How to open a cafe in Tunisia: rules, steps and budget

To open a cafe in Tunisia, settle three questions in this order: who can legally run it, whether the premises pass, and whether the money lasts. Most guides start with the coffee machine. We start with the operator, because for a foreign investor that first question can end the project. This guide covers alcohol-free cafes and follows the Interior Ministry’s published text, which is in Arabic. Our summary does not replace it.

Amounts are in Tunisian dinars (DT). A point separates the millimes: 3.500 DT is three dinars and 500 millimes.

Can a foreigner or a company open a cafe in Tunisia?

Not as the operator of a first-category cafe, on the wording of the text. The rules sit in a cahier des charges, a specifications document that the operator signs. It was approved by the order of 10 September 2004 and has 24 articles. It governs first-category drinking establishments, meaning places that serve drinks without alcohol. La Presse summarised the three categories in 2024: the second and third serve alcohol, and the third also serves meals. This guide stays with the first.

Article 2 says the activity can be carried on “only by natural persons” (our translation from the Arabic). The wording is the same in the ministry’s version and in the Official Gazette copy published by SICAD. A company is not a natural person, so on this wording an SARL cannot be the operator. Article 3 then says the natural person who wants to run the cafe must:

• hold Tunisian nationality;
• be at least 20 years old;
• have no final conviction for an intentional offence above 3 months in prison or 6 months suspended, unless rights have been restored;
• have no final judgment of bankruptcy or ban on trading;
• hold no paid public or elected office, and carry on no independent activity or salaried work.

Two groups of readers should stop here. A foreign national does not hold the nationality article 3 asks for. A Tunisian who plans to keep a salaried job during the launch does not meet the last condition.

That is all the text says on the subject. It sets conditions for the operator. It does not name foreigners, and it says nothing about who may own the premises, invest or lend. As of 6 November 2026 we found no text that changes these points, and the official SICAD page still pointed to the same document that day. We are not lawyers. Before you pay for anything, ask a Tunisian lawyer how the rules apply to your situation, and check with the local revenue office.

A restaurant is a separate case, because this document does not cover it. See what it costs to open a restaurant in Tunisia.

What size and location does a cafe need?

These limits eliminate more premises than any budget does. On 9 October 2026 Tuniscope still cited the distances as the rules in force.

Distances run from the middle of one frontage to the middle of the other. For premises across the street, the width of the road is left out (article 18). A cafe opposite you can therefore sit under 100 metres in the sense of the text, even if your tape measure disagrees.

The premises must be in a commercial zone on the local plan, or in a shopping district. They must be a standalone building, or the ground floor of a non-residential building, with their own entrance. Basements are excluded (article 9). Measure the covered area without the terrace, which needs its own authorisation to occupy public land (article 20).

How much of 100 m² is left for customers?

Less than most floor plans assume. Articles 11 to 14 reserve space first. The changing room has no set size, so we use 4 m² as an example.

Article 11 sets two toilet blocks for 50 customers or fewer. A plan with 70 seats points to four blocks, or 20 m², and the room drops to 56 m². Count your seats before you draw anything.

Where do you file, and in what order?

Not at the governorate. The operator files a declaration, with a copy of the document signed by the operator, at the revenue office (recette des finances) that covers the premises (article 2). SICAD names the same office but gives no deadline and no detailed list of papers. Phone first, and ask your municipality whether it inspects the premises.

Step 4 can also go through the online platform opened in August 2026. It was presented as a test phase, so the counter remains the simple route.

Once open, the same text keeps applying: no under-16s without their guardian (article 4), no gambling (article 5), no loudspeakers outside (article 6), opening hours respected and prices displayed (article 7). In October 2026 the Interior Ministry said it runs regular checks in cafes, and the authorities can order a venue in breach to close.

What does it cost to open a cafe in Tunisia?

Here is an example, not a market rate: bare 100 m² premises at 2,500 DT rent a month, a new two-group machine and three staff. Replace each line with your quotes.

Before buying, ask your accountant which tax rules apply to how your business records sales. Our guide to choosing a restaurant POS in Tunisia prices the hardware.

The machine line comes from a real listing: a new two-group semi-automatic at 12,381.950 DT from a Tunisian supplier, checked on 6 November 2026. The same day, a used two-group Vibiemme in Tunis was advertised at 3,800 DT. Buy used only if a local technician can service it.

The reserve assumes fixed costs of 7,000 DT a month: rent 2,500, salaries 3,000, utilities 800, accountant and upkeep 700. Check your wage line against the 2026 minimum wage of 554.736 DT a month for 48 hours, before contributions.

Now the break-even. With an average ticket of 3.500 DT excluding VAT and 0.900 DT of ingredients, each customer leaves 2.600 DT. Paying 7,000 DT takes 2,693 tickets a month, or 90 a day over 30 days. Work out your real ingredient cost with the food cost formula, then total your lines in the opening budget calculator (in French).

A rule worth keeping: divide the cash left after the works by your monthly fixed costs. If the result is below 3, do not open yet. Cut a line or find other premises.

Keeping the budget honest after opening

Tracer, built in Tunis by AYV Studio, deducts each sale’s recipe from stock and shows your spending against revenue in a P&L, in English or French. Your 7,000 DT of fixed costs stops being a guess. The till and the kitchen screen come with the Pro plan, 149 DT a month billed annually.