The earliest public hint of a build-out: sign permits and new premises.
Sign permits and new premises licences are the earliest public hint of a build-out.
The problem
Timing decides who wins the client.
By the time a new storefront has its sign up, the sign company has been paid. Signage and fit-out work is won in the weeks between lease signing and opening — the hardest window to see from the street.
Sign permits, patio permits and new premises licences are public, but scattered across municipal releases most contractors never check.
Signals that matter
Which records to watch, and why.
Signage & displays
Sign permits are a direct, explicit signal. We keep them even though they don't count as “new businesses”.
Restaurants & bars
Restaurants need exterior signage, menu boards, interior fit-out and often patio work.
Patios & sidewalk cafés
Seasonal patio permits mean railings, planters, awnings and lighting.
Specialty retail
Storefront signage, window graphics, shelving and display fixtures.
Weekly volume
last 4 weeks · Toronto101.6
new signals per week, on average, across these groups
| Category | Weekly average |
|---|---|
| Restaurants & bars | 38.3/wk |
| Take-out & food retail | 27.5/wk |
| Signage & displays | 20.5/wk |
| Specialty retail | 5.3/wk |
| Entertainment & nightlife | 5/wk |
| Patios & sidewalk cafés | 3/wk |
| Seasonal & temporary retail | 2/wk |
Live from the FileSignal database: non-residential signals of type “new”, detected in the last 28 days ÷ 4. Includes ancillary permits (signs, patios) where they fall in these groups.
Example filters
Save it once, get it every week.
- category_groupsignage
- fromlast 7 days
- categoryrestaurants-bars,specialty-retail
- signal_typenew
The same parameters work in the web feed, digests, webhooks and the API.
Working the lead
How to turn a signal into a client.
- 01
Move fast on sign permits
A permit means the design is close to final. Offer installation, illumination or a second sign (blade, window, menu board).
- 02
Pair new licences with photos
A quick look at the storefront tells you whether the fit-out is still underway — and what's missing.
- 03
Build a landlord list
Addresses that turn over repeatedly point to landlords and property managers worth a relationship.
See how many sign permits and new premises appear each week.
A 20-minute walkthrough of the live feed, filtered to your categories and territory.