Opening and running a restaurant in Midland-Odessa, Texas: permits, taxes and what sells

Permits and the health authority

Midland is served by its own city health authority — Midland Health Services / Environmental Services. Its Food Service Establishment Permit runs $150/year for 1–5 employees, $200/year for 6–10, and $250/year for 11 or more, per the city's 2024 permit application. Odessa is served by the Ector County Health Department, and the City of Odessa's own Food Establishment Permit (City Code Sec. 6-6-32) runs $140 (1–10 employees), $300 (11–35), or $600 (35+), plus a separate $150 plan review fee. (Also running a truck: mobile food vendor licensing statewide moved to Texas DSHS on July 1, 2026, replacing each city's own prior local mobile fee — check DSHS directly.)

Sales tax on the ticket

Prepared food carries a combined 8.25% sales tax in the primary jurisdictions of both cities, per the Comptroller's local rate listing — 6.25% state plus local city, county and hospital-district components adding up to that ceiling in Midland, and to the same ceiling in Odessa via a different county/hospital-district mix. The one real exception worth knowing: the Comptroller's listing separately shows a Martin County portion of Midland taxed at only 7.5% total, since that segment carries no additional overlapping local district. If your address might fall in that stretch, confirm the exact rate before you set your register.

Alcohol

TABC's statewide rules govern alcohol in Midland and Odessa the same as anywhere in Texas. Beer and wine service typically needs a Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG); a full bar needs a Mixed Beverage Permit (MB). Either usually pairs with a Food and Beverage Certificate, requiring the business to qualify as a "restaurant" or keep alcohol to 60% or less of total sales — the current 60%-alcohol-cap rule, not the older "51% food" framing. A permittee also owes a 6.7% mixed beverage gross receipts tax out of pocket, plus an 8.25% mixed beverage sales tax charged to the guest. We didn't confirm any local wet/dry restriction beyond Texas's standard local-option system — check your address with TABC before applying.

The local food calendar

We didn't confirm a city-run food festival or public farmers market for either Midland or Odessa in this research. If a seasonal event matters to your plan, check each city's parks and recreation department or chamber of commerce calendar directly — the Permian Basin's oil-driven economy, not a tourism or festival calendar, is what actually moves demand here.

What kind of restaurant works here

Midland-Odessa sits at the center of the Permian Basin oil patch, and that shapes restaurant demand more than almost any other factor on this list. Oil-field crew shift schedules — early breakfasts before a shift, late meals after one ends, unpredictable overtime — matter more here than a typical 9-to-5 lunch rush, and staffing around actual crew-change patterns beats a generic schedule. The region also runs on oil's well-documented boom-and-bust cycle, which affects everything from staffing availability to how much a menu can afford to price up in a given year.

Running it on your own site

Your own site handles ordering four ways — pickup, delivery inside the ZIP zone you set, a dine-in order sent from the table, or a pay-it-forward treat for another table — with every ticket paid straight into your own Stripe account and no commission on any of them. Because Midland and Odessa carry different permit fees, different health authorities, and even a local tax exception inside Midland itself, set your combined tax rate per location under Admin → Restaurant rather than assuming one number covers a business running both cities.

FAQ

How much does a restaurant permit cost in Midland or Odessa?
Midland Health Services charges $150/year (1–5 employees), $200/year (6–10), or $250/year (11+). The City of Odessa charges $140 (1–10 employees), $300 (11–35), or $600 (35+), plus a separate $150 plan review fee, under City Code Sec. 6-6-32.

What's the combined sales tax rate on food in Midland-Odessa?
8.25% in most of both cities, per the Comptroller's local rate listing. The one exception: a Martin County portion of Midland is taxed at 7.5% total, not 8.25%, because that segment carries no additional overlapping local district.

What actually shapes restaurant demand in Midland-Odessa?
The Permian Basin oil-field economy. Crew shift schedules — early breakfasts, late meals after a shift change, unpredictable overtime — matter more here than a conventional 9-to-5 lunch rush, and the local economy runs on oil's well-known boom-and-bust cycle.