How TX Openings works

Where the data comes from

All rows come from public records published on the State of Texas open-data portal (data.texas.gov):

• TABC pending applications. Applications for new alcohol licences (restaurants, bars, venues) that the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has received. Updated daily.
• TABC issued licences. Licences that TABC has granted, with the original issue date.
• Texas Comptroller sales-tax permits. Active permit holders with an outlet permit issue date and a business-type code. We keep the food and drink codes (restaurants, bars, caterers, mobile food, coffee and snack shops).

TX Openings is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by TABC or the Comptroller. We republish public records and add cleaning, matching and delivery.

The three stages

We link the stages for the same business by matching its name and address, so one row can show a path such as "Applied > Tax permit" with a date for each step.

Why earlier is a better lead

A business that has just applied still has most of its buying decisions ahead of it: who cleans the hood, who insures the place, which POS and card processor to use, who makes the sign. By the time a tax permit shows up, it is often open and has chosen. So the Applied rows are the most useful for most sellers, and Tax permit rows are best for services that start after opening (pest control, linens, supply). That is our judgment about how these purchases are timed, not a measured result, and we have not measured how long it takes an applicant to open. The gap varies.

Stages can look out of order. A tax permit dated before a licence usually means an existing business adding a licence or a new outlet at a known location, rather than a brand-new venue. We show the dates as filed so you can judge.

Weekly timing

• Monday morning: your email and CSV arrive, covering the previous week of filings.
• Data lag: the Comptroller file runs about a week behind the TABC data. A business may reach "Applied" in one report and show its tax permit a week or more later.
• Each report states its date range, so you know what is and is not included.

What we filter, and what we do not catch

• We remove sole proprietors, temporary-event licences (churches, clubs, one-off events) and obvious non-food businesses such as gas stations and off-premise retail. In our tests roughly 15-20% of raw records needed filtering out.
• We merge multiple licence types filed for the same venue into one row.
• We cannot catch everything. A hotel, a convenience store with beer and wine, or a golf course bar may appear, and name or address differences ("I-27" vs "Interstate 27") can make a business show up twice or fail to link across stages.

What you get for each business

Business name, street address, city, ZIP, county, metro, licence stage with dates, licence types, entity type, business category and links to the public records. No phone numbers and no email addresses: the records do not contain them. Most sellers look up the business on its own website or drop by. See the exact columns.

Your responsibilities when you reach out

The data is public, but how you contact people is regulated. You are responsible for following the CAN-SPAM Act for email, the TCPA for calls and texts, and Texas law. Use the file for business-to-business outreach, not for bulk consumer marketing. See our terms.