When Does a Restaurant Need a Provisional Use Permit in Henrico County?

A Henrico provisional use permit for a restaurant is needed when the county zoning ordinance marks your use, or a feature of it, with a “P” for your zoning district. In most business districts a regular sit-down restaurant is allowed by right. The PUP usually comes into play for late-night hours, outdoor seating or cooking, drive-throughs in certain districts, and restaurants in residential or office districts. The Board of Supervisors decides each PUP after public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board.

Henrico adopted a completely rewritten zoning ordinance on June 22, 2021, and it took effect September 1, 2021. Older blog posts and permit summaries may describe the pre-2021 rules. Everything below is based on the current ordinance, last amended July 28, 2026. If you are looking at space along West Broad, start with our Short Pump retail space guide for the market context.

When does a restaurant need a Henrico provisional use permit?

Henrico’s Principal Use Table (Sec. 24-4205) and the use standards in Article 4 set the rules. The ordinance has no separate “bar” use: it defines a restaurant as an establishment where “food, beverages, or both are prepared, served, and consumed,” so a bar or taproom generally follows the restaurant rules. Common triggers:

Even where a patio is allowed by right, Sec. 24-4423 sets limits: no outdoor seating within 100 feet of the R-0 through R-5B residential districts, no outdoor seating between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. within 200 feet of a residential district, and no amplified sound clearly audible inside a nearby home. Drive-through restaurants must meet their own standards, including stacking lanes and a 50-foot separation from residential districts or lots with a residential use.

Always check the zoning suffix too. A parcel zoned B-2C is conditionally zoned, and the proffers from the original rezoning can restrict hours, uses or building design further than the base district does.

What about live music, dancing and entertainment?

Henrico does not have a separate “live entertainment” permit for restaurants in its zoning ordinance. What matters is whether the use becomes a public dance hall: a space used for dancing where admission or a fee is charged. A restaurant with a dance floor smaller than 250 SF or 10% of its gross floor area, whichever is less, is not a dance hall. A public dance hall needs a PUP in B-3 and M-1 and is not allowed in the other districts. In practice, entertainment usually surfaces through the late-night PUP and conditions on noise and hours. Confirm how staff will classify your concept at the pre-application meeting.

How does the Henrico PUP process work?

Sec. 24-2306 of the ordinance sets the procedure, and the county’s rezoning and PUP page covers the logistics.

1. 1Pre-application meeting (required). Meet with Planning Department staff to review your submission. The county gives you a checklist to file with the application.
2. 2File through Build Henrico. Upload the application, checklist and supporting exhibits (usually a concept plan, floor plan and elevations) through the county’s online portal and pay the fee. The Planning Commission’s rules require filing at least eight weeks before its regular meeting.
3. 3Staff review and notice. Staff write a report with recommended conditions. The county advertises the case and notifies adjacent owners under Code of Virginia § 15.2-2204, and a sign may be posted on the property.
4. 4Planning Commission public hearing. The Commission recommends approval or denial. If it does not act within 100 days of its first meeting on the case (not counting deferrals the applicant asked for), the application is deemed recommended for approval.
5. 5Board of Supervisors public hearing and decision. The Board may approve with conditions on use, screening, lighting, hours, noise, maintenance and operation, and may limit how long the permit lasts.
6. 6Then the usual permits. A PUP does not replace site plan, building permit, health department or Virginia ABC approvals.

The Board approves a PUP only if it finds the use consistent with the comprehensive plan, compliant with the ordinance’s standards, compatible with the surrounding area, and not harmful to public health, safety and welfare.

How much does a PUP cost and how long does it take?

The county’s Planning Applications Fee Schedule lists $750 for a provisional use permit, $150 to transfer one, and $100 for a deferral requested by the applicant. That schedule is dated June 23, 2020, so confirm the current fee with Planning before you file. Per the Planning Commission’s rules, the fee is earned once the case is advertised and is not refunded if the request is denied or withdrawn.

For timing, a recent case gives a useful benchmark. Deep Run Roadhouse applied for a PUP to allow outdoor smokers at a former Wendy’s outparcel in the John Rolfe Shopping Center, zoned B-2C. The Planning Commission recommended approval on January 15, 2026, and the Board hearing was set for February 10, 2026. With the eight-week filing lead time, pre-application meeting and preparation, plan on about three to four months from filing to a Board decision, and more if the case is deferred. That staff report also shows typical conditions: a cap of two smokers, screening, no outdoor speakers or sound systems, and design matching the existing center.

How should tenants build a PUP into the lease?

If your concept needs a PUP, allocate the risk in the lease before you spend on design:

• Approval contingency: your obligations depend on getting a final, non-appealable PUP by an outside date, with the right to terminate and get your deposit back if it is denied or delayed.
• Acceptable conditions: define what counts as approval. A permit that caps hours at 11 p.m. or bans outdoor cooking may not work for your concept, so list the conditions you will not accept.
• Landlord cooperation: the property owner must sign the application. Require the landlord to sign promptly, attend hearings if needed and not oppose the request.
• Rent commencement: start rent after the PUP and building permits are issued, not on lease signing or delivery.
• Cost allocation: agree on who pays the fee, the engineer’s concept plan and any required site work such as screening or landscaping.
• Transfer and assignment: if you sell the business, make sure the lease and PUP transfer together.

For more on how restaurant space in western Henrico is priced and marketed, see our post on Short Pump restaurant space for lease. The Short Pump retail guide covers vacancy and rents across the corridor. Henrico’s Planning Department ((804) 501-4602) has the final word on whether a use needs a PUP at a specific address, and a land-use attorney should review any conditions before you sign.

One change to watch: a package of zoning amendments prepared for the Planning Commission’s July 9, 2026 meeting proposes allowing outdoor seating by right in B-1 and several office districts, while keeping the PUP requirement for outdoor food preparation. Check its status before relying on either rule.

Need help sorting out a Henrico restaurant site?

I help restaurant tenants screen spaces for zoning fit before they fall in love with a site, and structure lease contingencies so a permit delay does not become a rent problem. See my services, or reach out with the address and concept and we can talk it through.