·Adiamo Studio
What to do when your restaurant moves
When a restaurant changes address, close the old Google profile, open a verified one at the new door under the same name, and change the website in the same week.
Answer first
If the dining room has moved, do not drag the old pin to the new street. Google’s policy for businesses such as restaurants says a location edit will be rejected: mark the old profile permanently closed and create a new one at the new address. Keep the same name. Verify the new profile. Update the website, the phone if it changed, and the hours in the same week. Google’s reviews help says that a move under the same name should bring the reviews across on its own, and also says not to create a new profile just because you moved. Those two instructions conflict. Follow the rule that names dining rooms. If the reviews do not appear on the new profile, ask Google to transfer them. Do not leave two open pins.
The lease ended. Service starts on the next street on Thursday. The website still shows the old number on the door, and the map pin is still in the old courtyard. Guests with a booking walk to a dark window. Guests who trusted the new Instagram post cannot find a listing that admits you have moved.
This guide is the difference between a real move, a wrong pin, and a week when you are simply closed. The phone that must still ring at the new room is in which phone number belongs on your site. A closure when you will reopen at the same door is in how to publish restaurant hours guests can trust.
How a move differs from a wrong pin
Google’s policy overview separates the two, and it names dining as a case where the physical place is the product. Location edits are rejected for businesses whose identity is tied to the customer’s visit, including dining. If you have relocated, mark the existing profile permanently closed and create a new profile at the new location. If you have not moved and the address on the map is simply wrong, contact Google. Do not “fix” a typo by opening a second listing. That page is Overview of Google Business Profile policies.
| You moved | The pin is wrong | You are closed, same door | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What happened | A new address, a new room | The map does not match the sign you still use | Holiday, works, or a season |
| Old profile | Permanently closed | Leave it. Ask Google to correct it | Temporarily closed, or special hours |
| New profile | Yes, at the new door, same name | No | No |
| Verification | The new profile has to be verified | You are already verified | You stay on the same profile |
| Website | New address the same week | Correct the sentence if you typed it wrong | Say the dates you reopen |
| Two open pins | No | No | No |
A second Google page disagrees. The edit help says that if you move after you are verified, you must verify again. The reviews help says not to create a new profile because the address changed, and that if you keep the same name Google will transfer the reviews automatically — with exceptions it names for hotels, golf courses, and scenic attractions, not for restaurants. Read both: Edit your Business Profile and Move your reviews across Business Profiles. For a dining room, the policy that says “create a new profile and close the old one” is the one that matches how Google treats a visit. Verify that new profile. If the reviews stay on the closed one, ask Google to move them. Do not run both as open.
When to close the old profile
Permanently close the old profile
- You will not serve at that address again.
- The sign is coming down, or it is already down.
- Guests who go there will find someone else, or a locked door.
- You are ready to verify a profile at the new door under the same name.
Do not mark it permanently closed
- You are shut for a week and coming back to the same room.
- The pin is a few metres off and you have not moved.
- Only the phone number changed.
- You want a second listing so both neighbourhoods “rank”.
How to move the public record
Close
Old profile, permanently
Open
New profile, same name
Verify
The new door, on camera if asked
Site
Address, phone, hours
Reviews
Ask only if they did not follow
- 1
Decide if the door really changed
A new street is a move. A pin on the wrong entrance of the same building is a correction, and Google says to contact them rather than edit a dining address yourself. A dark week at the same stove is hours, not a new profile. Keeping the old door open and adding another address is how to open a second restaurant on Google.
- 2
Mark the old profile permanently closed
Do this when you will not reopen there. Permanently closed is the status guests should see on that pin, not “temporarily closed”, which means you are coming back. How Google shows those statuses is in Mark your business as closed. Reviews already on a closed profile stay. The reviews help says people cannot leave new reviews on a permanently closed profile, and that they can still review one that is only temporarily closed.
- 3
Create the new profile under the same name
The name on the new sign should be the name on the new profile. A new proper noun is a different case from a small wording change, which is when a new restaurant name needs a new profile. Do not add the neighbourhood as a keyword in the name. The category should still say what you are, which is how to choose your restaurant’s Google category.
- 4
Verify the new profile before you rely on it
A new listing does not accept your edits until it is verified. The video, if Google asks for one, has to show the new street and the new sign. The steps are in how to verify your restaurant on Google. The edit help’s line about verifying again after a move is the same practical ending: you do not control the new door’s listing until Google has checked it.
- 5
Change the website, the phone, and the hours in the same week
The page is what you can fix the day the chairs move. New street, the line that rings in the new room, the hours you will actually keep. Leave the old address off the page, the bio, and the printed card. If the menu link or the reservation link still assumes the old room, point them at the new one. Guests compare the site and the pin. They should find one restaurant.
- 6
Check whether the reviews followed
Google says a move that keeps the name should transfer reviews automatically, except for categories it lists such as hotels. If they are still only on the closed profile, contact Google and ask for the transfer. The reviews page also says that if you created the new profile by mistake, they can move the reviews. Explain the room if it changed a great deal: old reviews may describe a place the new guest will not see. A short public reply is how to reply to a Google review. Do not offer anything to have them deleted.
What to update, and what to leave
| Item | On a real move | Leave it |
|---|---|---|
| Old Google profile | Permanently closed | Open, with a hopeful note in the description |
| New Google profile | New address, same name, then verify | A second name so you “keep” both neighbourhoods |
| Reviews | Let them transfer. Ask if they do not | A campaign to delete the old ones |
| Website | New address the week you open | The old street in the footer |
| Phone | Only if it still rings at the new room | The old landline “just in case” |
| Photos | The new door and the new room | The only exterior shot of the building you left |
The page can say the new address the day you have it, which is faster than the listing review. The card below is a live restaurant site: after a move, that page and the new pin have to name the same door.
When a move is mishandled
- You edit the old pin and Google rejects it. That is the policy for a dining room. Close it and open the new profile. Do not keep submitting the same edit.
- Two profiles, both open. Guests book the dark one. Duplicates can be kept off Maps, and you still owe them one true door.
- Temporarily closed on a place you have left. People think you will be back next month. You will not.
- A new name, and surprise that the reviews vanished. Google treats a real name change as a new business. Keep the name if it is the same restaurant.
- The website still gives the old street. The new listing can be perfect. The bio and the page send them to the old lock.
- You wait to verify. The new profile cannot be edited, and the photos stay pending. Guests only have the closed pin.
What a move does not do
It does not let you keep two live listings so both streets show up in search. It does not delete the old reviews on command, and it does not guarantee they appear on the new profile the hour you open. It does not update your website for you. It does not turn a one-week closure into a new business. And the new pin is not closer to every guest: distance still depends on where they are standing. What Google says about that is in what restaurant SEO actually changes.
Frequently asked questions
Can I just change the address on the old profile?
For a restaurant, Google’s policy says no. Location edits are rejected for dining venues. Mark the old profile permanently closed and create a new one at the new address.
The pin is wrong but we did not move. What then?
Contact Google and ask them to correct it. Do not open a second profile, and do not mark the real restaurant permanently closed.
Do our reviews come with us?
Google says they should, if the business name stays the same. If they remain on the closed profile, ask Google to transfer them. Do not run two open listings while you wait.
We are only closed for renovations at the same address.
That is a temporary closure or special hours, not a move. Keep the same profile. Say the dates on the website.
Should the new profile use a new name?
Only if the restaurant’s name has actually changed. A new name can make the old reviews ineligible to move. The name on the sign is the name on the profile.
Does Adiamo move the Google listing?
No. You close the old profile and verify the new one on Google. On the published page, change the address, the phone if it changed, and the hours, so the site matches the new door.