What Laws Apply to My Restaurant Menu?
You may have noticed that chain restaurants now have calories listed on their menus. And you may be wondering if you are required to include calories – or other nutrition information – on your restaurant menu. The answer is, as always, it depends.
Generally, if you are opening a restaurant and sell “restaurant-type food” (including bakeries, cafeterias, coffee shops, etc.) and it is part of a chain of 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering substantially the same menu items, then you probably do have to comply with the federal restaurant menu labeling requirements. In short, if your new restaurant venture is a franchise, the federal menu labeling rule probably applies and should be on your radar.
Restaurants covered by the rule are required to disclose the number of calories in each standard menu item, as that item is usually prepared. For example, if your franchise serves both whole and half sandwiches, you must display the...
