the decision happens

A restaurant hires before it opens: a manager and a kitchen lead first, then a crew to train before the soft open. A liquor license application or a finaled building permit means hiring is close.

Call when you see either one. After opening you are asking the owner to move a payroll that already works.

What the owner is dealing with

Payroll before revenue

The crew gets paid for training before the first sale. The owner wants payroll that runs on time and costs little until the restaurant is busy.

Tips and service charges

Tip pooling, card tips and service charges all land on the paycheck. First-time owners get these wrong more than anything else.

Local wage rules

Washington requires paid sick leave from the first hour worked, and Seattle, SeaTac and Tukwila set minimum wages above the state rate.

Questions reps ask

When should I call a new restaurant about payroll? In the last couple of months before opening, while the owner hires. The liquor license application, about two months out, is a good cue.

How do I know a restaurant is about to hire? A liquor license application, a finaled building permit or a business license filed ahead of its open date all mean the opening is close. The Morning Sheet flags each one as it shows up.

Does a new Washington restaurant need workers comp? Yes, through the state Department of Labor and Industries once it hires. A payroll provider that files the L&I reports saves the owner a quarterly chore.

How we measured this

Measured from 402 Washington restaurant openings, January 2024 to October 2026 (339 King, 42 Pierce, 21 Snohomish): every restaurant in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties whose city business license gave an open date in that range. Opening day is the open date on the license. For each step we took the first matching public record on the same business in the two years before opening (for the first inspection, the 180 days after) and counted the days between.

A step counts only when the record is tied to the business itself. Permits filed under a bare address are left out, because a hand check found earlier tenants' permits among them. That leaves the permit steps with 4 to 20 openings each, so they carry an asterisk. Three steps only see records since we started reading them (dates below), so their numbers are bounded: the business license can show at most a few months of lead, and the first inspection leaves out recent openings not yet inspected. Measured October 4, 2026. We re-measure as more permits are tied to their businesses.

Days from each step to opening day
StepOpeningsShare of 402Middle half (days)Median (days)
Building permit filed*205.0%345 to 81164
Building permit issued*143.5%284 to 108142
Liquor license application*82.0%75 to 3455
Building permit finaled*41.0%56 to 3949
Health plan review filed*20.5%50 to 3341
Business license filed6516.2%32 to 49
First health inspection6014.9%43 after to 107 after76 after
  • Building permit filed. Building, alteration or trade permit application at the city or county (Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellevue, Kirkland, Burien, Pierce County and others).
  • Building permit issued. The same permits on the day the city issued them.
  • Liquor license application. Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board new-license application notices. We have these from March 2026, so this step only sees recent openings.
  • Building permit finaled. The building permit marked final or complete by the city.
  • Health plan review filed. Snohomish County Health Department food plan review, the one county whose plan review dates we read today.
  • Business license filed. A city business license filed ahead of its stated open date, dated the day it first appeared in the city record. Seen from June 2026.
  • First health inspection. The first King County routine food inspection on or after opening day. Inspection records start in December 2025.
Cite this page. The Morning Sheet, "When to call a new restaurant about payroll: the Washington timeline," measured October 4, 2026. https://themorningsheet.com/playbooks/payroll/

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