We write restaurant insurance for Antioch operators — the family rooms along Somersville Road, the Rivertown storefronts, the caterers and trucks that work East County events. Our office is in Antioch, so when you call about a certificate for a festival booth or a claim in the middle of service, you are talking to someone a few minutes away who knows the block.
Most of the Antioch restaurants we look at are carrying the right policy types and the wrong limits. Business income set at three months, a liquor limit left at the package default, and a payroll figure two years out of date are what we usually find first.
What restaurant insurance actually needs to cover
A restaurant program is really four or five policies working together. General liability answers for a guest who slips on a wet floor or gets sick after a meal. Property covers your build-out, hood system, walk-in and small wares — usually at replacement cost, because a used fryer settlement rarely reopens a kitchen. Business income keeps payroll and rent moving while repairs happen, and that limit is the one owners most often set too low.
Workers' compensation is mandatory in California from your first employee, and in food service it is usually the largest single line on the invoice. Burns, knife cuts, back strains and slips drive most claims, and your experience modification follows you for three years.
Liquor liability and why the limit matters
California's dram shop rules are narrower than in many states, but a restaurant that serves an obviously intoxicated guest — or anyone under 21 — can still end up defending a serious injury claim. Host liquor coverage bundled into a package policy is not the same as a real liquor liability limit. If alcohol is more than a small share of sales, we quote it as its own line and document your server training.
Food spoilage, equipment breakdown and outages
A compressor failure or a PG&E outage overnight can empty a walk-in of several thousand dollars of product before anyone opens the door. Equipment breakdown and spoilage coverage is inexpensive relative to the loss, but the trigger language varies widely between carriers — some require a mechanical failure, others pay for a utility interruption off-premises. We read that wording before you sign.
Delivery, catering and vehicles
The moment an employee runs an order in their own car, your business can be pulled into the claim. Hired and non-owned auto coverage handles that, and it belongs on nearly every restaurant policy now — including ones that only 'occasionally' deliver or drop off catering.
What we see in Antioch
Antioch restaurants tend to have more footprint than their San Francisco counterparts — bigger dining rooms, real parking lots, and often a delivery van or two. That shifts the risk picture toward premises liability in the lot and commercial auto, both of which are easy to underinsure when a policy was written for a small storefront years ago.
East County also runs hot. Summer stretches above 100 degrees push refrigeration hard, and a compressor that fails overnight in July can cost more than a month's profit in spoiled product. Spoilage and equipment breakdown wording is worth reading carefully here.
Questions Antioch owners ask us
How much does restaurant insurance cost in Antioch?
Most full-service Antioch restaurants land between roughly $6,000 and $20,000 a year across general liability, property and liquor, with workers' compensation quoted separately off payroll. Alcohol share, square footage, claims history and whether you deliver move the number more than anything else.
Do I need liquor liability if I only serve beer and wine?
Yes. California's liability rules do not distinguish between beer and spirits when someone is served past the point of intoxication or under 21. Beer-and-wine limits are cheaper, but going without leaves the most severe claim type uncovered.
Does my policy cover drivers delivering orders?
Only if hired and non-owned auto is on it. If a server runs an order out in their own car and causes an accident, the injured party will name your restaurant. We add this to nearly every Antioch program we write.
Get a restaurant quote for your Antioch business
Send over your declarations pages and last year's payroll and we'll tell you honestly whether your current program is priced right. We are an independent brokerage based in Antioch, serving Contra Costa County and the wider Bay Area. CA License #0D90958.
Other cities we write this coverage in
See our full Restaurant & Food Service Insurance overview.