Restaurant & Cafe Signage,
Board Design & Fit-Outs

Four groups. Exterior: the fascia or name board, plus a projecting or blade sign if the frontage allows. Interior: menu boards, wall graphics and wayfinding to washrooms. Statutory: the FSSAI Food Safety Display Board, a true copy of the FSSAI licence, and green illuminated exit signs where the National Building Code applies. Glass: window graphics or one-way vision film. In Maharashtra the name board must also carry Marathi in Devanagari first.

Yes. FSSAI order dated 19 September 2018 requires every restaurant to display a Food Safety Display Board carrying its FSSAI licence number, and the 2018 conditions of licence say it must be shown at all times at a prominent place in the premises. The order specifies A3 size and suggests the entrance, reception or billing area. It warned that non-compliance after 15 October 2018 would attract action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The restaurant template attached to the FSSAI order carries the outlet's FSSAI licence number, twelve golden rules of hygiene (for example keeping hot food above 60°C and cold food below 5°C, and storing veg and non-veg separately), FSSAI's consumer toll-free and SMS or WhatsApp feedback numbers, a block for the outlet's own feedback contact, and a prompt to download the FSSAI app. It is a separate requirement from displaying the licence certificate itself.

Yes, if the business holds a central FSSAI licence or has outlets at 10 or more locations. Regulation 9(1) of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 requires calories in kcal per serving, with the serving size, against each item on menu cards and boards, plus a line that an average active adult needs 2,000 kcal a day. FSSAI extended compliance to 1 July 2022. This changes how menu boards are laid out, so plan it into the artwork.

Yes. Regulation 9(2) of the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 applies to all food service establishments, not only chains. Menu cards and boards must show the veg or non-veg logo against each item and allergen information, which the regulation says may be shown with easy-to-understand symbols. Event caterers and premises operating fewer than 60 days a year are exempt. Full nutrition information must be available on request.

Yes. Section 36A of the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, inserted by the 2022 amendment, requires the name board in Marathi in Devanagari script. Other languages may be added, but the Marathi lettering must come first and must not be smaller than any other script. It applies to establishments with fewer than ten workers too. Establishments serving liquor may not name the board after legends or forts. The Supreme Court directed compliance in September 2023.

Yes for lit boards. BMC's Policy Guidelines for Display of Outdoor Advertisements 2025 require written permission for glow signs, illuminated name boards and backlit displays on shops, and treat display without it as an offence under the BMC Act. A non-illuminated board naming the occupier or its trade needs no permission. Boards must not project beyond the building line, and one over 300 sq ft needs a structural stability report.

Published IndiaMART listings seen on 26 September 2026 put the middle half of prices at about ₹35 to ₹238 per sq ft for flex boards, ₹213 to ₹700 per sq ft for glow sign boxes, ₹280 to ₹999 per sq ft for acrylic boards and ₹63 to ₹150 per inch of letter height for 3D LED letters. These are market reference ranges, not IBS quotations. Most listings do not say whether installation, electricals or GST are included.

It depends on the street and the hours. A backlit glow box is the most economical lit option and suits a fascia seen head-on. 3D LED channel letters read better from an angle and look more premium. LED neon suits a cafe that trades on atmosphere and evening footfall. A non-lit ACP board with applied lettering suits daytime trade and, in Mumbai, avoids the BMC permission that illuminated boards need.

There is no single national standard size. The board is sized to the fascia you have and to the distance people read it from. The rules that do limit size are local: in Mumbai, BMC's 2025 guidelines say a board on business premises must not project beyond the building line, boards above 300 sq ft need a structural stability report, and approval moves to a more senior officer above 200 and 400 sq ft.

Heat, oil vapour and daily wet cleaning destroy paper-backed prints. Near the kitchen and the pass, specify laminated vinyl on aluminium composite panel, acrylic, or powder-coated aluminium, all of which wipe clean. Keep LED drivers out of hot zones and ventilate lightbox enclosures, because heat shortens driver life. For wall graphics in dining areas, a laminated, washable wallpaper print outlasts an unlaminated vinyl.

Petpooja's 2026 guide for Indian restaurant owners puts a basic QSR or takeaway at ₹800 to ₹1,500 per sq ft, a themed casual dine or cafe at ₹1,500 to ₹3,000, and fine dining at ₹3,000 to ₹6,000 and above, so ₹8 lakh to ₹60 lakh for a 1,000 sq ft outlet. It notes metro locations cost 20 to 30% more than tier-2 cities. Treat these as a reference; a real number needs a drawing and a BOQ.

Yes. The outlet kit (fascia, menu boards, interior graphics and statutory displays) is drawn once and approved, then every opening is produced at the Mumbai facility to that drawing, colour-matched against one approved swatch, and dispatched with installation drawings. IBS crews install across India, and the closeout pack carries as-built photographs of each outlet so head office can check outlet 40 against outlet 1 without a site visit.

It depends on the type and on approvals. IBS's LED neon work typically runs 2 to 4 weeks from brief to commissioning, and glass-tube neon 4 to 6 weeks. In Mumbai, an illuminated board also needs BMC permission before display, so the application should go in as soon as the drawing is fixed. For a new outlet, plan signage alongside the fit-out programme rather than after it.

Most cafes now choose LED neon flex: it is cheaper to run, cooler to the touch, less fragile and quicker to make, which suits a sign mounted near seating. Glass-tube neon has a softer, deeper glow that some brands want, but it needs specialist bending, a transformer and more careful mounting. Both need their power supply accessible for service.

For a single outlet with a stable menu, a backlit printed menu is simpler: IndiaMART listings put backlit light boxes at about ₹400 to ₹600 per sq ft. A digital menu board, typically ₹27,450 to ₹49,500 per screen on IndiaMART digital signage listings, pays back when prices, combos or dayparts change often across many outlets, and makes the calorie display required of chains easier to keep current.

Both. IBS carries civil work, MEP, false ceiling, flooring, joinery, counters and signage under one project manager, with furniture from its Vasai East factory. Doing the shopfront and the signage together means the fascia structure, its power point and the lightbox access are designed into the frontage rather than retrofitted, which is where most restaurant sign problems start.

The National Building Code 2016, Part 4, treats a restaurant as an assembly occupancy where 50 or more people gather, using 1.8 m² per person for dining areas. It requires green exit signs, illuminated and wired to an independent circuit on an alternative supply, placed so no point on an exit route is more than 30 m from a visible exit sign, with signs at every change of direction.

IBS's food and beverage clients include Society Tea and Belgian Waffle. Across its wider client base IBS has worked with Reliance Retail, Aditya Birla Retail, HSBC, HDFC ERGO and Adani Airports, and is an approved vendor with several of them. Reference projects and client contacts are shared on request once a brief is in hand.

Signage workmanship is warranted for 12 to 24 months depending on the product, with manufacturer warranty passed through on named LED modules and power supplies. The warranty certificate, electrical test records and the LED and driver documents are handed over with the installation, and a named IBS contact holds the drawings and spares for the warranty period.