Legal analysis: if a small restaurant operates without a license, the administrative department for industry and commerce will ban it and confiscate its illegal income; If it constitutes a criminal offence, it may be suspected of illegal business operation, serious accident, serious labor safety accident, accident caused by dangerous goods or other crimes, and criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law. If it is not serious enough for criminal punishment, the maximum fine is 20,000 yuan. If the scale of unlicensed operation is large and the social harm is serious, a fine of more than 20,000 yuan and less than 200,000 yuan shall be imposed.

Legal basis: Article 225 of the Criminal Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), in violation of state regulations, commits one of the following illegal business operations, disrupting market order, and if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and shall also, or shall only, be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the illegal income; If the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times his illegal income or his property shall be confiscated: (1) dealing in franchise, monopoly goods or other commodities whose business is restricted by laws and administrative regulations without permission; (2) buying and selling import and export licenses, import and export certificates of origin and other business licenses or approval documents stipulated by laws and administrative regulations; (three) without the approval of the relevant competent departments of the state, illegally engaged in securities, futures, insurance business, or illegally engaged in fund payment and settlement business; (four) other illegal business activities that seriously disrupt the market order.