Permitting
San Francisco Business Permit Consultants
Opening a business in San Francisco is not hard because the idea is wrong. It is hard because four to six different city and state agencies all have to say yes, in the right order, on the right forms, with the right conditions attached, and the people running those agencies do not coordinate with each other. TNG Launch is the San Francisco business permit consultant that runs the whole sequence for you. We are operators who have personally pulled licenses for twelve bars and restaurants and three cannabis dispensaries in this city. We know the process because we have stood at the lectern as the applicant.
If your project is at the concept stage, mid-buildout, stuck at Planning, or already denied and you are wondering whether to start over, the first call is free. We will tell you honestly what is solvable and what is not.
What we handle
Most operators come to us for one permit problem and discover the project involves four.
Permitting strategy and expediting
Mapping every agency touchpoint your project needs, sequencing them in the order that does not stall the buildout, and walking applications through Planning, the Department of Building Inspection (DBI), the Department of Public Health (DPH), Fire, and ABC.
ABC liquor license consulting
Type 47 (full liquor with food), Type 48 (full liquor, no food required), Type 41 (beer and wine with food), and Type 21 (off-sale general). Strategy, application filing, conditional use coordination, ABC investigation prep, and license escrow management.
Conditional Use and Change of Use
Most San Francisco bar and restaurant projects need a Conditional Use authorization or a Change of Use approval. We handle the Planning Department filing, neighborhood notification, hearing strategy, and conditions language that other consultants accept and we negotiate.
Place of Entertainment (POE) permits
Live music, DJs, and entertainment-as-a-primary-use venues need a POE permit from the SF Entertainment Commission. Our co-founder is the Commission President. We know which conditions actually stick and which get fought at the hearing.
Cannabis dispensary permitting
San Francisco has paused new storefront retail applications through December 31, 2027, so most active cannabis work is Equity Applicant support, license transfers between operators, cannabis lounge permits, and operations help for licensees already on the books. Our co-founder is President of the SF Cannabis Retail Alliance.
Commercial leasing consulting
We read leases the way operators read leases. Who pays for what, what the use clause actually allows, what the buildout timeline implies, and where the deal hides costs that hit you on month four.
Stalled project recovery
If your application is frozen, denied, or sitting in a department for months, we diagnose where the block actually is and rebuild the relationship with the agency that controls it. It is usually faster than starting over.
Small business development
For owners earlier in the process: concept refinement, location strategy, capital partner introductions, and a realistic answer to whether the project actually pencils in San Francisco before you sign a lease.
The TNG Launch process
Every project starts with a conversation, not a contract.
Free consultation
Tell us where you want to open and where you're stuck. You walk out with a plan whether or not you hire us.
Permit map
Every agency, form, fee, and notification deadline, in the order that does not stall the buildout.
Filing & coordination
We file, run point with planners and inspectors, and translate between agencies that don't share systems.
Hearing strategy
We prep your testimony, manage neighborhood outreach, and negotiate conditions language at the table.
Through to opening
Certificate of Occupancy, ABC final inspection, soft opening on the calendar. We do not leave at 80%.
The founders
Founders who have actually opened in San Francisco
Ben Bleiman and Duncan Ley founded TNG Launch because the consulting industry kept sending operators to people who had never been operators.
Ben Bleiman
President of the San Francisco Entertainment Commission, where he has served since 2017. He owns and operates Harrington's Bar and Grill on Front Street, founded the SF Bar Owner Alliance representing hundreds of bar owners across the city, and in 2024 wrote and led the campaign to pass California's first Entertainment Zone legislation.
Duncan Ley
President of the SF Cannabis Retail Alliance and a longtime cannabis retail operator in San Francisco. He has helped open three storefront dispensaries in the city and works on small-business-focused economic development through the Excelsior corridor.
Track record
The work we have already done for our own projects and clients in San Francisco.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What does a San Francisco business permit consultant actually do?+
A San Francisco business permit consultant runs the entire sequence of city and state approvals your business needs to open or expand. That includes Planning Department applications, Department of Building Inspection plan checks, Department of Public Health permits, Fire sign-offs, ABC liquor license filings, and Entertainment Commission permits where applicable. The job is half technical filing and half relationship management with the agencies that control your timeline.
How much does it cost to hire a permit consultant in San Francisco?+
Pricing depends on scope. A single ABC license transfer is a different engagement than a ground-up restaurant with a Conditional Use hearing, a Place of Entertainment permit, and a buildout requiring DBI plan check. We offer flat-rate engagements for well-defined projects and monthly retainers for ongoing work. The free consultation is where we scope the engagement so you can compare it against the cost of going alone or hiring a generalist law firm.
How long does the San Francisco permitting process take?+
It depends on the permit. ABC liquor license transfers run about 75 days, originals about 90 days. Conditional Use authorizations typically take four to eight months from filing to hearing. Place of Entertainment permits run three to six months. Building permit plan check varies by scope. We provide a realistic, project-specific timeline at the start so you can plan your lease, your buildout, and your hiring around it.
Can you rescue a stalled or denied project?+
Often yes. Most stalled projects in San Francisco are stuck because one specific agency is asking for something the project team does not know how to deliver, or because a relationship with a department has broken down. We diagnose where the block actually is, rebuild the relationship with the controlling agency, and get the application moving again. In most cases this is faster than starting over.
Do you only work with bars, restaurants, and cannabis?+
Those are our deepest specialties because that is where our operating experience is. We also handle small retail, hospitality, event venues, and small commercial buildouts where the permitting sequence overlaps with what we know. If your project is outside our wheelhouse, we will tell you on the consultation call rather than take an engagement we cannot run cleanly.
Tell us about your project
The first call is free and the worst case is you walk out with a clearer plan. The best case is you have the permit consultant who has actually opened in San Francisco running point on your behalf.
Want to go deeper first? Read our complete guide to ABC license types in San Francisco or our restaurant opening timeline if you are pricing the runway.