NSW, QLD and VIC · orientation, not legal advice
Opening a café, restaurant or food truck: what to print, and when
Opening week is the one time everything has to be ready at once: the menus on the tables, the takeaway menu in the bag, the sign on the footpath and the flyer in the letterboxes around you. This is the list, in the order it goes wrong, with what the council wants from you before any of it matters.
Two sets built for opening
Including GST and delivery
Restaurant starter
250 business cards, 250 A4 dine-in menus on 250gsm and 500 takeaway menus folded to DL, set from one brief so they match. One box, anywhere in Australia.
$404 · $440.45 separately
Food truck starter
500 double-sided DL takeaway menus, 250 cards for catering bookings, a steel A-frame for the menu board and a 3m flag the market can see. Delivered Australia-wide.
$564 · $581.12 separately
Smaller to start with? The letterbox starter is cards and 500 double-sided DL flyers for $191.50, and the handout starter swaps them for A5 at $225.50. Every set.
What we print for this
Proofed before they run
Start from a free design
Restaurant menus · edit it online
Before anything is printed: what the council needs
Check these first — a menu is no use to a kitchen that cannot open
| State | A café or restaurant | A food truck |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | Notify your local council before you start selling food; a few kinds of business deal with the NSW Food Authority instead. Most retail food businesses need a certified food safety supervisor. | There is no single state-wide permit. Each council decides where and when a mobile vendor can trade, so a truck that works three councils can be dealing with three sets of rules. |
| QLD | Most businesses that make and sell unpackaged food need a food business licence from their local council. | Licensed through a council, and other councils can still require a permit to trade in their area. Check each one you plan to park in. |
| VIC | Register with your council under the Food Act 1984. The class of your business, 1 to 4, decides what applies to you. | Mobile and temporary food premises register through Streatrader, the state’s online system, and still need council permission for where they trade. |
In all three states, the national food safety standard that started in December 2023 (Standard 3.2.2A) means most businesses serving unpackaged, ready-to-eat food need a certified food safety supervisor and trained food handlers. This is general orientation, not legal advice, and rules change — confirm with your council before you commit money to fit-out or print.
What a café or restaurant prints to open
- Dine-in menus. A4 on 250gsm gloss survives a service and costs little enough to reprint when prices move. For menus that get wiped down all day, laminated or synthetic stock is quoted on the restaurant menus page; the menu printing guide covers which stock suits where the menu lives.
- Takeaway menus. An A4 sheet roll-folded to DL is the classic: it fits a bag, a letterbox and a fridge door. A double-sided DL flyer does the same job for a shorter menu.
- The sign on the footpath. A 4.5kg steel A-frame from $198, delivered Australia-wide, with inserts you can replace when the specials change. Many councils treat an A-frame on the footpath as footway use that needs approval — ask before you buy one. A permanent sign on the building is a separate question; see signage approval in NSW and in Queensland.
- Opening posters. A2 in the window two or three weeks before the day, from $167.75 for five. “Opening Saturday” gets read by everyone walking past, which is the audience you are about to depend on.
- QR codes on the tables for the menu or ordering. QR code stickers are from $32.10 on outdoor-rated vinyl, and we check every code scans before it prints.
- A letterbox drop to the streets around you in opening week. The free letterbox drop calculator tells you how many homes are in your suburb before you choose a quantity.
- Business cards for suppliers, the landlord and every enquiry about catering.
- If you have a bar or sell packaged food: printed coasters from $161.70 for 50, and labels on a roll for sauces and jars. Food sold packaged has its own labelling rules, and what goes on the label is yours to confirm; we set exactly what you approve.
Food trucks are different
You are found from across a car park, not from a footpath. A teardrop or feather flag is what people see first at a market: 2m to 5m tall, from $137.87 delivered Australia-wide. The one in the food truck starter is the 3m. An A-frame beside the serving window carries the menu at reading height, and its panels swap when the menu changes.
The truck itself is the biggest sign you own. Removable magnetic signs suit a truck you also drive privately or are still deciding on; a full vehicle wrap is for the truck that is the brand. Both are quoted. Wrap or decals weighs them up.
Hand something over with every order. A takeaway menu with your socials and a line for catering bookings is how a market customer becomes a party booking. Stickers on the packaging do the same job for less.
What usually goes wrong
- Prices change in the first month. Almost every new venue adjusts prices after the first few weeks. Print 250 menus rather than 2,500, and plan to reprint. A price update to an existing menu file is from $49.
- Allergens. You must be able to tell a customer what allergens a dish contains when they ask. A line on the menu inviting them to ask is common practice; any icons we set are the ones you supply and approve on the proof.
- Kilojoule counts are for the big chains. Menu kilojoule labelling applies to chains with 20 or more outlets in the state or 50 nationally. A new independent café is not caught by it.
- A menu made in Canva or with AI often looks right on screen and prints soft, or runs text into the fold. The Canva print checker catches most of it before you order, and printing AI-generated artwork covers the rest.
- Leaving it to opening week. Print is the easy part to rush and the hard part to rush well. See the timeline below.
When to order
- Four weeks out: council approvals in hand, or at least applied for, including anything on the footpath.
- Three weeks out: opening posters up; the menu final, prices and all.
- Two weeks out: menus, takeaway menus and cards ordered. Print takes 2-4 working days from payment, delivered, after you approve a proof on your phone.
- Ten days out: A-frame and flags ordered — 2-4 working days and 2-4 working days respectively.
- Opening week: the letterbox drop, so the flyer lands while the doors are actually open.
Need it sooner? Ask — a tighter date is quoted per job, and the desk will tell you straight whether it can be done.
Common questions
What print do I need to open a café?
At minimum: dine-in menus, a takeaway menu, a sign on the footpath or the building, and business cards. Opening posters in the window and a letterbox drop in opening week are what bring the first customers in. The restaurant starter covers the menus and cards in one box for $404, delivered.
Do I need council approval for an A-frame sign?
Often, yes. Many councils treat an A-frame on the footpath as use of the footway and want an application or a permit, sometimes alongside outdoor dining. The rules are the council’s, not the state’s, so ask yours before you buy one.
How do I register a food truck in Victoria?
Mobile and temporary food premises in Victoria register through Streatrader, the state’s online system, and still need permission from each council for where they trade. In NSW and Queensland it is council by council. Confirm the current process with your council.
Can you design the menu as well?
Yes. A new menu designed is from $349, and a booklet menu from $449. If you already have a menu file, a price update is from $49. You approve a proof before anything prints.
Where can the food truck starter be delivered?
Anywhere in Australia, at the same price. It is made in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, so allow 1 to 2 working days longer outside NSW, QLD and VIC. Just want the paper? The letterbox starter is menus and cards only.
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