Equal CO · Dallas

Equal rules for restaurant certificates of occupancy

Dallas should enforce restaurant certificates of occupancy with clear, published rules applied evenly — not subjective peak-time judgments that shut some venues while similarly situated places keep operating.

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The problem

Subjective tickets. No published bright line.

Restaurant certificates of occupancy (COs) are being enforced with subjective, peak-time judgments — for example, whether a room “looks like a restaurant” — instead of a clear, published, objective standard that operators can follow.

When the rule is vibes instead of a number or bright line, similarly situated venues get different outcomes. In Deep Ellum, some restaurant COs have been revoked or venues put under heavy subjective ticketing while similarly situated restaurant-CO rooms appear to keep operating.

The pattern

Same restaurant-CO category. Uneven outcomes.

Similarly situated venues that hold restaurant certificates of occupancy and appear to continue operating.

  • Green Light Social · 2625 Floyd

    Land use: RESTAURANT WITHOUT DRIVE-IN SERVICE (CO 1907091035)

  • Vice Park · 2601 Gaston

    Land use: RESTAURANT WITHOUT DRIVE-IN SERVICE (CO 1907171074)

  • Sporting Club · 2516 Florence

    Restaurant CO on file (CO 2005171004)

  • Kitchen + Kocktails · 1933 Elm

    Restaurant CO on file (CO 2001021025, DBA True Kitchen & Kocktails)

See all venues →

This petition asks for clear rules applied evenly — not preferential outcomes for some rooms and shutdowns for others.

These are public-record restaurant-CO examples that appear to continue operating — cited for comparison of similarly situated venues, not as accusations of wrongdoing.

What operators asked for

Objective standard — not vibes.

At the September 15, 2026 Code Compliance meeting, operators asked for an objective standard — for example, kitchen open and food orderable during alcohol service — rather than subjective “looks like a restaurant / bar” judgments. Themes paraphrased; not a transcript.

More anonymous themes →

Community voice

FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD

A Deep Ellum daytime cafe owner put it plainly: developers may own property, but they are not the community. Pushing problems to the next neighborhood is not solving them. Licensing and task-force paperwork will not fix street crime. Neighbors and operators have to stand together so the neighborhood stays itself — not get remade for someone else’s bet.

What we demand

Six asks for fair enforcement.

  1. 01

    Publish objective written standard for restaurant CO (bright-line: kitchen open during alcohol service + full menu available; not “looks like a bar”).

  2. 02

    Apply evenly citywide / Deep Ellum — same criteria for similarly situated restaurant-CO venues.

  3. 03

    Pause punitive tickets/notices that lack a published quantitative standard until task force / entertainment-permit rules are public.

  4. 04

    Fair notice before citation (no Fri 1am notice → Sat ticket pattern).

  5. 05

    Transparent comps: disclose how many restaurant-CO venues inspected vs ticketed/revoked in same period.

  6. 06

    Honor due process on CO revocations and appeals — published standards and even application, not case-by-case vibes.

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FAQ

Questions

What is this petition asking for?
Clear, published objective standards for restaurant CO enforcement, applied evenly — plus fair notice and transparent inspection data. See the demand list above.
Is this legal advice?
No. This site is not legal advice. It is a public petition for consistent enforcement policy.
What if a CO was revoked?
Operators deserve due process: published standards, even application, and a fair path for appeals — not case-by-case vibes. This site asks for consistent rules citywide; it is not trying any individual case online.
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