Restaurant Incentive Program

The City seeks to recruit sit down restaurants to Texas Parkway and Cartwright Road that will help bridge the gap from a lack of dining venues along the Corridor and to contribute to the City Council’s overall vision of creating a great place to live by revitalizing along the Corridor. The Restaurant Incentive Program serves the community’s desires for attracting and retaining quality sit down restaurants that do not already have a strong presence within the Corridor. 

To receive a reimbursement grant or a sales tax rebate from the Restaurant Incentive Program, an establishment must locate on Texas Parkway between the Missouri City portion of Texas Parkway or Gessner Road from the intersection of Sam Houston Parkway (Beltway 8) and Gessner Road to the eastern city limit line (located near the intersection of Texas Parkway and Turtle Creek Drive) and along Cartwright Road between Texas Parkway and Dulles Avenue. For more details, see Facade Improvement Map.

Incentives may be offered to the following types of restaurants that:

• Offer dine in services with table servers;
• Have the capability to attract customers from outside the community; 
• Do not have another existing location within a 5-mile radius; 
• Provide new and different dining and entertainment experiences;  
• Will generate a minimum of $20,000 in sales taxes annually; and
• Will be occupied within one (1) year of receiving approval for a City incentive.

Shopping Center Owners and tenants leasing space for restaurants may apply. 

In order to qualify for incentives, restaurants are required to sign a minimum 5-year lease with the Developer or Shopping Center Owner, regardless of which party is the applicant or ultimate recipient of the incentive. Based on the value of the incentive requested, the City may require the tenant to sign a lease for a minimum of five (5) years, but not to exceed fifteen (15) years.

The following are INELIGIBLE for the Restaurant Incentive Program:

• A property for which state or local taxes are in arrears;
• An establishment, including the establishment’s owner or manager, that has an open citation to the Municipal Court of the City of Missouri City for a Missouri City Code violation; 
• A proprietor or manager of an establishment who is related, by either blood or marriage, to an appointed official or member of the City Council or the Planning and Zoning Commission;
• A restaurant with dine in limited service, drive-thru only access; 
• A restaurant located in a development that has received City economic development funding for the same improvements within five years; or 
• An existing restaurant seeking expansion.

Any request for incentives shall be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the City Council. Their decision shall be based upon an evaluation of the following criteria, which each applicant will address in narrative form when submitting an Application for Economic Development Incentives: 

Fiscal Impact 

• Anticipated direct sales tax to be generated by the restaurant. 
• Total number of full-time jobs brought to Missouri City. 
• Total annual payroll for all FTEs. 
• Additional Ad valorem taxes to be generated by the restaurant.

Community Impact 

• Does the business satisfy/address the community’s needs for unique, quality restaurants within the Texas Parkway Cartwright Road Corridor? 
• Preference will be given to restaurant concepts that are unique to the area.

Matching Grants

• The City may reimburse up to 75% of the costs of façade improvements (including signage, landscaping and lighting). 
• The City may reimburse up to 75% of the costs of tenant improvements (not including FFE – fixtures, furniture and equipment). 
• The maximum cumulative reimbursement for matching grants is $100,000, as available.
• Any funds approved for reimbursement under this program will be paid after work has been completed and accepted as in compliance with the agreement, the City of Missouri City’s Code of Ordinances, and permits exclusively for approved work, approved change orders and only for work that has been performed after the grantee has received notification that the agreement has been approved by the City Council of the City of Missouri City in open regular session. Any work initiated or completed prior to receiving incentive approval is ineligible for reimbursement. 
• To be reimbursed, after authorization of a reimbursement agreement, applicants must submit documentation of applicable expenditures, which will be reviewed by a certified public accountant who will certify the amount due prior to reimbursement.

Sales Tax Rebates

The City may rebate up to One Hundred Percent (100%) of Sales and Use Tax generated and collected by an applicant and received by the City for up to five (5) years. Sales tax rebates will not include the sales tax dedicated to the Harris County Metropolitan Transit Authority.  

The sales tax rebate would be paid in annual installments within ninety (90) days of the end of each twelve (12) calendar month period following the issuance of the certification of occupancy for the facility, or other commencement date which shall be agreed upon by the City and the applicant in writing, if no certificate of occupancy is required. Any sales tax incentive would be limited to the extent that the City has received sales tax from taxable sales by the applicant or the applicant’s tenant. The City’s obligation to pay the sales tax rebate in the Agreement would additionally be conditioned upon the applicant requesting and providing sales tax documentation from the Office of the Comptroller of the State of Texas.

In the event that the applicant files an amended sales and use tax return or report with the State of Texas, or if additional sales and use tax is due or owing, as determined by the State of Texas, affecting sales tax receipts for a previous twelve (12) calendar month period, the City will make adjustments accordingly, but not later than ninety (90) days after receiving notification and required documentation. The City of Missouri City reserves the right to conduct an audit at any time of the applicant’s books, papers and reports, and to ensure compliance with the Incentive Agreement. Furthermore, in the event of termination of the Agreement, the City has the right to recapture any and all rebated taxes for the calendar year in which any default occurred. 

The maximum cumulative sales tax rebate is $100,000, as available.

The sales tax incentive will be conditioned upon: 

• Generation of a certain level of sales tax – to be determined based on type of retailer/restaurant 
• Term of occupancy: a minimum 5-year lease will be required. The term of the sales tax rebate incentive shall not exceed the term of the lease. 

Additional Incentives

Any restaurant that receives funding through this program will also receive fast tracked permitting when working with the City of Missouri City’s Development Services Department. The restaurant will also receive a ribbon cutting/proclamation to celebrate the grand opening of the restaurant.

The incentives provided under this policy are granted utilizing Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code. It is the policy of the City of Missouri City to customize the provisions of economic development incentives on a case-by-case basis to result in a “Win/Win” agreement for the applicant and for the City of Missouri City taxpayers. This individualized design of a total incentive package is intended to allow maximum flexibility in addressing the unique concerns of each applicant while enabling the City to better respond to the changing needs of the community. 

The City Council reserves the right to make exceptions to this policy as deemed necessary. Furthermore, the City reserves the right to terminate any and all Incentive Agreements should the specialty retailer and/or restaurant cease operations at any time. All incentives are subject to availability of funding. Nothing herein shall imply or suggest a guarantee of approval of any incentive request.

Any restaurant that receives funds through this program is required to maintain a “B” rating or better at all times over the course of the original five year lease. Failure to maintain a “B” rating or better will result in a monthly penalty until the restaurant obtains a rating of a “B” or better.

Application Guidelines

• Applicant shall complete a Restaurant Incentive Application online as provided by the City. 
• Applicant shall submit a narrative addressing each factor highlighted in the Review Criteria together with a Business Plan. 
• Staff will review all documentation for completeness and accuracy. Additional information may be requested as needed. 
• Each application will be brought before the Texas Parkway Cartwright Road Advisory Committee and the Economic Development Committee for the Committee’s review and recommendation prior to City Council’s final review.
• City Council will receive the application and proposed agreement for final approval.

If you have any questions concerning the information being requested on the application or need assistance completing the application, please contact the Economic Development Department.