Concession stand or event booth

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• Concession stands, festival booths and fair stands — temporary and seasonal licensing

  Ohio sorts short-run food by the calendar rather than by what you sell: five consecutive days, six months, forty days. Most school and church stands are exempt outright — and the two words that decide it are "its premises".

  Last verified August 10, 2026

• Church and nonprofit kitchens — when you need a license and when you don't

  Ohio's day-count exemption for churches, schools, and volunteer organizations, exactly what it covers, where fundraising groups fit, and what changes the day you cross the line.

  Last verified August 8, 2026

If your stand travels

• Commissaries and servicing areas — what Ohio actually requires

  The word "commissary" does not appear in Ohio's food code. The thing it describes does, under a different name, with requirements attached — and knowing which term applies to you decides who you have to satisfy.

  Last verified August 10, 2026

• Starting a food truck in Cleveland — permits, costs, and the commissary rule

  The four separate approvals a Cleveland food truck needs, who issues each one, what they cost, and the commissary requirement that catches pushcart operators.

  Last verified August 12, 2026

Serving safely without a building

• Cooking, cooling, holding and date marking temperatures

  Every time and temperature Ohio actually requires, in the order a kitchen meets them — cook, hold, cool, reheat, date mark — plus the consumer advisory wording and the freezing rule for raw fish.

  Last verified August 9, 2026

• Food safety certification in Ohio, and where to get it near Cleveland

  Ohio has two certifications, not one. Which you need depends on your risk level and your license date — and one of them has no exam at all. Plus the approved providers in all seven Northeast Ohio counties.

  Last verified August 9, 2026

• Employee illness — what you must ask, and when to send someone home

  Ohio requires every food employee to report specific symptoms and diagnoses to you, and requires you to prove you told them. Here is the reportable list, the difference between restriction and exclusion, and the paperwork behind both.

  Last verified August 9, 2026

• Baffle filters, condenser coils, and the intervals nobody actually gives you

  Ask how often to clean a hood filter or a condenser coil and Ohio's food code mostly answers "as often as necessary". That is not evasion — it is the code handing you the schedule and the burden of defending it. Here is who really sets each interval.

  Last verified August 12, 2026

Alcohol and insurance at events

• Serving alcohol outside — patios, sidewalks, DORAs and events

  Three different mechanisms let you serve alcohol outdoors in Ohio and people mix them up constantly. One is a permanent change to your permit, one is a ten-days-notice filing, and one is not yours to create at all.

  Last verified August 10, 2026

• Insurance — what Ohio actually requires, and what your landlord demands instead

  Only a short list is required by law, and one item on it can only be bought from the state. Everything else is demanded by a lease, a lender or a commissary — which is why limits are set by contract rather than by square footage.

  Last verified August 12, 2026

Suppliers and services

Directory categories operators in this position ask for most. Every listing is free and unpaid.

• Event & catering rental

• Commissary & shared kitchens

• Restaurant supply & equipment dealers

• Waste, recycling & composting

• Insurance & risk

Reading a different way

This is a view, not a separate library — every guide above also lives in the topic index. If you want the underlying rules instead, every rule in Ohio’s food code is listed with what it governs. Other operation types.