Opening a Business in Downtown Boca Raton: A Checklist

Check zoning before you sign the lease

The city advises calling its zoning office before leasing space to confirm the business is allowed in that district. Downtown, the downtown development order governs use and development regardless of the zoning map. Outdoor display of merchandise is also prohibited in the city's business districts, which changes how a shop can merchandise its frontage.

License before you advertise

Boca Raton requires a business tax receipt and certificate of use from anyone selling goods or services in the city, and the city's approval must come before the Palm Beach County receipt. Under the city code, displaying a sign or advertising at a location is evidence the business is operating, so license first.

• Apply to the city through Boca eHub, and file the county application at the same time
• Get city approval before the county issues its receipt
• Each location and each trade name or DBA needs its own receipt
• City receipts expire every September 30, and renewals open July 1

Design the storefront for downtown

Downtown ground-floor letters default to 12 inches and top out at 18. Each in-line shop with an outdoor entrance can hang one blade sign under the arcade, window signs may cover 20 percent of a window or 9 square feet at most and wall signs must be dimensional letters in three colors or fewer.

The downtown development order has long named Addison Mizner as a principal design influence, from stucco and clay tile to arcades and courtyards, and asks for reinterpretation rather than copies. Under the city's compiled downtown rules, the CRA board serves as the appearance board for downtown signs, and downtown banners need its approval. The downtown rules have been under revision, so confirm the current process with staff before ordering anything.

Set up search before the doors open

Create one Google Business Profile for the location using the business's real-world name, with no added keywords or city names, and keep the hours accurate because a profile must be reachable during stated hours. Import it to Bing Places, and make the website show the identical name, address and phone.

Tell customers how to arrive. The city's downtown site says Mizner Park offers free parking in its four garages, and the city's agreement for the Brightline station near Palmetto Park Road and Dixie Highway includes a public parking garage. Clear directions on the website and the profile remove a common reason people skip a downtown visit.

Tell the press on their schedule

Boca magazine closes its arts and entertainment listings three months before publication and routes print and web pitches to different editors. The Boca Raton Tribune takes ideas and releases by email only. BocaNewsNow publishes business press releases as a paid service, which is advertising rather than earned coverage.

The Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce runs leads groups of non-competitive businesses that meet twice a month to trade referrals, and Boca magazine's Charity Register each September maps the season's major fundraisers. Both are where a new business gets known before a reporter ever calls.

Time the opening to the downtown calendar

Open before the busiest weeks, not during them. The city's holiday street parade usually runs north on Federal Highway to the Mizner Park Amphitheater in December, and Festival of the Arts BOCA fills March. A finished storefront and a working website before those crowds is worth more than a launch event in the middle of them.

Special event applications for grand openings on private property sit with the city's Code Enforcement division, and the city asks applicants to call because every event is different. Allow time for that conversation.

The checklist

Work through these in order. Most opening mistakes in Boca come from doing the right thing too early, such as advertising before licensing or ordering a sign before confirming which rules and which board apply to the address.

• Zoning confirmed with the city before the lease is signed
• City business tax approval, then the county receipt, before any sign or ad
• Parcel number checked, and the sign process confirmed for the downtown district
• Storefront designed to downtown letter heights, the blade sign rule and window limits
• One Google Business Profile with the real name, plus a Bing listing imported from it
• A website with the same name, address, phone, hours and parking directions
• A press calendar built backward from opening day, magazines first
• Chamber membership and one cause you will support for years
• Opening timed ahead of December and March crowds