Permitting and Licensing Reform

Opening a restaurant in DC means navigating nearly two dozen agencies before serving a first meal — each with its own renewal schedule, online portal, and requirements. That complexity is not just a one-time hurdle at opening; it follows operators for the life of the business and it falls hardest on new and small businesses with the fewest resources. 

The burden is only growing. RAMW’s Fall 2025 Member Survey found that 83% of restaurants report regulatory compliance time has increased since they opened their first location, and 27% now spend 10 or more additional hours per week on compliance matters alone — time and staff capacity pulled away from running the business. 

RAMW supports modernizing DC’s permitting and licensing system with:

• Fee waivers for first-year operators to lower the cost of entry when new businesses are most fragile.
• A true one-stop-shop platform that coordinates requirements, renewals, and submissions across agencies.

Reducing the compliance burden without lowering standards for compliance is one of the most direct ways the District can support new restaurants and keep existing ones open. 

Streateries

What began as an emergency pandemic response has now become an essential part of DC’s dining culture. Streateries now generate nearly a quarter of summer revenue for participating restaurants — ranging from 5% to 50% of a season’s sales. Customers have made clear that outdoor dining is not a passing preference, but a permanent one. That matters more than ever given the pressures the industry is facing. 

In RAMW’s recent member survey of 158 restaurants, 70% reported lower sales than the prior summer, 75% saw decreased customer traffic, 85% faced higher labor costs, and 70% saw higher food and beverage costs. Against that backdrop, Streateries are one of the few tools restaurants have for generating additional revenue and keeping people employed. 

The Council needs to work directly with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to coordinate on implementation before restaurants lose a program their neighborhoods have come to rely on.