Re: Convert houseboat to burger joint??
What if I welded in a large gas grill on the stern and cooked premade (butcher made) burgers?? Would I need all kinds of food permits?? Figure it's like barbaquing in your back yard. Burgers, dogs etc. right off the grill Maybe I would only need a commercial freezer for the burgers and dogs. offer fresh boars head sandwiches etc...
What you will have to contend with will be a board of health food inspection, a vendors license for the city which you operate out of, and sufficient liability insurance since you are dealing with the public and possibly any employees.
You will also need to register your business and get a valid State Tax ID.
If running out of NYC, there will also be various city licenses to deal with I suppose.
Your pontoon would need to be pretty good sized to remain stable if for no other reason than to resist careless boaters picking up an order. You could probably come up with a long reach server tray of sorts as well.
I saw a floating eatery once on the Mississippi river, but it was more like a concession trailer sat atop a large pontoon. It had counters on three sides and fixed stools. It would moor for the day in a particular location and boats could tie off to it. (There would be no way to safely just anchor up and allow anyone to tie off, if you had to move in a hurry it would be unsafe).
Years ago I had a 42' sedan cruiser which we used like a party barge, I would go out and anchor and by the end of the day would have a dozen or more boats tied on. The more boats that attached, the more anchor I needed. It also was pretty hard on my boat, cleats and rails took a real beating. It got even more interesting a few times when a boat was left behind, you can't just tow it along.
The idea would work well even in the NY/NJ area if you can get all of the legalities taken care of. It would however be pretty much a 3 month season to make your money. There's not much business on the water before Memorial day or after Labor day.
You will most likely run into issues such as cooking with the motor running, waste disposal, and how to insure the rig itself against liability law suits.
You will pretty much have to follow all of the regulations for a land based food business, plus those which pertain to a mobile food vendor, and on top of all of that, any Coast Guard regulations pertaining to such an operation.
The latter would most likely not be too big a deal and there may not even be any particular rules currently in place. Your biggest concern would be vessel weight and safety equipment and maximum persons allowed on board.
