Opening a café or venue is a hundred decisions at once, and the supply list is one of the easier ones to leave until the panic sets in the week before you open. This is the checklist we wish every new operator had — what you’ll need across packaging, the coffee station, the kitchen, front-of-house and cleaning — so you can order it once, from one supplier, and get on with the hard parts.
Before you order: menu, volume and the basics
Two things shape your whole supply list. First, your menu: a coffee-and-toast café, a full-kitchen bistro and a takeaway-heavy shop need very different things, so lock the menu before you order. Second, your volume: a rough estimate of daily covers and your takeaway-to-dine-in split stops you buying a pallet of the wrong cup.
A few basics to have sorted alongside the supplies: register your food premises with your local council before opening. Ask the council how your business will be classified and whether you need a Food Safety Program and a certified Food Safety Supervisor. Know the single-use plastics rules too: no plastic straws, cutlery, plates or foam, and “compostable plastic” doesn’t get you off the hook (see our guide to Victoria’s single-use plastics ban). If you’re fitting out the kitchen, the equipment has its own rules — our commercial kitchen fit-out guide covers those.
Takeaway packaging — the daily burn
This is what you’ll reorder most, so get the range right:
- Coffee cups and lids — single- and double-wall, in the sizes you’ll actually pour (8, 12 and 16oz), with matching lids (more in our coffee cup sizing guide).
- Cold cups and lids — for iced coffee, smoothies and juice.
- Takeaway containers — matched to the food: hot, cold and fried behave very differently (see our takeaway packaging guide).
- Paper bags, carry bags and takeaway trays.
- Wooden or bamboo cutlery, paper straws, and napkins or serviettes (plastic cutlery and straws are banned).
- Compostable or recyclable ranges if that’s part of your brand.
The coffee and beverage station
The machine and grinder are equipment; these are the consumables and smallwares that keep the station running:
- Machine cleaning — group-head cleaning tablets or powder, group brushes, a knock box, descaler.
- Milk jugs, a thermometer, tamper, and scales for dialling in shots.
- Takeaway cup and lid dispensers, napkin dispensers, sugar and condiment holders.
Front-of-house and dine-in
- Crockery, glassware and reusable cutlery for dine-in.
- Tabletop — salt and pepper, sauce dispensers, table numbers, menu holders.
- Trays, water jugs, and tea and coffee service.
- Sugar, condiments and portion control.
Kitchen and food prep — smallwares
The big equipment — ovens, fridges, the dishwasher — is a separate fit-out job (see our fit-out guide). These are the smallwares a kitchen needs from day one:
- Chef knives, colour-coded cutting boards, tongs, ladles and utensils.
- Mixing bowls, measuring jugs and scales.
- Food storage containers, gastronorm pans, cling film and foil, and a date-labelling system.
- Bins and bin liners for the kitchen and the floor.
Cleaning, chemicals and hygiene
Every café needs a cleaning kit that keeps it compliant and passes a health inspection:
- Food-safe surface sanitiser, degreaser, glass cleaner and floor cleaner.
- Dishwash detergent and rinse aid for the machine (see our warewashing guide).
- Gloves, cloths, scourers, a mop and bucket, and labelled spray bottles (decanted chemicals must be labelled — see our cleaning chemicals guide).
- Current, accessible Safety Data Sheets for any hazardous substances or dangerous goods you use or store.
Washroom and consumables
- Toilet paper, hand towel or dryer, hand soap and sanitiser.
- Washroom bins and liners.
The don’t-forget list
The items that get missed until you need them:
- A food date-labelling system, and a cleaning schedule for the health inspector.
- A first-aid kit and enough gloves.
- Enough opening stock to cover your first busy weekend comfortably — plus a reorder placed before you run low, not after.
- A usual-order list so restocking is quicker once you’re trading.
Order it once, from one supplier
Here’s the thing a new café quickly learns: it touches all three of our ranges — packaging, kitchen and cleaning — plus tabletop and consumables. You can juggle five suppliers, five deliveries and five invoices, or you can consolidate your purchasing on one trade account. Byars carries all of it, delivered on our own fleet, with a rep who’ll help you build your opening order and make reordering easier. Local, and someone to call when you realise at 4pm you’re out of 12oz lids.
If you’re opening, talk to us early. We’ll walk your list with you, get sensible opening quantities right, and have you stocked before the doors open — not scrambling the night before.
Frequently asked questions
What supplies do I need to open a café?
Across five areas: takeaway packaging (cups, lids, containers, bags, wooden cutlery), a coffee and beverage station (cleaning, jugs, dispensers), front-of-house (crockery, glassware, tabletop), kitchen smallwares (knives, boards, storage), and cleaning and washroom consumables (sanitiser, dishwash, gloves, paper). Your menu and expected volume set the quantities.
Can I get everything for a new café from one supplier?
Yes. A café spans packaging, kitchenware, tabletop and cleaning, and a trade supplier like Byars carries all of it on one account — so you can consolidate your purchasing instead of juggling several suppliers.
What packaging is compliant for a new café in Victoria?
Non-plastic single-use items: paper or lined-paper cups, wooden or bamboo cutlery, paper straws, and fibre or cardboard containers. Plastic straws, cutlery, plates and foam are banned — and compostable-plastic versions of those banned items are banned too. See our guide to Victoria’s single-use plastics ban for the full list.
How much opening stock should I order?
Enough to cover your first busy weekend comfortably, plus a reorder placed before you run low. Order against your expected covers rather than over-buying, and keep a usual-order list so restocking is quick once you’re trading.
Do I need a Food Safety Supervisor to open a café?
Many Victorian cafés do, but the requirements depend on the activities at the premises. Your local council will classify the business and confirm whether you need a Food Safety Supervisor and a Food Safety Program.
Source and currency: food-premises registration, Food Safety Program and Food Safety Supervisor requirements are set by your local council under the Food Act 1984 (Victoria) — confirm with your council. Packaging compliance per Victoria’s single-use plastics ban (EPA Victoria). General information only, current as at 2026.
CTA: Open a trade account · Request a quote for your opening order · Call (03) 5229 9998
