How to find new restaurants opening in your town
Last checked November 1, 2026.
A new restaurant leaves a paper trail weeks before the doors open: a liquor license notice in the window, a city license, a line in the local news. Here is where to look, and how to hear about the openings without checking every week.
The short answer
| Where | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| A liquor license notice | A place that will serve alcohol is on the way, usually weeks ahead, with its name and address |
| The city’s business license records | New food licenses as the city issues them |
| Local food writers and news sites | Openings with dates, menus and who is behind them |
| Your town’s daily email | Grand openings and other local business news, in one place each morning |
Watch for liquor license notices
In California, a business applying for a liquor license has to post a notice on the premises, and the public has 30 days from the posting, or from the mailed notices, whichever is later, to protest. Walk past a papered-over storefront with a notice in the window and you know what is coming, and usually its name. Other states have their own versions: search your state’s alcohol board for “pending applications”.
Search the city’s license records
Many cities publish their business licenses as open data. Chicago’s Business Licenses dataset lists every license the city has issued since 2002, with the business name, the address, the neighborhood and the date. Filter the license description to “Retail Food Establishment” and the application type to “ISSUE” for new food businesses, newest first. When we checked on November 1, 2026, the newest included Koji Japanese and Sip & Savor Coffee House, both issued on October 29.
- Search your city’s website or open data portal for “business licenses”.
- Look for a food or restaurant license type, and new applications rather than renewals.
- Sort by the newest date and check it every week or two.
Follow the people who cover food
- City food writers and restaurant news sites post “coming soon” and “now open” roundups, often weekly.
- Neighborhood Facebook groups and Nextdoor are where a new spot gets noticed first, often with a photo of the sign.
- Follow a place on Instagram as soon as you see its name: soft openings and first-week specials are usually announced there.
Hear about it without looking
MailerDot sends one free email a day for your town, with local news, events and business news such as grand openings. It is the easy way to hear that a new place opened without checking license records yourself.
Questions people ask
How do I find out what restaurant is going into a building? Look for a liquor license notice in the window, then search the address in the city’s business license or building permit records.
How far ahead do liquor license notices go up? In California, the notice is posted at the premises and the public has 30 days to protest, so it goes up at least a month before a license can be issued.
Is there a list of new restaurants in my city? Some cities publish new business licenses as open data, which you can filter to food businesses. Local food writers also keep running lists of openings.
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