Two Health Offices Permit Food in Tom Green County — City and County

Open a taco truck or a sit-down spot in Tom Green County and the first call isn't the bank. It's Environmental Health, and there are two of them. Inside San Angelo city limits, the city's Environmental Health Division handles your permit and inspections. Out in the county, meaning the small towns and the unincorporated stretches, it's the county's office in the Edd B. Keyes Building at 113 W. Beauregard, second floor; reach them at 325-658-1038.

Both offices cover the same wide net: restaurants and cafes, but also convenience stores, grocery stores, school and daycare kitchens, bars, mobile units, and the temporary booths that pop up at festivals and rodeo week. Inspections run on the Texas Food Establishment Rules, and the routine ones come unannounced, with no heads-up before the inspector walks in.

A few things that catch people out: the permit doesn't move with you. Change owners, change locations, or swap which commissary stocks your truck, and you start a fresh permit. City food permits expire January 31 every year, with fees prorated to when you first applied, so opening in November means you renew within weeks. Sort the permit before you serve a single plate, because fixing it after you're already cooking is the expensive way to learn the rule.