How to open a coffee shop in Mexico as a foreigner

Can a foreigner own a coffee shop in Mexico?

Yes. Mexico's Foreign Investment Law (Ley de Inversión Extranjera) lets foreign investment hold any share of a Mexican company's capital and open and run establishments (article 4). The activities it reserves or caps are others; a food and drink business such as a café is not among them. That applies whether you are American, Canadian, European or from anywhere else.

A company with foreign shareholders must register with the National Foreign Investment Registry, the Registro Nacional de Inversiones Extranjeras (article 32). Your notary will tell you how and when.

Don't put the business in the name of a front person (a prestanombres): legally, what is in their name is theirs.

Owning a café is not the same as being allowed to work in it

Ownership and permission to work are separate. As a visitor without permission to carry out paid activities, which is a tourist's status, you cannot work or be paid for work in Mexico. Temporary residency lets you work only if you hold permission to do so, and permanent residency does let you work.

If you plan to run the bar or manage the day-to-day, review your case with an immigration lawyer before you sign a lease. You can also be a shareholder and leave operations to a team that is allowed to work.

Company, tax ID and invoicing: your team of professionals

Before you commit money, put your team together: a notario or corredor público to set up the company, an accountant (contador) for the SAT registration and payroll, and an immigration lawyer for your residency. These are the topics to settle with them:

• The legal form. Operating as an individual with business activity, or a company such as an S.A.S., an S. de R.L. de C.V. or an S.A. de C.V. An S.A.S. is set up online with the Ministry of Economy, but only individuals can be shareholders, each one needs an e.firma (the SAT's electronic signature) and its annual revenue is capped at a figure updated every year.
• RFC and e.firma. The company's RFC (tax ID) and, depending on your case, your own. The SAT will ask for documents based on your immigration status.
• Electronic invoicing (CFDI). A point of sale that issues facturas saves you work from day one.
• Registering as an employer with IMSS, the social security institute, if you will hire staff, with the benefits the law requires, such as the year-end bonus (aguinaldo) and paid vacation.
• A business bank account and how you will take card payments.

Premises and permits: check the land use before you sign

The most expensive mistake is signing a lease on premises where a café cannot legally operate. Before you sign, confirm the property's land use (uso de suelo) and which kind of business it allows.

In Mexico City, a café is usually registered as a low-impact business (establecimiento mercantil de bajo impacto) with an operating notice filed online through the city's SIAPEM system; selling alcohol can change the type of permit. In other states, each municipality issues its own operating license. Also plan for:

• Health rules for handling food and drink, and the sanitary notice that applies to your business.
• Civil protection (protección civil): depending on size and capacity, an internal safety program or basic safety measures.
• Outdoor signs and a terrace, which can need separate permits.
• The electrical installation: many professional espresso machines need 220 V.
• A clear commercial lease: term, increases, deposit, and whether the landlord asks for a guarantor (fiador) or a rental guarantee policy (póliza jurídica).

Concept and menu for the people who will buy here

What works back home doesn't always work here. Before you set the menu, look at who you will sell to (neighbors, tourists, office workers or students) and what each of them pays for a drink in that area. In tourist towns, sales swing a lot over the year.

Mexico grows specialty coffee in states such as Chiapas, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Puebla, which lets you build a local, traceable offer. A short, costed menu your team can make the same way every day usually works better than a long one.

Equipment and suppliers: buy here or import?

The main brands of professional espresso machines and grinders are distributed in Mexico. Buying here usually makes warranty, servicing and spare parts easier; importing can look cheaper but adds duties, customs paperwork through a customs broker, and risk if the machine fails.

Size the equipment to your menu and expected volume, not the other way around. Check the voltage and plugs of anything you bring from abroad.

A realistic road to opening day

1. Define who you will sell to and your concept on one page; a Business Model Canvas helps.
2. Review your immigration status and put your team of professionals together.
3. Estimate the total investment and the working capital for the first months.
4. Find premises and confirm the land use before you sign.
5. Set up the company and register with the SAT.
6. Design the menu, choose a coffee supplier and buy the equipment.
7. File the notices and permits for the premises, and fit them out.
8. Hire and train your team; write down recipes and processes.
9. Run a soft opening with service rehearsals, and adjust before you open.

The exact order depends on your case; what matters is not committing money before the earlier steps are clear.

Common mistakes

• Signing the lease before confirming the land use.
• Putting the business in a front person's name.
• Working in your café without the right immigration permission.
• Buying equipment before the menu is defined.
• Budgeting only for the opening and forgetting working capital for the first months.
• Copying a menu and prices from another country without checking the local market.

Where we can help

We are a coffee business consultancy, not a law firm. We work with you, in English or Spanish, on what decides whether the café works: concept, menu, coffee and suppliers, equipment, investment, operations and training. The legal, tax and immigration side stays with your professionals.

Consulting is sold by the hour: 10 hours for $2,499 USD, 15 hours for $3,269 USD, and 32 hours for $4,459 USD, for clients outside Mexico. See the packages or read what a coffee shop consultant costs.

Frequently asked questions