how to draft a restaurant business plan

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: Complete Guide

• January 31, 2023
• Food & Beverage

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Whether you’re looking to raise funding from private investors or to get a loan from a bank (like a SBA loan) to open a restaurant , you will need to prepare a solid business plan.

In this article we go through, step-by-step, all the different sections you need in the business plan of your restaurant . Use this template to create a complete, clear and solid business plan that get you funded. Let’s dive in!

1. Restaurant Executive Summary

The executive summary of a business plan gives a sneak peek of the information about your business plan to lenders and/or investors.

If the information you provide here is not concise, informative, and scannable, potential lenders and investors will lose interest.

Though the executive summary is the first and the most important section, it should normally be the last section you write because it will have the summary of different sections included in the entire plan.

Why do you need a business plan for a restaurant?

The purpose of a business plan is to secure funding through one of the following channels:

• Obtain bank financing or secure a loan from other lenders (such as a SBA loan )
• Obtain private investments from investment funds, angel investors, etc.
• Obtain a public or a private grant

How to write your restaurant’s executive summary?

Provide a precise and high-level summary of every section that you have included in your business plan. The information and the data you include in this segment should grab the attention of potential investors and lenders immediately.

Also make sure that the executive summary doesn’t exceed 2 pages in total: it’s supposed to be a summary for investors and lenders who don’t have time to scroll through 40-50 pages, so keep it short and brief.

The executive summary usually consists of 5 major sub-sections:

• Business overview : start by introducing your restaurant and the products and services that you intend offer. Mention the type of restaurant you intend to open (such as fine dining, casual dining, fast casual, ghost restaurant, café, pub, etc.), the menu and prices. Also add here the total number of customers your restaurant can host at once, its location, and some details on the surface and the design layout
• Market analysis : summarise the market where you will operate and provide a brief about the target audience, market size , competitors, etc. No need to provide granular data here, save it for the Market Overview section later on (or the appendix)
• People : introduce your restaurant’s management and employee structure. Provide a brief (no more than a couple of sentences each) of the knowledge and experience of the team. Also, speak about your hiring plans.
• Financial plan : how much profit and revenue do you expect in the next 5 years? When will you reach the break-even point and start making profits? You can include here a chart depicting your key financials statements
• Funding ask : what loan/investment/grant are you seeking? How much do you need? How long will this last?

Restaurant Financial Model

Download an expert-built 5-year Excel financial model for your business plan

2. Restaurant Business Overview

This is the section where you will provide details about your restaurant and the chosen business model. You must address some important questions that lenders and/or investors generally ask .

Here is a quick list of some of those questions you must address:

• What is the rationale behind you opening this type of restaurant today?
• What’s the restaurant’s location and why did you select that location?
• Why did you select the type of restaurant you want to open?
• What will be the products and services you will offer?
• What will be your pricing strategy and why?
• What will be your opening days / hours?
• How many customers can you serve at once (capacity)?
• What is the surface of your restaurant? How is the restaurant designed (incl. dining rooms and kitchen area)?
• What will be the legal structure of your company?

a) History of the Project

Any business must have two components:

• Passion & experience of the business owner
• Rationale behind starting this type of business today

Passion & experience

You may or may not have prior experience. If you have experience, speak about it and how it will help you to run your business. For instance, you may have been a restaurant manager in a popular restaurant for 6 years, and now you want to start your own restaurant and use your knowledge to run it more efficiently.

However, if you don’t already have experience, that’s fine. You must demonstrate your passion and some industry knowledge (you may have conducted thorough research).

What is your restaurant’s mission?

For example, there may not be any fine dining restaurant in your area where wealthy residents or tourists can enjoy an upscale meal experience in a sophisticated and elegant environment.

But that’s not all: your market must be suitable for your business to thrive.

For instance, if you are planning to open a fine dining restaurant in a low-income area, it is probably not going to attract many customers. Similarly, if the population of the target market has a high percentage of people preferring takeaway/delivery food options because of their busy lifestyle, a fine dining restaurant may not be a good idea.

b) Business Model

This sub-section of the Business Overview will explain your business model. Describe the following points briefly:

• Will you buy an existing restaurant and do some remodeling, or will you start a new restaurant and design it from scratch?
• Will you buy a franchise or do you plan to open an independent restaurant instead?
• The type of restaurant you want to open and why

What are the different types of restaurants?

There are multiple types of restaurants. Some of them that you may consider include, but are not limited to:

• Fine Dining : They provide upscale meal experience with several courses. The atmosphere is sophisticated and classy. They can be franchises or individually owned. Of course, they are quite expensive.
• Casual Dining : This type of restaurants serve customers at their tables and the food prices are moderate. The atmosphere is not very sophisticated. Though the décor is often unique, it can be based on the type of food a restaurant serves.
• Fast Casual : These restaurants will make your food available quickly, but the food is healthier than fast food. Also, food is cheaper than casual dining. They have a counter service (you must collect food from the counter) and the décor is more contemporary.
• Ghost Kitchens : ghost kitchens (or “dark kitchen”) restaurants do not have a storefront, a dining room, signage, or décor. They operate using food delivery partners and take orders through online ordering or phone ordering.
• Fast Food : Think of Taco Bell , KFC, Burger King, etc. The food is relatively cheap and is served quickly. Food ingredients are usually preheated or precooked, and food delivery happens over the counter or via a drive-through window.
• Buffet Style : These restaurants are similar to the Family Style restaurants but with a fundamental difference. People get to select from a selection of food that are made available against a fixed price. However, customers need to serve themselves and they are allowed to return to the buffet for as many times as they want.

c) Products & Services

Of course, the products you will offer in your restaurant will depend on the type of restaurant you are opening. A Buffet Style restaurant, for example, usually prefer specialty cuisines like Indian, pizza, home cooking, Chinese, etc. Similarly, if you are opting for a Diner, you will most likely offer fried foods (fish & chicken), breakfast items, burgers, etc. at a low cost.

It is a good idea to give a list of food and drinks that you want to sell. Depending on the scale of your operations, you may have too many menu items. It is not possible to list every item on your menu, but make sure that you are listing the most important ones. If you specialize in one or a few specific dishes, mention that, too.

d) Pricing Strategy

In this sub-section, you must explain the pricing strategy of your restaurant. If you have multiple competitors (in the same niche) in the vicinity, you cannot have huge pricing variation, especially for the similar food items. Pricing will, of course, depend on the type of restaurant you are opening, and the food items you are offering.

For example, if you are sourcing the raw materials only from organic farms that do not use fertilizers and pesticides, your menu items will have a higher price tag.

Similarly, you cannot expect to charge expensive Fine Dining-like prices if you are opening a Casual Dining restaurant instead.

Create a pricing table and ensure to provide an average price range for your products. You don’t need to provide exact pricing for each product. Use price ranges instead.

Offering a pricing table is important because your pricing strategy will allow investors to tie your pricing strategy with your financial projections .

e) Legal Structure

Finally, your business overview section should specify what type of business structure you want. Is this a corporation or a partnership (LLC)? Who are the investors? How much equity percentage do they own? Is there a Board of Directors? If so, whom? Do they have experience in the industry?

3. Restaurant Market Overview

A complete understanding of the market where you want to operate is important for the success of your business.

For example, if your intentions are to open a classy Fine Dining restaurant in a low-income area, you will not attract enough customers. Similarly, if you want to open a fast-food restaurant in a place where family dining is more popular, it will be a disaster.

Therefore, you must cover here 3 important areas:

• Market size & growth : how big is the restaurant industry in your area? What is its growth rate (or decline rate) and what are the factors contributing to its growth or decline?
• Competition overview : how many competitors are there? How do they compare vs. your business? How can you differentiate yourself from them?
• Customer analysis : who is your target audience? What type of restaurants do they prefer? How regularly do they visit restaurants for dining? What type of food do they prefer? How much do they spend at restaurants on average?

a) Restaurant Industry Status Quo

How big is the restaurant industry in the us.

According to Finance Online , there were over 1 million restaurants (all types combined) in the US in 2021. The industry recovered post a 60% drop in sales in April 2020 due to the pandemic, and recorded an annualised market size of over $1 trillion dollars in July 2022 ($1,033 billion)..!

How big is the restaurant industry in your area?

Once you provide the overall picture of the US, divert your attention to the area where you want to operate. It might not be possible to find region or area-specific studies, and hence, you must estimate the market size .

For example, if there are 1,000,000 restaurants in the country with total annual revenue of $1 trillion, the average annual revenue for each establishment is around $1 million.

Therefore, if the area where you want to open your restaurant has 30 restaurants, you can safely assume that the restaurant industry in your area is worth approximately $30 million.

How fast is the restaurant industry growing in the area?

You must show the expected growth rate of the restaurant industry in your area. This information may not be available via online research papers. However, assessing the growth rate will not be difficult as you can use metrics such as the number of competitors in your area.

For instance, if there were 25 restaurants in 2018 and 30 restaurants in 2022, the average annual growth rate would be 5%.

What are the current restaurant market trends in your area?

It is vital to understand the trends of the restaurant industry in your area. Understanding trends will allow you to devise marketing strategies.

Understanding trends won’t be easy. You must conduct research and talk with your target audience. Additionally, you must also study your competitors to understand their target audience, the products they sell, etc.

Some common questions you may ask the target audience include:

• What type of restaurants do they prefer?
• At what time of the day do they prefer to visit a restaurant (breakfast, lunch, dinner)?
• How frequently do they visit restaurants?
• What type of foods do they usually order?

You can ask as many questions as you need to understand the evolving trends.

b) Competition Overview

Studying your competitors’ business models is vital. You need to understand what makes them successful or why they fail. A clear understanding of their food offerings, marketing strategies, etc., will allow you to provide a better service.

If your competitors are offering nearly the same products & services, then what is their market share and how do they market their products & services to attract new customers?

It is always a good idea to do some research (if necessary, physically visit your competitors without revealing your business intentions) and create a comparative table summarizing their product & service offerings, marketing strategies, target audience, etc.

Here is a sample table that you can use:

The table you will create will depend on what information you need and want to include based on your proposed business model.

Restaurant SWOT Analysis

Try to provide a SWOT analysis . It must be crisp and highly focused. SWOT stands for Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats.

Here is a sample that you can use as a reference:

• Strength: 8 years of senior manager experience in a reputed Michelin Star Fine Dining restaurant operated & owned by a renowned chef and a master’s degree in Hospitality management, experienced senior chef with 22 years of experience
• Weakness: Startup cost, zero reputation
• Opportunities: An affluent neighborhood with a rising demand for fine dining establishments, only one fine dining restaurant in the 3-mile radius
• Threats: Increasing cost of raw materials because of geo-political turmoil restricting international trade routes

A clear understanding of your strengths and weakness along with opportunities and threats in the real market can help you to design your marketing strategy. It also helps potential investors to assess the risk and reward profile of your business.

c) Customer Analysis

This is the sub-section where you will provide a detailed analysis of your target audience.

Some important points that you must include in your customer analysis include:

• Age and gender distribution (you can get local demographic data from census.gov )
• Per capita expenditure on dining
• Frequency of restaurant visits
• Average monthly income and disposable income
• Average bill size per visit
• Average yearly or monthly spending on food at restaurants
• Type of restaurants preferred
• The expected price range for food
• Inclination towards loyalty programs & free perks
• Things they dislike about existing restaurants and what they expect to be improved

You can add as many data points as required to validate your business decision. The idea here is to display your deep understanding of the target audience and their needs, preferences, and expectations. This knowledge can help you to tailor your products & services to attract new customers and increase sales .

4. Sales & Marketing Strategy

This is the segment where you outline your customer acquisition strategy. Try to answer the following questions:

• What is your USP ?
• What are the different marketing strategies you will use?
• How do you intend to track the success of your marketing strategy?
• What is your CAC or customer acquisition cost ?
• What is your marketing budget?
• What introductory promos and offers do you intend to provide for attracting new customers?

Let’s expand a bit on a few questions below:

What marketing channels do restaurants use?

A few marketing channels that restaurants typically use are:

• Word-of-mouth, recommendations,
• Local listing & reviews (e.g. Google reviews)
• Online booking platforms (e.g. TheFork , Opentable , etc.)
• Influencer marketing
• Print media, etc.

It is not necessary to use all channels. You can start by focusing on a few of them and include other marketing strategies later instead.

What is your unique selling proposition?

In other words, how do you differentiate yourself vs. competitors? This is very important as you might need to win customers from competitors.

A few examples of USPs can be:

• Organic raw materials : we source organic farm fresh raw materials from local farmers
• Authentic Indian food : prepared by a Michelin Star chef from India
• Family run restaurant : run by a family, helping families connect over delicious food
• Price : affordable food & menu for the quality vs. competitors
• Location : the restaurant is located in a busy street, thereby attracting many customers who can easily glance over the menu
• Uniqueness : you may be the only tapas-style restaurant around, in an area where people are fond of this type of restaurant

5. Management & People

You must address 2 things here:

• The management team and their experience / track record
• The organizational structure : different team members and who reports to whom?

a) Management

Small businesses often fail because of managerial weaknesses. Thus, having a strong management team is vital. Highlight the experience and education of senior managers that you intend to hire to oversee your restaurant business.

Describe their duties, responsibilities, and roles. Also, highlight their previous experience and explain how they succeeded in their previous roles.

It is also important that you explain how their experiences and qualifications help you in implementing the restaurant you are proposing. If they have specialized training, achievement, and experience (such as a degree in hospitality management, 3 Michelin stars, experience in developing menus for 5-star hotels, etc.), add that information.

b) Organization Structure

Even if you haven’t already hired a restaurant manager, server, chef, head cook, busser, cashier, bartenders, and other relevant staff members, you must provide here a chart of the organizational structure defining the hierarchy of reporting.

6. Financial Plan

The financial plan is perhaps, with the executive summary, the most important section of any business plan for a restaurant.

Indeed, a solid financial plan tells lenders that your business is viable and can repay the loan you need from them. If you’re looking to raise equity from private investors, a solid financial plan will prove them your restaurant is an attractive investment.

There should be 2 sections to your financial plan section:

• The startup costs of your project (if you plan to start a new restaurant, renovate your restaurant, etc.)
• The 5-year financial projections

a) Startup Costs

Before we expand on 5-year financial projections in the following section, it’s always best practice to start with listing the startup costs of your restaurant . For a restaurant, startup costs are all the expenses you incur before you open your restaurant and start making sales . These expenses typically are:

• The leasing deposit for the space (if you rent) or to buy the real estate (if you buy)
• Renovations and improvements
• Equipment & appliances
• Furniture & tableware

Of course, the startup costs depend on a number of factors, like the size of your restaurant, its location, the facilities, the menu, etc.

On average, it costs $484,000 to $685,000 to open a casual restaurant with 150 seats (2,500 sq. ft.) in the US.

Note that these costs are for illustrative purposes and may not be fully relevant for your business. For more information on how much it costs to open and run a restaurant, read our article here .

b) Financial Projections

In addition to startup costs, you will now need to build a solid 5-year financial model for your restaurant.

Your financial projections should be built using a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel or Google Sheets) and presented in the form of tables and charts in the business plan of your restaurant.

As usual, keep it concise here and save details (for example detailed financial statements, financial metrics, key assumptions used for the projections) for the appendix instead.

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

• How much revenue do you expect to generate over the next 5 years?
• When do you expect to break even ?
• How much cash will you burn until you get there?
• What’s the impact of a change in pricing (say 15%) on your margins?
• What is your average customer acquisition cost?

You should include here your 3 financial statements (income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement). This means you must forecast:

• The number of covers (customers or orders) over time ;
• Your expected revenue ;
• Operating costs to run the business ;
• Any other cash flow items (e.g. capex, debt repayment, etc.).

When projecting your revenue, make sure to sensitize pricing, cost of raw materials (food supplies) and your sales volume. Indeed, a small change in these assumptions may have a significant impact on your revenues and profits.

7. Use of Funds

This is the last section of the business plan of your restaurant. Now that we have explained what your restaurant’s business model and concept are, what is your menu, your marketing strategy, etc., this section must now answer the following questions:

• How much funding do you need ?
• What financial instrument(s) do you need: is this equity or debt, or even a free-money public grant?
• How long will this funding last?
• Where else does the money come from? If you apply for a SBA loan for example, where does the other part of the investment come from (your own capital, private investors?)

If you raise debt:

• What percentage of the total funding the loan represents?
• What is the corresponding Debt Service Coverage Ratio ?

If you raise equity

• What percentage ownership are you selling as part of this funding round?
• What is the corresponding valuation of your business?

Use of Funds

Any restaurant business plan should include a clear use of funds section. This is where you explain how the money will be spent.

Will you spend most of the loan / investment in paying your employees’ salaries? Or will it cover mostly the cost for the lease deposit and the renovation?

Those are very important questions you should be able to answer in the blink of an eye. Don’t worry, this should come straight from your financial projections. If you’ve built solid projections like in our restaurant financial model template , you won’t have any issues answering these questions.

For the use of funds, we also recommend using a pie chart like the one we have in our financial model template where we outline the main expenses categories as shown below.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

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When starting a business—no matter what type of business that may be—a business plan is essential to map out your intentions and direction. That’s the same for a restaurant business plan, which will help you figure out where you fit in the landscape, how you’re going to differ from other establishments around you, how you’ll market your business, and even what you’re going to serve. A business plan for your restaurant can also help you later if you choose to apply for a business loan .

While opening a restaurant isn’t as risky as you’ve likely heard, you still want to ensure that you’re putting thought and research into your business venture to set it up for success. And that’s where a restaurant business plan comes in.

We’ll go through how to create a business plan for a restaurant and a few reasons why it’s so important. After you review the categories and the restaurant business plan examples, you can use the categories to make a restaurant business plan template and start your journey.

Why you shouldn’t skip a restaurant business plan

First-time restaurateurs and industry veterans alike all need to create a business plan when opening a new restaurant . That’s because, even if you deeply understand your business and its nuances (say, seasonal menu planning or how to order correct quantities), a restaurant is more than its operations. There’s marketing, financing, the competitive landscape, and more—and each of these things is unique to each door you open.

That’s why it’s so crucial to understand how to create a business plan for a restaurant. All of these things and more will be addressed in the document—which should run about 20 or 30 pages—so you’ll not only have a go-to-market strategy, but you’ll also likely figure out some things about your business that you haven’t even thought of yet.

Additionally, if you’re planning to apply for business funding down the line, some loans—including the highly desirable SBA loan —actually require you to submit your business plan to gain approval. In other words: Don’t skip this step!

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

How to write a restaurant business plan: Step by step

There’s no absolute format for a restaurant business plan that you can’t stray from—some of these sections might be more important than others, for example, or you might find that there’s a logical order that makes more sense than the one in the restaurant business plan example below. However, this business plan outline will serve as a good foundation, and you can use it as a restaurant business plan template for when you write your own.

Executive summary

Your executive summary is one to two pages that kick off your business plan and explain your vision. Even though this might seem like an introduction that no one will read, that isn’t the case. In fact, some investors only ask for the executive summary. So, you’ll want to spend a lot of time perfecting it.

Your restaurant business plan executive summary should include information on:

Mission statement: Your goals and objectives

General company information: Include your founding date, team roles (i.e. executive chef, sous chefs, sommeliers), and locations

Category and offerings: What category your restaurant fits into, what you’re planning to serve (i.e. farm-to-table or Korean), and why

Context for success: Any past success you’ve had, or any current financial data that’ll support that you are on the path to success

Financial requests: If you’re searching for investment or financing, include your plans and goals here and any financing you’ve raised or borrowed thus far

Future plans: Your vision for where you’re going in the next year, three years, and five years

When you’re done with your executive summary, you should feel like you’ve provided a bird’s eye view of your entire business plan. In fact, even though this section is first, you will likely write it last so you can take the highlights from each of the subsequent sections.

And once you’re done, read it on its own: Does it give a comprehensive, high-level overview of your restaurant, its current state, and your vision for the future? Remember, this may be the only part of your business plan potential investors or partners will read, so it should be able to stand on its own and be interesting enough to make them want to read the rest of your plan.

Company overview

This is where you’ll dive into the specifics of your company, detailing the kind of restaurant you’re looking to create, who’s helping you do it, and how you’re prepared to accomplish it.

Your restaurant business plan company overview should include:

Purpose: The type of restaurant you’re opening (fine dining, fast-casual, pop-up, etc.), type of food you’re serving, goals you have, and the niche you hope to fill in the market

Area: Information on the area in which you’re opening

Customers: Whom you’re hoping to target, their demographic information

Legal structure: Your business entity (i.e. LLC, LLP, etc.) and how many owners you have

Similar to your executive summary, you won’t be going into major detail here as the sections below will get into the nitty-gritty. You’ll want to look at this as an extended tear sheet that gives someone a good grip on your restaurant or concept, where it fits into the market, and why you’re starting it.

Team and management

Barely anything is as important for a restaurant as the team that runs it. You’ll want to create a section dedicated to the members of your staff—even the ones that aren’t yet hired. This will provide a sense of who is taking care of what, and how you need to structure and build out the team to get your restaurant operating at full steam.

Your restaurant business plan team and management section should have:

Management overview: Who is running the restaurant, what their experience and qualifications are, and what duties they’ll be responsible for

Staff: Other employees you’ve brought on and their bios, as well as other spots you anticipate needing to hire for

Ownership percentage: Which individuals own what percentage of the restaurant, or if you are an employee-owned establishment

Be sure to update this section with more information as your business changes and you continue to share this business plan—especially because who is on your team will change both your business and the way people look at it.

Sample menu

You’ll also want to include a sample menu in your restaurant business plan so readers have a sense of what they can expect from your operations, as well as what your diners can expect from you when they sit down. This will also force you to consider exactly what you want to serve your diners and how your menu will stand out from similar restaurants in the area. Although a sample menu is in some ways self-explanatory, consider the following:

Service : If your brunch is as important as your dinner, provide both menus; you also might want to consider including both a-la-carte and prix fixe menus if you plan to offer them.

Beverage/wine service: If you’ll have an emphasis on specialty beverages or wine, a separate drinks list could be important.

Seasonality: If you’re a highly seasonal restaurant, you might want to consider providing menus for multiple seasons to demonstrate how your dishes (and subsequent purchasing) will change.

Market analysis

This is where you’ll begin to dive deeper. Although you’ve likely mentioned your market and the whitespace you hope to address, the market analysis section will enable you to prove your hypotheses.

Your restaurant business plan market analysis should include:

Industry information: Include a description of the restaurant industry, its size, growth trends, and other trends regarding things such as tastes, trends, demographics, structures, etc.

Target market: Zoom in on the area and neighborhood in which you’re opening your restaurant as well as the type of cuisine you’re serving.

Target market characteristics: Describe your customers and their needs, how/if their needs are currently being served, other important pieces about your specific location and customers.

Target market size and growth: Include a data-driven section on the size of your market, trends in its growth, how your target market fits into the industry as a whole, projected growth of your market, etc.

Market share potential: Share how much potential there is in the market, how much your presence will change the market, and how much your specific restaurant or restaurant locations can own of the open market; also touch on any barriers to growth or entry you might see.

Market pricing: Explain how you’ll be pricing your menu and where you’ll fall relative to your competitors or other restaurants in the market.

Competitive research: Include research on your closest competitors, how they are both succeeding and failing, how customers view them, etc.

If this section seems like it might be long, it should—it’s going to outline one of the most important parts of your strategy, and should feel comprehensive. Lack of demand is the number one reason why new businesses fail, so the goal of this section should be to prove that there is demand for your restaurant and show how you’ll capitalize on it.

Additionally, if market research isn’t your forte, don’t be shy to reach out to market research experts to help you compile the data, or at least read deeply on how to conduct effective research.

Marketing and sales

Your marketing and sales section should feel like a logical extension of your market analysis section, since all of the decisions you’ll make in this section should follow the data of the prior section.

The marketing and sales sections of your restaurant business plan should include:

Positioning: How you’ll describe your restaurant to potential customers, the brand identity and visuals you’ll use to do it, and how you’ll stand out in the market based on the brand you’re building

Promotion: The tools, tactics, and platforms you’ll use to market your business

Sales: How you’ll convert on certain items, and who/how you will facilitate any additional revenue streams (i.e. catering)

It’s likely that you’ll only have concepts for some of these elements, especially if you’re not yet open. Still, get to paper all of the ideas you have, and you can (and should) always update them later as your restaurant business becomes more fully formed.

Business operations

The business operations section should get to the heart of how you plan to run your business. It will highlight both internal factors as well as external forces that will dictate how you run the ship.

The business operations section should include:

Management team: Your management structure and hierarchy, and who is responsible for what

Hours: Your hours and days of operation

Location: What’s special about your location that will get people through the door

Relationships: Any advantageous relationships you have with fellow restaurateurs, places for sourcing and buying, business organizations, or consultants on your team

Add here anything you think could be helpful for illustrating how you’re going to do business and what will affect it.

Here, you’ll detail the current state of your business finances and project where you hope to be in a year, three years, and five years. You’ll want to detail what you’ve spent, what you will spend, where you’ll get the money, costs you might incur, and returns you’ll hope to see—including when you can expect to break even and turn a profit.

Financial statements: If you’ve been in business for any amount of time, include existing financial statements (i.e. profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, etc.)

Budget: Your current budget or a general startup budget

Projections: Include revenue, cash flow, projected profit and loss, and other costs

Debt: Include liabilities if the business has any outstanding debt or loans

Funding request: If you’re requesting a loan or an investment, lay out how much capital you’re looking for, your company’s valuation (if applicable), and the purpose of the funding

Above all, as you’re putting your financials together, be realistic—even conservative. You want to give any potential investors a realistic picture of your business.

Feel like there are other important components but they don't quite fit in any of the other categories (or make them run too long)? That’s what the restaurant business plan appendix section is for. And although in, say, a book, an appendix can feel like an afterthought, don’t ignore it—this is another opportunity for you to include crucial information that can give anyone reading your plan some context. You may include additional data, graphs, marketing collateral (like logo mockups), and more.

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The bottom line

Whether you’re writing a restaurant business plan for investors, lenders, or simply for yourself and your team, the most important thing to do is make sure your document is comprehensive. A good business plan for a restaurant will take time—and maybe a little sweat—to complete fully and correctly.

One other crucial thing to remember: a business plan is not a document set in stone. You should often look to it to make sure you’re keeping your vision and mission on track, but you should also feel prepared to update its components as you learn more about your business and individual restaurant.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

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How to write a restaurant business plan

A small restaurant business plan is the roadmap you use to open a successful spot. As a first step to creating yours, ask your friends and colleagues to share restaurant business plan examples. Their restaurant business plan samples can inspire yours.

Once you’ve studied those examples, it’s time to start writing your own. No matter how much thought you’ve put into your concept or how many trusted colleagues have assured you of its greatness, you must write a restaurant business plan. It will prove the viability of your concept to potential investors and provide them with a clear and engaging answer to the question: “Why does the world need this restaurant?”

“The point of a business plan is to show that you’ve done your homework,” says Charles Bililies, owner of Souvla , a fine casual Greek restaurant in San Francisco that has received national acclaim since opening in the spring of 2014.

“You have to show any potential investor that you have an actual plan, you know what you’re talking about, it looks professional, and you’re not just screwing around.”

Quick links Branded cover Table of contents Concept Sample menu Service Management team Design Target market Location Market overview Marketing and publicity Specialists and consultants Business structure Financials

1. Branded cover

Include your logo (even if it’s not finalized), the date, and your name.

2. Table of contents

A table of contents in a restaurant business plan provides an organized overview of the document’s structure and content. It typically appears at the beginning of the plan and lists the major sections and subsections with their corresponding page numbers.

The table of contents is important for several reasons. Firstly, it allows readers to quickly navigate through the plan, enabling easy access to specific sections of interest. Secondly, it helps in presenting a professional and well-structured document, showing that you have carefully organized your thoughts and ideas. It also improves readability and comprehension, as readers can easily locate and refer back to relevant information

3. Restaurant concept

Describe your restaurant concept and get the reader excited about your idea. Specify whether the restaurant will be fine dining or more casual. Include an executive summary and go into detail about the food you’ll be serving, inspiration behind your concept, and an overview of service style.

Define clearly what will be unique about your restaurant and include your mission statement. This section should include a market analysis that shows how your restaurant will be similar and different from competing restaurants.

4. Sample menu

The menu is the most important touchpoint of any restaurant’s brand, so this should be more than just a simple list of items. Incorporate your logo and mock up a formatted menu design (tap a designer for help if needed).

Your sample menu should also include prices that are based on a detailed cost analysis. This will:

• Give investors a clear understanding of your targeted price point
• Provide the info needed to estimate check averages
• Show the numbers used create financial projections for starting costs
• Show investors that you’ve done the homework
• Prove you can stay within a budget

This section is most relevant for:

• Fine-dining concepts
• Concepts that have a unique service style
• Owners who have particularly strong feelings about what role service will play in their restaurant.

It can be a powerful way of conveying your approach to hospitality to investors by explaining the details of the guest’s service experience.

Will your restaurant have counter service and restaurant hostess software designed to get guests on their way as quickly as possible, or will it look more like a theater, with captains putting plates in front of guests simultaneously?

If an extensive wine program is an integral part of what you’re doing, will you have a sommelier? If you don’t feel that service is a noteworthy component of your operation, address it briefly in the concept section.

6. Management team

Write a brief overview of yourself and the team you have established so far. You want to show that your experience has provided you with the necessary skills to run a successful restaurant and act as a restaurant business owner.

Ideally, once you have described the strong suit of every member of your team, you’ll be presenting a full pitch deck. Most independent restaurant investors are in this for more than just money, so giving some indication of what you value and who you are outside of work may also be helpful.

Incorporate some visuals. Create a mood board that shows images related to the design and feeling of your restaurant.

Whether you’re planning to cook in a wood-burning oven or are designing an eclectic front-of-house, be sure to include those ideas. Photos of materials and snippets of other restaurants that you love that are similar to the brand you’re building are also helpful.

8. Target market

Who is going to eat at your restaurant? What do they do for a living, how old are they, and what’s their average income? Once you’ve described them in detail, reiterate why your specific concept will appeal to them.

9. Location

There should be a natural and very clear connection between the information you present in the “Target Market” section and this one. You probably won’t have a specific site identified at this point in the process, but you should talk about viable neighborhoods.

Don’t assume that potential investors will be familiar with the areas you’re discussing and who works or lives there—make the connections clear. You want readers to be confident that your restaurant’s “ideal” diner intersects with the neighborhood(s) you’re proposing as often as possible.

If you don’t have a site , this is a good place to discuss what you’re looking for in terms of square footage, foot traffic, parking, freeway accessibility, outdoor seating , and other important details.

10. Market overview

Address the micro and macro market conditions in your area and how they relate to licenses and permits. At a macro level, what are the local and regional economic conditions?

If restaurants are doing poorly, explain why yours won’t; if restaurants are doing well, explain how you’ll be able to compete in an already booming restaurant climate. At a micro level, discuss who your direct competitors are. Talk about what types of restaurants share your target market and how you’ll differentiate yourself.

11. Marketing and publicity

The restaurant landscape is only getting more competitive. Discuss your pre- and post-opening marketing plans to show investors how you plan to gain traction leading up to opening day, as well as how you’ll keep the momentum going.

If you’re going to retain a PR/marketing company, introduce them and explain why you’ve chosen them over other companies (including some of their best-known clients helps). If not, convey that you have a solid plan in place to generate attention on your own through social media, your website , and media connections.

12. Specialists and consultants

List any outside contractors you plan to retain, such as:

• General contractor
• PR and marketing

Briefly explain the services they’ll be providing for you, why you chose them, and any notable accomplishments.

13. Business structure

This section should be short and sweet. What type of business structure have you set up and why did you make that specific decision? You will need to work with an attorney to help you determine what business structure is best for you.

“Step one: write a business plan. Step two: hire a good attorney. In addition to helping me build a smart, sustainable business structure, my attorney was also a great resource for reviewing my business plan because she’s read thousands of them. She was a very helpful, experienced outside perspective for more than just legal matters,” says Charles Bililies.

14. Financial projections

Let your accountant guide you through this portion of your business plan. It is crucial that whoever you hire to help you with your finances has a wealth of restaurant experience (not just one or two places). They should be familiar with the financial specifics of starting a restaurant and know what questions to ask you.

Before creating realistic financial projections, your accountant will want to know:

• How many seats the restaurant will have
• What your average check will be
• How many covers per day you plan to do

Being conservative in these estimations is key. These three data points will be used as the basis for figuring out whether your concept is financially feasible.

Lou Guerrero, Principal at Kross, Baumgarten, Kniss & Guerrero, emphasizes, “You’ll get a lot of accountants that tell you that they’ve done a couple of restaurants, but you have to choose someone that has a deep expertise in what you’re doing. There’s nothing to gain from going with someone that doesn’t have a very restaurant-centric practice.”

A well-vetted accountant with restaurant experience will know exactly what you’ll need to have prepared to show investors.

The key projections you can expect to work on are:

• Pro forma profit and loss statement for the first three to five years of operation
• Break even analysis
• Capital requirements budget

Writing a comprehensive restaurant business plan is a crucial step towards opening a successful establishment. By seeking inspiration from examples, demonstrating your expertise, and addressing all the essential components, you can prove the viability of your concept to potential investors.

Remember, a well-prepared business plan demonstrates professionalism and a clear understanding of your goals, increasing your chances of achieving long-term success in the competitive restaurant industry.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide

• Business , Restaurants
• April 1, 2023

If you’re planning to start a restaurant, writing a business plan is a crucial step. A well-written business plan serves as a roadmap for your restaurant, outlining your goals, strategies, and financial projections. It’s also a document that potential investors or lenders will want to see before they consider investing in your restaurant.

Writing a restaurant business plan can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. The key is to break it down into manageable sections and take it one step at a time. In this article, we’ll walk you through the essential elements of a restaurant business plan and provide tips on how to write each section effectively.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a critical part of your restaurant business plan, as it provides an overview of your entire plan. It should be concise and clear, highlighting the most important aspects of your business plan.

In this section, you should include:

• A brief introduction to your restaurant concept and target market
• Your mission statement and core values
• A summary of your management team and their experience
• A description of your menu and pricing strategy
• A financial summary, including startup costs, projected revenue, and profit margins

Keep in mind that the executive summary is often the first part of your business plan that potential investors or lenders will read. Therefore, it’s important to make a strong first impression and clearly communicate the key points of your plan.

Overall, the executive summary should be no more than one or two pages long, and should be written in a clear and concise manner. It should be easy to read and understand, and should leave the reader with a clear understanding of your restaurant concept and the potential for success.

Market Analysis

Before starting a restaurant business, it is essential to conduct a thorough market analysis to understand the market trends, competition, and target customers. The market analysis section of the business plan should provide a detailed overview of the restaurant industry’s current state and future growth potential.

One way to conduct market research is by analyzing industry reports, such as those published by the National Restaurant Association. These reports provide valuable insights into consumer trends, industry growth rates, and market size. Additionally, researching local competition and their offerings can help identify gaps in the market and opportunities for differentiation.

Another critical aspect of market analysis is identifying the target market. Understanding the demographics, preferences, and behaviors of potential customers is crucial in developing a successful restaurant concept. This information can be gathered through surveys, focus groups, and analyzing customer data from similar businesses.

Finally, it is essential to analyze the economic and regulatory environment in which the restaurant will operate. Factors such as minimum wage laws, health and safety regulations, and taxes can significantly impact a restaurant’s profitability.

Overall, a comprehensive market analysis is crucial in developing a successful restaurant business plan. By understanding the market trends, competition, and target customers, entrepreneurs can create a unique concept that meets the needs of their customers and stands out in a crowded industry.

Menu and Services

One of the most important aspects of a restaurant business plan is the menu and services section. This section outlines the types of food and beverages that will be offered, as well as the overall dining experience that customers can expect.

When developing your menu, it’s important to consider the target market and what types of cuisine they prefer. It’s also important to consider the cost of ingredients and the profit margins for each dish. Offering a variety of options, including vegetarian and gluten-free choices, can help attract a wider customer base.

In addition to the menu, the services section should outline the overall dining experience. This includes details such as the style of service (e.g. casual, fine dining), the ambiance of the restaurant, and any additional services offered (e.g. catering, delivery). It’s important to consider the competition in the area and what unique services or experiences your restaurant can offer to stand out.

Tables and bullet points can be useful in conveying information about the menu and services. For example, a table could be used to list the different menu items and their prices, while bullet points could be used to highlight any special promotions or events.

Overall, the menu and services section of a restaurant business plan is crucial in outlining the types of food and experiences that customers can expect. By carefully considering the target market, competition, and costs, you can develop a menu and service offering that will attract and retain customers.

Marketing and Sales Strategies

Marketing and sales are crucial components of any restaurant business plan. Without effective marketing and sales strategies, your restaurant may struggle to attract customers and generate revenue. In this section, we’ll discuss some key strategies for promoting and selling your restaurant’s products and services.

Target Market

Before you can develop effective marketing and sales strategies, you need to identify your target market. Who are your ideal customers? What are their demographics, interests, and behaviors? By understanding your target market, you can tailor your marketing and sales efforts to appeal to their specific needs and preferences.

Online Presence

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is essential for any business. Make sure your restaurant has a professional website that showcases your menu, location, and hours of operation. You should also create social media accounts on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These channels can help you connect with potential customers and promote your restaurant’s offerings.

Promotions and Special Offers

Offering promotions and special deals can be an effective way to attract new customers and encourage repeat business. Consider offering discounts on certain menu items or hosting special events like wine tastings or live music nights. You can also use email marketing campaigns to promote your restaurant’s latest offerings and deals.

Customer Service

Finally, don’t overlook the importance of excellent customer service. Providing a positive dining experience can help you build a loyal customer base and generate positive word-of-mouth referrals. Train your staff to be friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about your menu and offerings.

Management and Staffing

One of the key factors for any successful restaurant is having a strong management team in place. This includes a general manager, kitchen manager, and front-of-house manager. Each of these positions has unique responsibilities that are critical to the restaurant’s success.

The general manager oversees all aspects of the restaurant, including finances, marketing, and staffing. They are responsible for creating and implementing policies and procedures that ensure the restaurant runs smoothly and efficiently.

The kitchen manager is responsible for managing the kitchen staff, ordering supplies, and ensuring that all food is prepared to the highest standards. They must have a deep understanding of food safety and sanitation regulations, as well as excellent organizational and communication skills.

The front-of-house manager is responsible for managing the waitstaff, bartenders, and host/hostess staff. They must have excellent customer service skills and be able to handle any customer complaints or issues that arise. They are also responsible for creating schedules and ensuring that the restaurant is properly staffed at all times.

When it comes to staffing, it’s important to hire people who are passionate about the restaurant industry and committed to providing excellent customer service. This includes waitstaff, bartenders, and kitchen staff. It’s also important to provide ongoing training and development opportunities to ensure that staff members are equipped with the skills they need to succeed.

Having a strong management team and dedicated staff is critical to the success of any restaurant. By investing in your team and creating a positive work environment, you can ensure that your restaurant is well-positioned for long-term success.

Financial Analysis and Projections

As you develop your restaurant business plan, it is essential to include a section on financial analysis and projections. This section should provide a detailed overview of your restaurant’s financial health and future growth potential. Here are some key elements to include:

Revenue Projections

One of the most critical aspects of your financial analysis is revenue projections. This section should include a detailed breakdown of your restaurant’s expected revenue streams, including food and beverage sales, catering, and any additional revenue streams. Use tables and charts to make this information more accessible to readers.

Cost Analysis

Another essential component of your financial analysis is a detailed cost analysis. This section should include a breakdown of all your restaurant’s expenses, including rent, utilities, food costs, and labor costs. Use bullet points to make this information easier to read and understand.

Cash Flow Analysis

Your financial analysis should also include a detailed cash flow analysis. This section should provide an overview of your restaurant’s cash flow, including cash inflows and outflows. Use tables and charts to make this information more accessible to readers.

Profit and Loss Statement

Finally, your financial analysis should include a detailed profit and loss statement. This section should provide an overview of your restaurant’s revenue, expenses, and net income. Use tables and charts to make this information more accessible to readers.

By including a detailed financial analysis and projections section in your restaurant business plan, you can provide potential investors and lenders with a clear picture of your restaurant’s financial health and future growth potential. Use tables, bullet points, and other HTML tags as necessary to make this information more accessible to readers.

Here are a few additional resources that can help you with your restaurant business plan:

• Sample business plans:  Look for sample business plans online to get an idea of what a successful restaurant business plan looks like. You can find templates and examples on websites such as Bplans, LivePlan, and SCORE.
• Industry research:  Conduct thorough research on the restaurant industry to understand your target market, competition, trends, and challenges. Use resources such as the National Restaurant Association, industry publications, and market research reports.
• Financial projections:  Use financial modeling tools such as Excel or software such as LivePlan to create realistic financial projections for your restaurant. Make sure to include all costs, revenue streams, and contingencies.
• Legal requirements:  Consult with a lawyer to ensure that you have all the necessary permits, licenses, and contracts in place. This includes registering your business, obtaining food and alcohol licenses, and complying with health and safety regulations.

Remember that your restaurant business plan should be a living document that you update and refine regularly. It should guide your decision-making, help you secure funding, and keep you focused on your goals. With a well-written and well-researched business plan, you can increase your chances of success in the competitive restaurant industry.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: Free Template & Tips

By Dana Krook

If you want to open a restaurant, the first thing you need to do is create a restaurant business plan. This essential document serves as a blueprint for your vision and details all the different steps you’ll need to take in order to turn your business dreams into reality. 

However, if you’ve never written a business plan before, the process can seem a little intimidating. So to help you get started, we’ve put together a complete guide to writing a business plan for your restaurant. In this guide, we’ll cover:

• What is a business plan?
• How and when to write a restaurant business plan
• The 7 sections of every business plan
• A free restaurant business plan template

What is a Restaurant Business Plan?

A restaurant business plan is a written document that outlines your business goals and how you will go about achieving those objectives. Put simply, a business plan acts as a written roadmap for a new restaurant from a financial, operational, and marketing perspective. Additionally, a restaurant business plan is also an important document for attracting outside financial investments – especially if you do not have an existing track record.

Though the length of a business plan varies from business to business, this type of document usually spans 15 to 20 pages. All business plans also tend to have the same basic elements, including an executive summary, a detailed description of the business, its services, and its products, a market analysis, an operations plan, and a financial analysis.

Why You Need a Business Plan

As mentioned above, a restaurant’s business plan is a very important document, because it serves as a step-by-step guide for bringing your new business to life. By putting all the necessary information in your business plan, you’ll be able to clearly navigate each stage of the journey – from construction to daily operations.

Your business plan is also essential for raising money from investors. Opening a restaurant is expensive and often you’ll need capital from outside investors. Your business plan can help to convince investors to provide you with funding by showing them that you have a well-throughout plan for success and a sound financial strategy.

Download this customizable restaurant business plan template to create a professional business plan for your new venture.

How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: The 7 Sections Your Business Plan Template Should Include

While no two business plans are alike, they all include a few common elements. Below, we’ll explain the process of writing a restaurant’s business plan, including the seven key sections to include and what to write in each. You can also follow along and start filling out your own business plan – digitally or on paper – by downloading our restaurant business plan template .

1. Executive Summary

Look at any restaurant business plan example and you’ll see that it starts with an executive summary. The executive summary for a restaurant business plan introduces your new business and serves as a summary for your vision. The goal of this section is to provide an overview of what will be discussed in your business plan and to entice readers (likely investors) to want to know more.

In your executive summary, be sure to touch on your restaurant mission statement , your proposed concept, and how you’ll execute your business plan. You should also list any business partners and, if you’re targeting investors, detail the funding requirements.

And while this section is important, remember to keep it concise. Aim for 600 words max to encourage your reader to dive further into your business plan.

2. Business Description 

A business description section should follow your executive summary. The purpose of this section is to provide your reader with a high-level overview of your restaurant idea and to answer key questions that investors may have, such as the business concept, service model, and ownership structure.

Describe your restaurant concept in detail by providing information on the following:

• Business structure: Is your restaurant a sole proprietorship, partnership, or something else?
• Concept: Define your concept and what makes it unique compared to other restaurants. Be clear on the defining theme for your restaurant and what type of cuisine you will serve. Do you have any restaurant names in mind? Include them here.
• Service Model: Explain what level of service you will offer – whether that’s limited service, full service, or something in between.
• Menu: Include a small sample menu in your business plan and explain the inspiration behind the menu. 
• Design and Layout: Provide an overview of your restaurant interior design and layout. Touch on key elements such as plateware, lighting, uniforms, and more.
• Management and Ownership: Provide more information about yourself and the management team you’ve assembled for your new restaurant, highlighting any relevant experience that will aid in your success. 

Keep in mind that this section can easily come across as a bit dry and mundane – especially for investors who have read dozens of business plans. Think about how you can make your business idea stand out with passionate language and unique details.

3. Target Market and Market Analysis

Whether you’re buying or leasing , this section is where you describe the specific location of your new restaurant and the current market conditions. In addition to general information about your target market, you also want to explain your unique positioning in the market, your ideal customer profile, and how you’ll make your restaurant stand out.

In this section, you’ll clearly define:

• Location: Explain the location (or prospective location) of your new restaurant and why you chose that specific area.
• Target Audience: Include both demographics and psychographics.
• Market Need: Describe the market need your restaurant will satisfy. Maybe you’re a coffee shop appealing to millennials who crave immersive coffee experiences.
• Positioning and Strategy: Descibe how you’ll meet your market need. Using the coffee shop example, you may choose to provide guided tours of your roastery or host workshops on making coffee.
• Competition and Opportunities: This includes both direct and indirect competition. Research the market by visiting your competition, seeing how they do things, and pinpointing what you can do better. You can then lay all this information out for investors by sketching out a SWOT analysis .
• Competitive Advantage: List your competitive advantage. Start by looking at your competition and see where you fit in.
• Market Trends: Find statistics to prove there’s demand for your concept. For example, a simple Google search for coffee demand in the U.S. yields ample results.

4. Marketing Plan

Your marketing plan section details the restaurant marketing ideas , strategies, and tactics you’ll employ to get the word out about your restaurant. This section should go into detail about how you plan to market your restaurant, and after you open.

For instance, you might want to hire a PR team to drum up excitement ahead of your grand opening. And then after you open, you might want to leverage local food influencers to grow your social media presence.

5. Operations Plan

Your operations section is where you get into the nitty gritty of how your restaurant will operate once you’re up and running.

In this section, include details about:

• Your Team: Who will be working at your restaurant? If you haven’t filled any positions yet, simply list the roles that need filling.
• Supplier Relationships: List your suppliers across various categories like food, alcohol, cleaning services, and more.
• Technology: What’s the best restaurant POS system for your venue? Will you be using third-party food delivery apps or a direct online ordering system ?
• Insurance: Ensure you follow mandatory restaurant insurance requirements and research any other special coverage you may need.
• Licensing: Licenses you’ll probably require include a business license, liquor license , music license, sign permit, and food handler’s permit.

6. Financial Analysis and Growth Plan

Your financial analysis is one of the last sections of your business plan, but it’s also one of the most important sections. In fact, many investors may skip straight to this section to determine how viable your idea is and whether your business is an attractive investment (or not). 

Make sure you complete a financial forecast that includes the following: 

• Pre-opening or startup costs (you may need to get some restaurant startup quotes )
• Financing, loans, and other funding
• An investment plan and budget (using a restaurant budget template may be helpful)
• A sales forecast
• A projected profit and loss (P&L) statement
• A break-even analysis 
• Expenses and expected cash flow

7. Appendix

Adding an appendix section is optional, but highly recommended. This section is a great place to include charts, plans, graphics, pictures, a detailed budget, or any other material investors may find useful.

In your appendix, you may want to include:

• A sample menu
• Blueprints or pictures of your restaurant floor plan
• Additional financial charts and figures
• Design mockups

Ready to get started? Grab the template!

9 Tips for Writing a Great Plan

Now that you understand what key elements to include in your restaurant’s business plan, let’s look at 9 tips for writing yours.

1. Use a Business Plan Template

Before writers start writing, they usually have a basic outline that acts as a template – a starting point – for their idea. By following the same approach when writing your business plan, the entire process will be much smoother. And lucky for you, we have a free restaurant business plan template available to help you get started.

2. Create a Detailed Outline

Using our template, create an even more detailed outline. Make your way through all the sections of your business plan and jot down key points under each section.

3. Embrace the “Good Enough” Mindset

As you move through the sections of your plan, you may get stuck and have nothing to say. If this happens, make a note to come back to it later and move on. You can always include more detail after you’ve done more research.  

4. Research to Find Statistics and Inspiration

You will need to research to find statistics to back up your arguments, with specific sections requiring more research than others (i.e. the “Market Analysis” section). You may even want to find a sample restaurant business plan that will spark your creativity and give you ideas on how to better present yours.

5. View Your Plan as a Work in Progress

Writing a business plan takes time as you get a grip on the details and fine-tune your message. The key is to embrace this process and view your business plan as an ever-evolving document you can add to over time. 

Ready to kickstart your restaurant business plans?

6. know who your audience is.

Who are you writing for? Investors? Just you and your staff? Your audience will dictate the contents of your plan, the level of detail, and what language you’ll use. 

If you’re writing for investors, your plan will need to be more detailed than if you’re writing for internal stakeholders. And because investors may have limited knowledge of restaurant terminology, avoid industry jargon and instead use plain English. It’s helpful to look at another restaurant business plan example to see how these types of documents are written.

7. Use Visuals, Charts, and Tables

Use images, graphics, tables, and charts to explain complex ideas, add color to your document – both literally and figuratively – and present specific information. 

8. Summarize Each Part of Your Business Plan

After you’ve completed a section of the plan, write a short summary that highlights the critical details and key takeaways of that section.

9. Write Your Executive Summary Last

An executive summary for a restaurant business plan summarizes your entire document so you should try to write it last – after you’ve covered all the details.

The Importance of Business Plans in the Restaurant Industry

Writing a restaurant business plan is essential – even if you already own a restaurant. A business plan acts as a blueprint you can follow, reduces stress, and boosts investor confidence. And when you start with a restaurant business plan template , the process moves that much faster.

Dana is the former Content Marketing Manager at TouchBistro, sharing tips for and stories of restaurateurs turning their passion into success. She loves homemade hot sauce, deep fried pickles and finding excuses to consume real maple syrup.

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Restaurant Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Restaurant Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your restaurant business plan.

We have helped over 100,000 entrepreneurs and business owners with how to write a restaurant business plan to help them start or grow their restaurants.

Below is a restaurant business plan template to help you create each section of your business plan.

Restaurant Business Plan Example

Executive summary, business overview.

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is a new restaurant and steakhouse located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The menu of Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will include bistro-type dishes that are authentically created and crafted by acclaimed Chef Peter Logan. It will be located in the trendy part of town, known as the Plaza District. The restaurant will be surrounded by classy art galleries, live theater, high-end restaurants and bars, and expensive shopping.

Owned by emerging restaurant operators Chef Peter Logan and Anastasia Gillette, Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse’s mission is to become Oklahoma City’s best, new restaurant for patrons to celebrate their next big event, have a nice date night, or gather with friends or family for a fun evening while dining over finely crafted entrees, desserts, and cocktails.

Products Served

The following are the menu items to be offered by Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse:

• Soups & Salads
• Gourmet sides
• Wine, Beer & Spirits

Customer Focus

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will target adult men and women between the ages of 21 – 65 with disposable income in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Within this demographic are millennials, young professionals, newlyweds, young families, more established families, and retirees. Because of the pricing structure of the menu, the patrons will likely be upper middle class to the wealthy population of Oklahoma City.

Management Team

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is owned and operated by fellow Oklahoma City natives and culinary enthusiasts, Chef Peter Logan and Anastasia Gillette. Both come with a unique skill set and complement each other perfectly. They formerly worked together at another OKC fine dining establishment and made a great team for serving guests delectable food and wine while ensuring the highest level of customer service.

Chef Peter will manage the kitchen operations of Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse, while Anastasia will oversee front of the house operations, maintain and ensure customer service, and manage all reservations.

Financial Highlights

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is seeking $300,000 in debt financing to open its start-up restaurant. The funding will be dedicated for the build-out and design of the restaurant, kitchen, bar and lounge, as well as cooking supplies and equipment, working capital, three months worth of payroll expenses and opening inventory. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Restaurant Build-Out and Design – $100,000
• Kitchen supplies and equipment – $100,000
• Opening inventory – $25,000
• Working capital (to include 3 months of overhead expenses) – $25,000
• Marketing (advertising agency) – $25,000
• Accounting firm (3 months worth and establishment/permitting of business) – $25,000

Company Overview

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is a new restaurant and steakhouse located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will serve a wide variety of dishes and beverages and will cater to the upper middle class to wealthier population of Oklahoma City. The menu of Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will include bistro-type dishes that are authentically created and crafted by acclaimed Chef Peter Logan. It will be located in the trendy part of town, known as the Plaza District. The Plaza District is one of Oklahoma’s trendy neighborhoods and is considered the “it” area for newlyweds, millennials, professionals, and young singles. The restaurant will be surrounded by classy art galleries, live theater, high-end restaurants and bars, and expensive shopping.

Owned by emerging restaurant operators Chef Peter Logan and Anastasia Gillette, the restaurant’s mission statement is to become the best new steak restaurant in OKC. The following are the types of menu items Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will serve- shareables, steaks, soups, gourmet sides and salads.

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse History

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is owned by two Oklahoma City natives, Chef Peter Logan and Anastasia Gillette. They have both worked around the country in fine dining establishments and have a combined twenty years in the restaurant industry. Upon working alongside each other at another fine dining establishment in Oklahoma City, the two of them became good friends and decided to venture into owning their own restaurant.

Chef Peter is the kitchen guru and critically acclaimed chef, while Anastasia manages the front of the house and is a certified Sommelier. Together, with both of their expertise and knowledge, Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is destined to become Oklahoma City’s next big restaurant.

Industry Analysis

The Restaurant industry is expected to grow to over $220 billion in the next five years.

Consumer spending is projected to grow. The Consumer Confidence Index, a leading indicator of spending patterns, is expected to also grow strongly, which will boost restaurant industry growth over the next five years. The growth in consumer confidence also suggests that more consumers may opt to segment their disposable income to eating outside the home.

Additionally, an increase in the number of households earning more than $100,000 annually further contributes to the industry growth, supporting industry operators that offer more niche, higher-end products.  This group is expected to continue to grow in size over the next five years.

The urban population represents a large market for the industry. Specifically, time-strapped individuals living in urban areas will likely frequent industry establishments to save time on cooking. The urban population is expected to increase, representing a potential opportunity for the industry.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market, customer segmentation.

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will primarily target the following customer profile:

• Upper middle class to wealthier population
• Millennials
• Young professionals
• Households with an average income of at least $75k
• Foodies and culture enthusiasts

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will be competing with other restaurants in Oklahoma City. A profile of each competitor is below. The Press Located in the trendy area known as the Plaza District, The Press has reimagined our favorite foods of the surrounding regions through the lens of home.

The menu consists of appetizers, soups, burgers and sandwiches, bowls, main dishes, sides, desserts, and a large selection of alcoholic beverages. The Press serves craft beer, domestic beer, wine spritzers, house cocktails, wine, and mimosas. They also offer brunch. The menu of The Press is affordable with the most expensive dish being $16. The wine menu is also not pretentious as the wine is sold either by the glass or bottle, with the most expensive bottle being $52 for the Gruet Sparkling Brut Rose. Oak & Ore Oak & Ore is a craft beer and restaurant in OKC’s Plaza District. They have a 36-tap beer selection and offer vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free dining options. Oak & Ore offers a rotating, 36-tap selection of their favorite brews from Oklahoma and around the world. Each beer is thoughtfully paired with a craft beer-inspired dining experience.

The food menu of Oak & Ore offers starters, salads, wings, fried chicken, sandwiches, tacos, banh mi, and sides. They also have a selection of kids dishes so the whole family can enjoy comfort food while sampling one of their delectable beers.

The Mule OKC The Mule is a casual, hip restaurant offering a large beer and cocktail menu plus sandwiches and more. Located in the constantly growing and buzzing hub that is the Plaza District, The Mule takes the timeless favorite and contorts it into a whole menu of wild offerings.

There is also a fantastic assortment of soups offered and The Mule shakes up a seasonal list of cocktails designed by their bar staff. During the winter months, patrons can stave off the cold with their versions of hot toddies and buttered rum. For the beer drinkers, they always have a reliable line-up of fresh cold brews on draft, as well as a wide selection of can.

Competitive Advantage

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse offers several advantages over its competition. Those advantages are:

• Gourmet dishes elegantly prepared to the finest standard.
• Selection of steaks sourced from local Oklahoma farms.
• An exclusive and unique wine menu that includes a wine selection of all price points.
• Highly sought after location: Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will be located in the trendy and attractive neighborhood known as The Plaza District.
• Trendy, welcoming, and energetic ambiance that will be perfect for a night out or a celebration.

Marketing Plan

Promotions strategy.

The marketing strategy for Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is as follows: Location Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse’s location is a promotions strategy in itself. The Plaza District is a destination spot for locals, tourists, and anyone looking for the trendiest food fare in Oklahoma City. The Plaza District is home to OKC’s most popular bars and restaurants, art galleries, theaters, and boutique shopping. The millennials, young professionals, and foodies will frequent Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse for the location itself.

Social Media Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will use social media to cater to the millennials and Oklahoma City residents. Chef Peter and Anastasia plan to hire an advertising agency to take professional photographs of the menu items and location to create appealing posts to reach a greater audience. The posts will include pictures of the menu items, as well as upcoming featured options. SEO Website Marketing Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse plans to invest funds into maintaining a strong SEO presence on search engines like Google and Bing. When a person types in “local fine dining restaurant” or “Oklahoma City restaurant”, Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will appear in the top three choices. The website will include the full menu, location, hours, and lots of pictures of the food, drinks, and steaks. Third Party Delivery Sites Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will maintain a presence on sites like GrubHub, Uber Eats, Doordash, and Postmates so that people looking for local food to be delivered will see Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse listed near the top.

Operations Plan

Operation functions:.

The company will hire the following:

• 4 sous chefs
• 2 bartenders
• 2 hostesses
• The company will hire an advertising agency and an accounting firm

Milestones:

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse aims to open in the next 6 months. The following are the milestones needed in order to obtain this goal.

7/1/202X – Execute lease for prime location in the Plaza District.

7/2/202X – Begin construction of restaurant build-out.

7/10/202X – Finalize menu.

7/17/202X – Hire advertising company to begin developing marketing efforts.

8/15/202X – Start of marketing campaign

8/22/202X – Final walk-thru of completed restaurant build-out.

8/25/202X – Hire team of sous chefs, servers, and bussers.

9/1/202X – Decoration and set up of restaurant.

9/15/202X – Grand Opening of Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will be owned and operated by Chef Peter Logan and Anastasia Gillette. Each will have a 50% ownership stake in the restaurant.

Chef Peter Logan, Co-Owner

Chef Peter Logan is an Oklahoma City native and has been in the restaurant industry for over ten years. He was trained in a prestigious Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy in San Francisco and has worked in some of the nation’s most prestigious fine dining restaurants. His tenure has took him from the west coast to the east coast, and now he’s back doing what he loves in his hometown of Oklahoma City.

Chef Peter will manage the kitchen operations of Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse. He will train and oversee the sous chefs, manage inventory, place food inventory orders, deal with the local food vendors, and ensure the highest customer satisfaction with the food.

Anastasia Gillette, Co-Owner

Anastasia Gillette was born and raised in Oklahoma City and has garnered over ten years in the restaurant industry as well. While in college, Anastasia worked as a hostess at one of the area’s most prestigious restaurant establishments. While there, she was eventually promoted to Front of the House Manager where she oversaw the hostesses, servers, bussers, bartenders, and reservations. Her passion always led to the beverage portion of the restaurant so she obtained her Sommelier certificate in 2019. With her wine education, Anastasia is able to cultivate an interesting and elegant wine selection for the restaurant.

Anastasia will oversee front of the house operations, maintain and ensure customer service, and manage all reservations. She will also be in charge of the bar and wine ordering, training of front of the house staff, and will manage the restaurant’s social media accounts once they are set up.

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will come from the food and drink menu items being offered daily.

The cost drivers will be the ingredients and products needed to make the menu items as well as the cooking materials. A significant cost driver is the fine dining equipment, serving dishes, and beer and wine glasses. Other cost drivers will be the overhead expenses of payroll for the employees, accounting firm, and cost of the advertising agency.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse is seeking $300,000 in debt financing to open its start-up restaurant. The breakout of the funding is below:

Financial Projections

Income Statement

  Balance Sheet

  Cash Flow Statement

Restaurant Business Plan FAQs

What is a restaurant business plan.

A restaurant business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your restaurant business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can  easily complete your restaurant business plan using our Restaurant Business Plan Template here .

What Are the Main Types of Restaurants?

There are many types of restaurant businesses. Restaurants can range in type from fast food, fast casual, moderate casual, fine dining, and bar and restaurant types. Restaurants also come in a variety of different ethnic or themed categories, such as Mexican restaurants, Asian restaurants, American, etc.  Some restaurants also go mobile and have food trucks.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Restaurant Business Plan?

Restaurant businesses are most likely to receive funding from banks. Typically you will find a local bank and present your business plan to them. Another option for a restaurant business is to obtain a small business loan. SBA loans are a popular option as they offer longer loan terms with lower interest rates.

What are the Steps To Start a Restaurant Business?

1. Develop A Restaurant Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed restaurant business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast.  

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your restaurant business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your restaurant business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Restaurant Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your restaurant business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your restaurant business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 

7. Acquire Necessary Restaurant Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your restaurant business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your restaurant business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful restaurant business:

• How to Start a Restaurant Business

Where Can I Get a Restaurant Business Plan PDF?

You can download our free restaurant business plan template PDF here . This is a sample restaurant business plan template you can use in PDF format.

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Blog / February 3, 2022

How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan [with a Template & Instructions]

A restaurant business plan can help you put the “business” in your restaurant. After all, restaurants aren’t just about offering hospitality , serving your favorite recipes or creating a cozy ambiance. They need to generate revenue to support you and your employees. With a business plan serving as your blueprint, you can stay focused on meeting your goals and running a lasting enterprise.

In this guide to creating and using your restaurant business plan, you’ll learn:

• What a restaurant business plan is
• Why it’s important to have a business plan for your restaurant 

How to write a restaurant business plan

• And get access to our restaurant business plan template

What is a restaurant business plan?

A restaurant business plan is a document that explains the who, what, where, when, why and how of your restaurant. It serves as a source of truth for your vision for the business, and can help you stay accountable to your goals and stakeholders. A typical business plan includes sections on your restaurant’s concept and team, the competition, your marketing plan, financial projections, an executive summary and more. 

Why is it important to have a restaurant business plan?

Writing a business plan is a critical step on the road to becoming a restaurant owner . This document helps keep everyone involved in starting and managing the business aligned on goals and means. A business plan gives you direction and holds you accountable as you make decisions.

It’s also a helpful tool to share with potential investors. A business plan shows that you’re serious about the business, have done your research on the competition and target market and understand the risks and key financial and regulatory aspects of running a business.

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of exactly what you should include in the business plan for your restaurant.

Executive summary

The executive summary serves as both an introduction to the business plan and a summary of everything else found in the document. Write it as a high-level overview of your plan, and write it last so you can pull from other sections.

Business introduction

Start with the basics of your business, including the restaurant’s name, its mission and values, your concept and a sample menu .

If you need help conjuring a business mission and values, consider your restaurant’s purpose. Why does it exist? What does your business stand for?

When describing the concept, you can be straightforward (e.g., a fast-casual Vietnamese restaurant), but you can also add color by including your inspiration for the business. For example, you could share that you want your restaurant to be the Chipotle of Vietnamese food to help make the cuisine more accessible and widespread. 

Include a sample menu that you and potential investors can reference as you finalize the dishes you’ll serve.

Explain who will be in charge of running your restaurant or bar . Will it be you, or will you hire a CEO or general manager ?

Describe which roles you will need to hire for and when you plan on doing that. Include an organizational chart for future reference. And, since the restaurant industry is notorious for high employee turnover , it’s important to explain what you plan to do to retain hospitality staff .

List any kinds of external consultants you plan to engage, like an accountant or marketing agency.

The financial analysis section of your restaurant business plan is one of its most important. Writing one is a useful exercise that helps you plan and understand where the funds to start your business are coming from, and how you will spend that money and your revenue.

Include insights about your funding sources . Where will the money to support your startup costs – and keep it running until it’s profitable – come from? Personal savings, friends and family, investors? How much money will you need to start the business?

Additionally, work out your operational budget . List how much you plan to spend on payroll, technology, furniture and decor, equipment, inventory and marketing. 

Next, include details about your business model and revenue streams . Most restaurants will start with on-premises dining, then may add additional revenue streams via online ordering , catering and selling merchandise.

Finally, include financial projections . How long do you anticipate it will take to become profitable? How much revenue do you think you’ll make in your first year of business?

In this section, explain where you will go for legal counsel and which licenses and permits you will obtain.

Create a plan for keeping up with labor regulations, such as fair labor practices , overtime and wage requirements. 

Designate a member of your team, like the general manager, to keep licenses up to date and ensure you’re complying with local regulations and are ready for health inspections.

Marketing analysis & plan

This part of your restaurant business plan should include the following sections:

• Marketing analysis : Explain the market in which your restaurant will operate and where you may want to expand the business. Share any special considerations associated with this location.
• Target market : What kinds of customers do you want your restaurant to appeal to? What are their demographics? What are their likes and dislikes? How often do they dine out?
• Competitive analysis : Do research on similar restaurants in your area. How will your business compare? What gives you a competitive advantage?
• SWOT analysis : List any strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your business. Doing this exercise will help you prepare for obstacles and can influence your marketing plan.
• Price analysis : Explain your pricing plan. Beyond considering your cost of goods sold and profit margin, think about what the competition is charging and how pricing impacts perceived value .
• Restaurant marketing plan : Include your strategy for branding, marketing and advertising . Will you have a digital presence? How will customers find you?

Technology plan

Tech is a critical part of running an efficient, modern restaurant. Decide which restaurant technology you’ll need to run your business. As you research tech vendors, make sure the solutions you choose can grow with your restaurant.

Consider the following types of tools:

• Customer relationship management (CRM) platform
• Point-of-sale (POS) system
• Reservations software
• Online ordering tools
• Social media platforms
• Website hosting
• Employee scheduling software
• Payroll and accounting platform
• Inventory management tool
• Event management and ticketing platform
• Marketing automation software

Create a timeline to mark milestones for the days leading up to your restaurant’s opening, and what you hope to accomplish in the years after opening day. Take inspiration for milestones from these examples:

• Before opening : Find a location, source investors, find vendors, sign lease, build restaurant, hire and train employees
• Opening day : Grand opening celebration and media coverage
• 1, 2, 3, 6 months after opening day : Implement new revenue streams and technologies, streamline operations, launch marketing campaigns 
• 1 year in business : Create a loyalty program, one-year celebration
• 5 years in business : Expand, open a ghost kitchen

Restaurant business plan template

Take a screenshot, copy and paste or print this restaurant business plan sample to kickstart the writing process.

(Summarize the rest of your restaurant business plan)

Proposed restaurant name: 

Mission and values:

Concept:  

Leadership team:

Hiring plan:

External consultants:

How will you fund the business?

How much money do you need to start the business?

What will your operational expenses be?

When will the business start making a profit?

Which licenses and permits will you need to obtain?

Market analysis & marketing plan

Where will the restaurant be located?

Competitive analysis:

SWOT analysis:

• Weaknesses:
• Opportunities:

Price analysis:

Marketing plan:

Which tools and vendors will you be using?

CRM: SevenRooms

Reservations: SevenRooms

Online ordering: SevenRooms

Inventory management:

Accounting:

Leading up to opening day

Opening day:

6 months from opening:

1 year from opening:

5 years from opening:

Need more inspiration? Check out these restaurant business plan samples for more ideas.

Stay focused with a restaurant business plan

Creating a restaurant business plan can help you stay focused on your goals and prove to external stakeholders and potential investors that you’re serious about the business. While the specifics of your restaurant will change between its grand opening and several years in operation, a business plan can keep you accountable to your original goals and vision. Use our restaurant business plan template to start jotting down your ideas.

SevenRooms can help you achieve your business goals by equipping you with the technology you need to run a successful restaurant. Request a demo today.

FAQs about restaurant business plans

​​1. what is a business plan for a restaurant.

A restaurant business plan is the blueprint that outlines your vision, and explains in detail how the new business will take shape and operate once its doors are open.

2. Is it profitable to open a restaurant?

Restaurants are profitable, but have lower profit margins compared to other industries, which should be factored into your restaurant business plan.

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan (Free Template)

Coming up with the idea for your restaurant is the easy part. Now you have to figure out how to make it work. According to recent studies, the restaurant industry has a 20% success rate , meaning 80% of new restaurants fail within the first five years. However, every single restaurant that succeeds has a solid business plan. That's why it's crucial for future restaurateurs and restaurant entrepreneurs to write a comprehensive business plan that outlines their vision, goals, and strategies for success.

In this article, we'll show you why a business plan is so important for your restaurant's success and provide you with step-by-step guidance on how to write a winning business plan.

Whether you're a seasoned restaurateur or a first-time entrepreneur, our guide will help you navigate the challenges of the restaurant industry and increase your chances of success. So let's get started!

Why you need to write a restaurant business plan

Every new business should start with a business plan, and a restaurant is no exception.

Writing out a business plan will provide clarity on all aspects of your restaurant business. It will force you to ask difficult questions about your business, including those regarding your business model, value proposition, and overall viability.

Creating a business plan helps you create a roadmap for business success and allows you to spot any potential problems early.

By detailing what’s expected and what’s going to happen, a business plan also creates accountability for yourself and any partners you might have.

Additionally, without a business plan, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to secure investors for your restaurant. Even if you do secure funding (or fund the business yourself), not having a detailed plan will only set you up for failure.

7 elements of a restaurant business plan

Here are the seven elements you should include when writing your restaurant business plan:

1. Executive summary

Your business plan should start with an executive summary .

You can think of this section as a bird’s eye view of your business plan. Its goal is to provide a shorter version of your business plan that entices the reader to read the plan in its entirety.

It’s one of the most important sections in your business plan. For some investors, it’s going to be the only part of your business plan they read.

The executive summary should include information about the restaurant concept, your target market and mission statement, potential costs, high-level growth plans, and the expected return on investment.

Keep in mind that, while this is the first section of your business plan, you should write it at the end, after you’ve fleshed out all the other sections of your business plan.

2. Restaurant concept

In this section, you’re going to describe the overall concept of your restaurant, including what kind of food you’ll be serving and how your restaurant is going to look and feel.

Describe the decor, ambiance, and even the type of music you plan on playing at the restaurant in detail. Explain the reasoning behind designing your restaurant in this way and why you think it will appeal to your target customers.

When writing this section, make sure to provide an overview of the service style (e.g., fast food, fast-casual, or fine dining), explain how the restaurant will be run, and try to paint a picture of how your restaurant will make guests feel.

You should explain what’s the inspiration behind the concept, what’s unique about it, and why you think it’s going to result in a successful restaurant.

This section is also a good place to add a sample menu with menu items (both food and drinks) you plan on offering, as well as their respective prices.

3. Market analysis

Every good business plan includes a market and industry analysis .

In this section, you should detail the economic and market conditions, both locally and regionally. This will require extensive market research.

If restaurants in the area are doing poorly in general, you’ll need to provide an explanation for why yours will do well.

On the other hand, if the restaurant industry is booming in your area, you’ll have to explain why you think a new restaurant will be able to compete.

You also need to include a detailed competitive analysis. What other restaurants will you be competing with? What kind of competitive advantage do you anticipate having?

Ideally, you should find a way to prove that there is demand for the type of restaurant you’re looking to open.

This is the place where you can include a SWOT analysis , going over your business’ strengths and weaknesses, as well as describing any potential opportunities and threats.

4. Target customers

Your restaurant’s business plan should also describe what type of customers you’re looking to attract to your restaurant. 

Make sure to describe your target demographic, including your customers':

• Income levels
• Dining and spending habits

Finally, explain why your restaurant will be appealing to your target customers.

5. Location

Your restaurant business plan should also include the future location of your restaurant . If you don’t have a specific site identified, you’ll want to mention what you’re looking for in terms of:

• Square footage
• Foot traffic

You should also mention the neighborhoods you’re considering for your restaurant location and explain why these would be suitable for your restaurant.

6. Marketing

Your restaurant can’t rely on foot traffic alone. You should also make an active effort to promote it. That’s why you need to include a section on your marketing plan .

In this section, explain your overall restaurant marketing strategy and list the marketing channels (e.g., social media, PPC advertising, etc.) you plan on using. You don’t need to include a step-by-step plan, but you’ll want to provide a general idea of how you plan to approach marketing.

If you’re going to hire a marketing agency, you can introduce it in this section.

7. Financials

For most investors, this will be the section of your plan they will be interested in the most.

It’s so important that it might be wise to hire an accountant to help you write it.

If you decide to do so, you’ll want to provide them with details like the number of seats your restaurant will have, the projected number of guests per day, and the average check size you anticipate, so that they can create accurate financial projections.

If possible, try to find an accountant with experience doing bookkeeping and accounting for restaurants.

You’ll want to include the following information in this section:

• Investment plan  – Your investors will want to see how you’re going to spend their investment. Here, you’ll want to list expenses such as rent, furniture, kitchen equipment, payroll, and marketing.
• A break-even analysis  – This analysis will show how much revenue you need to generate every month to break even after accounting for all expenses.
• Projected profit and loss statement for the first 1-3 years  – The purpose of a projected P&L statement is to show investors how much money you expect to make (or lose) in your first year (or three).

When including estimates, it’s always best to be conservative because you’ll be relying on these numbers to determine whether your restaurant idea is financially viable.

A sample of a restaurant business plan

Executive Summary

The Happy Plate is a family-friendly, fast-casual restaurant specializing in wholesome, affordable meals in a cozy, modern atmosphere. Our mission is to provide delicious, nutritious food in a welcoming environment for families and individuals of all ages. Located in the vibrant downtown area, we anticipate a high foot traffic location and aim to become a popular dining spot for locals and tourists alike. Our growth plans include expanding to multiple locations within the next five years. The estimated cost of opening The Happy Plate is $300,000, and we expect a return on investment within the first two years of operation.

Restaurant Concept

The Happy Plate offers a unique dining experience, combining fresh, nutritious meals with a fast-casual service model. Our menu focuses on locally-sourced, organic ingredients, and our dishes cater to various dietary preferences, including vegetarian and gluten-free options. The restaurant's design features a contemporary, inviting atmosphere with warm colors, comfortable seating, and soft lighting. Soothing instrumental music will play in the background to create a relaxing environment for our guests.

Inspired by the growing trend of health-conscious dining, The Happy Plate sets itself apart by offering delicious, wholesome meals at affordable prices. We believe our commitment to quality and exceptional service will attract a diverse clientele and ensure our restaurant's success.

Market Analysis

Our extensive market research indicates a growing demand for healthy dining options in our target location. The downtown area has experienced an influx of young professionals and families, leading to increased interest in accessible, nutritious meals. While there are several restaurants in the area, few focus on healthy, fast-casual dining, giving The Happy Plate a competitive advantage.

Our SWOT analysis indicates that our strengths lie in our unique menu, commitment to quality ingredients, and fast-casual service model. Potential weaknesses include initial startup costs and the competitive nature of the restaurant industry. Opportunities include the increasing demand for healthy dining options, potential for partnerships with local farmers and businesses, and expansion possibilities. Threats may include economic downturns, changing consumer preferences, and new competitors entering the market.

Target Customers

The Happy Plate aims to attract a diverse clientele, including young professionals, families, and health-conscious individuals. Our target demographic includes:

• Middle to upper-middle income levels
• Working professionals
• Health-conscious and environmentally aware individuals
• Customers who prioritize convenience and affordability

Our menu and dining experience will appeal to our target customers by offering a wide range of options, exceptional service, and a welcoming atmosphere.

We are currently considering several prime downtown locations for The Happy Plate, prioritizing areas with high foot traffic, ample parking, and at least 2,000 square feet of available space. Our ideal location will be easily accessible to locals and tourists alike and situated near popular shopping and entertainment destinations.

To promote The Happy Plate, we will implement a comprehensive marketing strategy utilizing various channels, including social media, local print advertisements, and targeted online advertising. We will also participate in community events and partner with local businesses to increase brand awareness and establish a strong presence in the local market. A professional marketing agency with experience in the restaurant industry will be contracted to assist with our marketing efforts.

To ensure accurate financial projections, we will work with an experienced accountant specializing in restaurant bookkeeping and accounting. Our financial plan includes:

• Investment plan: Restaurant startup costs of $300,000 will cover rent, furniture, kitchen equipment, payroll, and marketing expenses.
• Break-even analysis: We anticipate generating sufficient restaurant revenue to cover all expenses within the first two years of operation.
• Projected profit and loss statement: Our conservative estimates project a net profit of $50,000 in the first year, increasing to $100,000 and $150,000 in the second and third years, respectively. These projections are based on an estimated 150 guests per day with an average check size of $20.

By providing a unique dining experience focused on quality, affordability, and exceptional service, we believe The Happy Plate will become a leading choice for dining in our target market. We look forward to the opportunity to share our passion for healthy, delicious food with our community and to contribute to the vibrant local dining scene.

A restaurant business plan is crucial for the success of your restaurant

Future restaurant owners need to write a business plan to determine whether their restaurant idea is viable and get potential investors interested.

When creating your restaurant business plan, make sure to include the seven sections we outlined above.

How long should a restaurant business plan be?

The length of a restaurant business plan can vary depending on various factors, including the complexity of your concept, the level of detail you want to include, and the specific requirements of your audience (e.g., investors, lenders, partners). However, a typical restaurant business plan usually ranges from 15-20 pages.

What is the final part of a restaurant business plan?

The final section of a restaurant business plan typically covers financial projections and funding requirements, as well as any supporting documents or appendices.

When should I write a restaurant business plan?

You should write a restaurant business plan before you start your restaurant, as it serves as a roadmap for your venture. It helps you clarify your concept, set goals, secure financing, and make informed decisions. A well-thought-out business plan is crucial during the planning and startup phases of your restaurant.

Further read:

• Free Restaurant Profit Margin Calculator
• Restaurant Sales and Labor Forecast Calculator
• How To Do a Restaurant SWOT Analysis (with Examples)

Boris Mustapic is a content marketer with a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry. He specializes in helping B2B SaaS companies drive growth through strategic, product-led content marketing.

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2. Company Overview

Company overview is a part where you fully introduce your restaurant business including legal business structure, location, and your restaurant’s proposed concept.

Here you have the liberty to be a little more creative in describing your restaurant in the whole business plan.

Here are some points to incorporate in the company overview:

• Detailed vision and mission statement
• Type of restaurant (fine dining, small restaurant, bistro, cafe, etc.)
• Legal business structure
• Service style
• History and background of the restaurant (if existing)
• Owners’ names and qualifications
• Cusinies & menu highlights
• Restaurant size and seating capacity
• Operating hours & meal plans
• Related service availability (delivery, catering, etc)

Mainly emphasize the chosen location because easily accessible locations with high foot traffic will attract more walk-in customers. And if you haven’t decided on a specific location yet, then mention the type of place you are looking for to give an idea about it to your readers.

Besides, mention the short-term and long-term goals of your restaurant business in the later part of the company description. Along with that mention regional industry trends and your USPs.

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3. Market analysis

The market analysis section provides you with a clearer picture of your target market, competitors, and industry trends.

Based on the above details, one can make informed decisions while creating strategies. Therefore, make this section precise and concise to understand.

Here are some steps to follow to write an engaging market analysis section of the restaurant business plan:

• Define your customer base: Identify and describe whom you are going to serve. Make a consumer base after considering the demographics, location, and concept of your restaurant.
• Competitive analysis: List out the names of other restaurants in your location and do the SWOT analysis. You can get the competitive advantage of your restaurant this way.
• Market trends: Discuss any shift in consumer behavior like healthy choices, an increase in vegan food consumption, or technological breakthroughs that might affect your restaurant.

Consider conducting market research, TAM-SAM-SOM analysis , and SWOT analysis to get insights for this section.

Remember, this section helps your readers and potential investors understand your target market, restaurant market overview, market size, and growth potential, so make sure you play your cards right.

4. Sample Menu

The most vital step in launching your restaurant business is the menu. A well-curated menu design will sell itself for your restaurant. Even if you are a new restaurant, then present the sample menu with the name and logo of your restaurant on it.

The menu will showcase all the unique offerings your direct competitors might not provide. Not just the list of cuisines but the pricing is also crucial. This way potential investors and readers can understand your restaurant’s target price point.

Plus your menu should be in sync with target customers; for example, a restaurant near the university should contain more beverages and delicious food options for brunch as students prefer those things more.

Consider your menu as a part of branding, choose the same theme for the menu as for the restaurant.

5. Restaurant Design

Restaurant design is the part where you can show your restaurant concept to potential investors and readers practically. Moreover, create a mood board to explain things smoothly.

Utilize this section to show the uniqueness of your restaurant, and how it is different from competitors.

Explain how your design represents your restaurant’s branding and visual identity. Furthermore, mention how your target market will enjoy and appreciate the ambiance you plan to provide.

Note that restaurant design is one of the key elements to running a successful restaurant, so match the theme and cuisines accordingly.

In this section, you also have to provide a detailed description of how many seats are going to be there along with the floor plan of your restaurant.

6. Management Team

As the name suggests, the management team section of your restaurant’s business plan introduces restaurant owners, key executives, and the management team. It also incorporates the experience, qualification, and restaurant industry knowledge of every individual who is on the team.

A strong management team section can be essential to weigh authority and help potential investors be confident about your restaurant’s idea and vision.

You might consider including the following information in the management team section:

• Business owner or founder’s information
• Executive chef and culinary team
• Front-of-house manager
• Operations and back-of-house team
• Advisors/consultants
• The organizational structure of the team

Showcase how each member fits and what roles & responsibilities they will play.  You should include a resume-styled summary for each person in the restaurant’s management section.

7. Operations Plan

The operations plan section outlines the daily business processes and activities centered on achieving the restaurant dream and objectives described in the rest of the plan.

A detailed operations plan helps you and your team define your responsibilities, daily tasks, and short-term goals you need to achieve, keeping track of your long-term objective.

Here are a few key elements to include in your operations plan section:

• Staffing and training
• Operating hours
• Operational process
• Tools and equipment
• Inventory control
• Technology and software
• Quality control measures
• Customer service policies

Remember it should incorporate all important daily tasks. Also, an operations plan is a living document, you can change it often according to the change in the dynamics of the work.

Read More: The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant Operations Planning

8. Marketing Plan

Even with great food, prices, and ambiance, you won’t attract enough diners without marketing.

Thus, a well-crafted restaurant marketing plan is necessary to spread awareness and build a strong brand presence.

The marketing plan can help you streamline your marketing efforts and create impactful and effective marketing campaigns while keeping track of the projected budget and maximizing return on investment.

Hence, this is the section in which you give an idea to your potential investors about how you will acquire new customers and retain existing ones. This section should include:

• Target market and their dining habits
• Branding and positioning
• Marketing strategies (website, social media accounts, etc.)
• Marketing Calendar
• USPs of your restaurant (unique ambiance, amiable staff, new cuisines in the local area)
• Your marketing goals
• Customer retention strategies (loyalty program, giving coupons or discounts on bulk orders or events)

Even if you are going to hire a PR agency for marketing, then mention it and the reason why you chose them.

After taking care of marketing, let us move further to finances.

Read More: Step-by-Step Guide to Restaurant Marketing Plan

9. Financial Plan

The financial plan is the most crucial and demanding section of any business plan. It is one of the deciding factors for potential investors, banks, or any financial institute to invest in your restaurant business.

This section of your plan details your restaurant’s financial information and how it will reach its financial goals or how much revenue potential it has.

Here are key components and statements that you should include in your financial plan section:

• Pro forma profit and loss statement
• Break-even analysis
• Balance sheet
• Sales forecast
• Detailed cost analysis
• Cash flow projections
• Business ratios
• Funding request
• Tax considerations
• Exit strategy

Before you create financial projections, know how many seats the restaurant will have and what services you plan to provide. This will help you in making realistic financial projections if you are going to start a new business.

Also, if you are asking for funding, then mention where you will utilize your funds.

We hope that this sample restaurant business plan will provide you with an idea for writing a successful plan.

Restaurant Industry Highlights 2024

• Growth forecast : National Restaurant Association predicted US restaurant sales to reach $898 billion in 2022 which would further grow by 4% yearly to reach $1.2 trillion by 2030.
• Technology is everywhere : Automation is helping staff maximize their efficiency by handling orders, deliveries, and communication effectively.
• Sustainability & ethical sourcing : Eco-friendly practices such as minimizing food waste, avoiding single-use plastics, and ethical plus local sourcing are encouraged by customers.
• Delivery is the new deal : People prefer deliveries over dining out as they are time-saving. So, there is an incline in the number of delivery apps and delivery services providing restaurants.
• Kiosks are the preference : The number of people who prefer ordering and paying through kiosks is increasing due to the convenience.

How to Refine & Present a Restaurant Business Plan

Once you have written your entire business plan, it is time to read and re-read it and make it error-free. You have to be confident about every aspect of the plan before you present it in front of your audience.

Moreover, alter your plan to suit different audiences to enhance your communication. For instance, keep your plan professional and include all the growth potential, profitability, and ROI data when you present your restaurant business plan for seeking funding.

Also, when you present your restaurant business plan to potential partners or vendors, emphasize collaboration benefits and how it can help in their individual growth.

Apart from the above points, make sure your plan has various engaging visuals, interactive elements, and enhanced storytelling to present all the data interestingly. Thus, make a digital presentation of your plan to incorporate all the above things clutter-free.

Once you are confident, it is time to email your plan to the people already on your mind. And give a pat to yourself for finally taking that step.

Download a sample business plan for a restaurant

Ready to kick-start your business plan writing process? And not sure where to start? Here you go, download our free restaurant business plan pdf , and start writing.

This intuitive, modern, and investment-ready template is designed specifically for restaurants. It includes step-by-step instructions & examples to help in creating your own restaurant business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

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Related Restaurant Resources

• Restaurant Marketing Plan
• Restaurant Financial Plan
• Restaurant Operations Plan
• Restaurant Industry Trends

Discover how Upmetrics can help you write a business plan

With Upmetrics, you will receive step-by-step guidance, customizable templates, 400+ sample business plans , and AI assistance to streamline your business planning process.

In fact, if you are not adept with finances, the financial forecasting tool Upmetrics provides will help you create realistic financial forecasts for 3 or more years.

Whether you’re starting a new venture or looking to grow one, Upmetrics offers the resources and insights you need to develop a successful & professional business plan that aligns with your goals.

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Frequently asked questions, why do you need a restaurant business plan.

A solid business plan is an essential tool for anyone looking to start or run a successful restaurant business. It helps to get clarity in your business, raise money, and identify potential challenges while starting and growing your business.

How to get funding for your restaurant business?

There are several ways to get funding for your restaurant business, but self-funding is one of the most efficient and speedy funding options. Other options for funding are:

• Bank loan – You may apply for a loan in government or private banks.
• Small Business Administration (SBA) loan – SBA loans and schemes are available at affordable interest rates, so check the eligibility criteria before applying for it.
• Crowdfunding – The process of supporting a project or business by getting a lot of people to invest in your business, usually online.
• Angel investors – Getting funds from angel investors is one of the most sought startup options.

What is the easiest way to write your restaurant business plan?

A lot of research is necessary for writing a business plan, but you can write your plan most efficiently with the help of restaurant business plan samples and edit it as per your needs. You can also quickly finish your plan in just a few hours or less with the help of our business plan software .

Can a good restaurant business plan help me secure funding?

Indeed. A well-crafted restaurant business plan will help your investors better understand your business domain, market trends, strategies, business financials, and growth potential—helping them make better financial decisions.

What's the importance of a marketing strategy in a restaurant business plan?

Marketing strategy is a key component of your restaurant business plan. Whether it is about achieving goals or helping your investors understand the return on investment—an impactful marketing strategy is the way to do it!

Here are a few pointers to help you understand the importance of having a marketing strategy:

• It provides your business an edge over your competitors.
• It helps investors better understand your business and growth potential.
• It helps you develop products with the best profit potential.
• It helps you set accurate pricing for your products or services.

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan [Free Template]

Start creating your restaurant’s business plan with BentoBox’s free business plan template.

The restaurant business plan is a crucial first step in turning an idea for a restaurant into an actual business. Without it, investors and lenders will have no way of knowing if the business is feasible or when the restaurant will become profitable. Business plans span dozens (or even hundreds) of pages, and due to the stakes that lie within the document and the work required to write it, the process of writing a restaurant business plan can threaten to overwhelm. 

That’s why BentoBox has created a restaurant business plan template for aspiring restaurant owners. With section prompts for business plan essentials like financial projections, market analysis and a restaurant operations overview, this template makes creating a business plan significantly more manageable. 

Included is a professionally designed, customizable version of the template on Google Docs. Restaurants can download the template below, make a copy and tailor it to their specific concept. For design inspiration,  download here .

Restaurant Business Plan Template

Download the Free Restaurant Business Plan Template from BentoBox

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

A comprehensive business plan is the foundation of every successful restaurant. You need a business plan before you can begin to execute on anything having to do with opening your establishment. A proper business plan is a guide that will help take your idea from concept to reality.

When you begin to seek professional and financial support for your new business, your business plan will be the primary document of reference to describe your concept, market, and potential for profitability. You need a business plan for investors, lenders, consultants, partners, and other team members who will help make your dream of opening a restaurant come true.

In this article, we’ll walk you through every part of how to write a restaurant business plan, explain the function of each section, and provide an example you can use as a starting point.

Before Writing Your Business Plan: Questions to Answer

Before you start writing your business plan, you’ll want to consider a few key things. Knowing the answers to these questions will make writing your business plan and communicating your vision a hundred times easier. Keep the answers to these questions top of mind as you’re writing your business plan.

Who is your business plan for?

Are you approaching investors and lenders, or is your plan specifically for you and your staff? You’ll need to adapt your writing for different audience types, and perhaps place emphasis on certain sections over others depending on your primary audience.

Where will your restaurant be located?

If you don’t yet have a location for your restaurant , you should at least know which neighbourhood your restaurant will be located in. Your restaurant’s location will determine important elements of your business plan, like your competitive analysis, ingredient availability, venue type, etc. If you’re in the early stages of planning, you likely don’t know your exact address, but nailing it as close as you can will guide you in your writing.

What is your venue type?

You should have a clear idea of what kind of restaurant you’re opening , whether it’s an intimate cafe, craft microbrewery, or gourmet food truck. If you aren’t quite sure, you’ll need to decide before you write your business plan. You should know exactly what your venue is going to be as you work through the details of a business plan.

What are your goals?

Do you want to start a food truck and then grow to open a sister restaurant, or do you want to open a full service restaurant and grow to operate a fleet of food trucks? Are you looking to open a burger place with a constant flow of customers? Or maybe you want to be the go-to place for special occasions. Be as specific as you can in your vision, and be clear on exactly what you want to achieve.

What are your credentials?

Have you worked in the restaurant industry before? How well do you know the market? Do you need any additional skills before you start your restaurant? If you’re confident you have the skills, feel free to start. But if you’ve never spent any time in a kitchen or in the foodservice industry, you may want to get some hands-on experience so you know what you’re getting into.

5 Tips on How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

Before you start writing your business plan, here are some tips to make the process easier.

• Collect materials that are relevant, like links, articles, quotes and information that may benefit you as you are writing, and use them for inspiration or include them within the appropriate sections of your business plan.
• Taking something from concept to creation can be challenging, but try to put everything you see in your imagination down in the most accurate words possible. Go through the business plan template the first time and make tons of notes for each section, then come back to it later and flesh out your ideas further.
• If a section stumps you, make a note and move on, then revisit it later when you have more information or more clarity. Refine and rework. Be sure to add all new developments that are happening, and when you’re confident you’ve said all you can about a section, go back in and edit and re-word until you’re satisfied.
• Use graphics and images to clarify your message when you feel it’s necessary. Consider creating Pinterest boards to keep you inspired and help you get visual. Then, when you are writing your business plan, go back to your boards to pull in graphics that get your idea across better than words.
• Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, know that your business plan will take time. It can take anywhere from weeks to months to years to get a solid grasp on what it is you’re creating. As time passes and you continue to work on it, you’ll fine-tune your message and have a crystal clear plan on your hands.

Are you confident in your vision, clear on your goals, and comfortable with your skills? Ready to jump in?

Restaurant Business Plan Template

Table of Contents

Your restaurant business plan is going to be a long document. Depending on the nature of your restaurant, your business plan could be anywhere from 10 to 50 pages – so your readers will need to find sections easily. This is where a table of contents comes in. It’ll look something like this:

• Executive Summary – p. 3
• Business Overview – p. 5
• Business Description – p. 7
• The Marketplace – p. 12
• Marketing – p. 20
• Business Operations – p. 25
• Financials – p. 30
• Business Plan Summary p. 37

After you’re finished writing your restaurant business plan, make sure to review your table of contents so that your page numbers are accurate.

Executive Summary While the Executive Summary may live at the beginning of your business plan, it’s the last thing you’ll write. The Executive Summary is a one-page summary of every section in your business plan, so that readers can get a general sense of your entire plan in one page. Remember to keep this section brief yet impactful.

Business Overview

Your Business Overview is simple: it’s a list of basic information about your business, such as your legal name, type of business, business number, etc. You may have some empty fields until you’re closer to actually opening. This list is for quick reference and especially important if you’ll be seeking bank loans or approaching investors:

• Legal name of business
• Trade name of business (doing business as)
• Business address or potential business address
• Current mailing address
• Phone number
• Social media handles
• Structure of business
• Date business was established
• Nature of business
• Banking details (branch and banker’s name)

Quick tip: many of the details in your business overview will be filled out as your business takes shape. fill in what you can as you go. if some of this information is unknown, don’t let it hold you up.

Business Description

Your Business Description is where your restaurant comes to life. Here is where you’ll describe, in detail, what your business is going to look like, where it will be, and the kind of vibe it will have. Your Business Description answers all of the questions that relate to your vision and goals. Be as expansive as you want here – go into as much detail as possible, and don’t be afraid to use visuals! Here’s what to include in your Business Description.

Will your business be run as a sole trader, a partnership, or a company? Who is involved and what is their role? This can be a short paragraph.

Your restaurant concept is your idea . Take the time to describe why your business is special, and talk about what you’ll do differently as compared to other restaurants. Why should people choose your restaurant over another? What kind of experience will you be providing customers?

Mission statement

Your mission statement is one sentence that describes what your restaurant will achieve. Think of your end goal, the ultimate driving force behind your business. Your mission statement should be something that can be displayed on marketing materials, and it should express to people what your business is all about.

Short-term and long-term goals

Here you’ll want to mention any relevant personal goals, then list your short-term and long-term objectives. Think about where you’re going and what you hope to be doing in a couple of years. Your short-term goals describe your first year as a restaurant owner. Long-term goals are larger, like how you plan to scale your business and how you hope to grow. Be descriptive in this section, but also remember to remain realistic and within the scope of your projections in the financial section.

Menu and services

Include a sample menu, or menus, and discuss the details of each, such as times of day offered and the inspiration or rationale for each. If you’re going to offer catering, delivery, or any other services, mention those here. Describe anything else you’ll be selling, such as pre-packaged foods, canned or bottled drinks, or retail items such as t-shirts and hats.

You likely won’t have secured a location or negotiated a lease at this point, so instead mention the neighbourhoods you’re considering for your venue. Answer the following questions here: Which features of the neighbourhood will affect your business? What other businesses are located in the area? What kinds of people live, work, or visit the neighbourhood? Consider and document all effects that the location will have on your business, like access to parking, public transportation, walk score, etc.

Take the time to describe your concept with as much visual detail as you can. Express why these details are important (hint: they should relate back to your branding). If you’re working with a design agency or interior design specialist, mention them and show their proposals or mockups. Business description summary Finally, briefly sum up everything in this section. Your Business Description tends to be a long section, so you’ll need a summary that provides an overview of what you’re going to achieve with your business.

The Marketplace

This section is where you’ll describe the current status of the marketplace for your business. The most important thing to remember about this section is that you’ll need to remain honest and authentic. You won’t do yourself or anyone else any favours by painting an unrealistic picture of the marketplace and how your business fits within it. This section requires a lot of research and critical thinking skills.

Visit your direct competition and gain some intel on their customer experience and menu. Ask people in your prospective neighbourhood about how businesses perform in the area. By gathering as much information as you can, your marketplace assessment will be clear and rooted in reality.

Market segment

This section should provide a quick overview of the size of your customer base. What are the demographics, psychographics, and segments of your target market?

You need to know your target customers. Who will frequent your restaurant and what characteristics do they share? List statistics you’ve gathered about your market and any other relevant information about your potential customers. Make a note of any customer segments within your target demographic that have certain needs over others.

You’ll want quantitative and qualitative research to round out this section. Make sure to talk to people within your target market to gain a clear understanding of their needs and how you can serve them. You’ll also discover other valuable insights through these discussions.

Market trends

Here you’ll want to list relevant statistics about past and current trends within your marketplace. Include anything that relates to the demand for your business, social or economic factors, and trends that have affected similar businesses. If you’ve done research or hired a firm to conduct some for you, mention all the outcomes from that research here.

Competition

So you know other restaurants are your competition, but you’ll need to be specific. Analyse your prospective neighbourhood, and make a list of all your competitors from small to large. Use a critical eye to determine how they differ from your establishment. Categorise your competitors into “direct” and “indirect”. Your direct competitors are those restaurants that are offering similar customer experiences and type of cuisine, while indirect competitors may be different from your restaurant but still compete for your target market’s attention and spend.

Now that you’ve analysed the competition, you should be able to spot how you’ll be able to stand out. What will your restaurant do that no one else is doing? What are your differentiators that will cause the market to take notice of your business?

Opportunities

After you determine your differentiators, you’ll know how your restaurant can fill potential gaps in the marketplace or provide a better option for customers. From the menu to the hours, whatever your restaurant can do better, list it here.

Now, the other side of the coin: what your restaurant may not be able to do better than the competition. Take the time to list these as challenges, provide rationale as to why your restaurant will face these barriers, and how you’ll tackle them once you’re open. Don’t be afraid of honesty here; a candid account of the challenges you’ll face will show readers you’re self-aware and ready to overcome problems with practical solutions.

Marketplace summary

Briefly sum up everything that you’ve talked about in this section, reiterating the demographics of your target market, advantages, and opportunities.

You may be an amazing chef and create exceptional dishes, but without customers and sales, you don’t have much of a business. You need a marketing strategy to get people in the door and coming back. In this section on how to write a restaurant business plan, we’ll get into your strategy: how you’re going to price your meals, how you’ll position yourself to appeal to your target customers, and how you’ll promote your business to let customers know you exist.

Positioning

Describe how you’ll appeal to your target customers and where you will place yourself in the customer’s mind. Use your differentiators in the previous section to guide your positioning strategy. How will you communicate your differentiators to your market? What will you be offering the market that your customers wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else?

Describe your pricing and how it compares to similar businesses. Provide ballpark figures for different menu items and list standard pricing for your type of business. List your competitors’ prices and explain why yours will be higher or lower. Make sure to align this section with your financials so that your food and labour ratios are taken into account when crafting this section.

Online promotion

If you plan on creating and maintaining social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, explain how you’ll use them to promote your business. Describe your website’s main elements, design style, and who will build it. List all paid digital promotion here such as Google ads, paid social media ads, and any agencies you’ll work with to develop and execute on all digital marketing initiatives.

Traditional promotion

Will you be holding any events, releasing a press release, or taking out any print ads?

Marketing summary

Briefly summarise your overall marketing strategy and what you’ll concentrate on the most: digital, traditional, PR, etc. Let readers know why you think your marketing strategy will work for your type of restaurant.

Business Operations

You’ve described your vision, the market, and how you plan to promote your business. But how will you actually execute your plans? Who will operate your business day-to-day? Here’s where you get into the nitty-gritty details of your business operations.

Introduce everyone on your payroll. List their qualifications, special skills, and job description, with an emphasis on how they will help you reach your goals and the tasks they will do every day. Categorise each staff member into other owners, chefs, managers, servers, bartenders, etc.

Supplier relationships

List your suppliers by type: food, payment, alcohol, cleaning, etc. Note how each supplier serves your restaurant’s needs , and list their credit and payment terms. List all suppliers for the following:

• Waste removal
• Restaurant supplies like dishware and glass
• Paper products
• Payroll service
• Cleaning services
• Plants or landscaping
• Linen service
• Entertainment
• Marketing and advertising
• Technology, such as EPOS hardware and software, mobile delivery apps, loyalty apps, and an internet provider

Your restaurant will need insurance coverage . Do some research to determine mandatory insurance and special coverage, and start to compare costs between insurance providers. List each type of insurance your restaurant will need and what it covers.

What kind of licencing does your restaurant need? List all of the licences and permits required for your restaurant and staff here. Check your local government website for the details and anything else that you are required to obtain in your area.

Business operations summary

Briefly sum up everything that you’ve talked about in the Business Operations section.

You’ve now arrived at the most important – and the most daunting – part of your restaurant business plan. This is where you prove that your idea is actually a business that can turn a profit. Complete a financial forecast that takes your concept and translates it into numbers. This exercise is the most important part of your business plan, as investors and lenders will be scrutinising these numbers before they read anything else.

The Breakdown

Your forecast will be broken into four main parts:

• Revenue: Forecasted sales
• Controllable costs: Food and beverage costs as well as cost of labour
• Expenses: Marketing, rent, supplies, utilities, etc.
• Start-Up Costs: What it costs to get you to open, as well as things like capital improvements and training.

We’ve created a downloadable sample forecast that demonstrates what you’ll need to do. Our example is Joe’s Burgers, a small 1,000 square foot quick service restaurant with no alcoholic beverage sales. Once you understand the sample forecast, we’ve included a blank forecast sheet where you can add in your own numbers to project how profitable you’ll be. Notes about the forecast spreadsheet

• Take the blank forecast and “save as” so that if you make a mistake, you can return to the original spreadsheet and start again.
• There are formulas pre-programmed in the cells of the spreadsheet.
• If you are planning to open a restaurant that will serve alcoholic drinks, you will have to figure out your sales mix of the various types: bottled beer, draft beer, liquor, and wine, and the costs associated with each. For example, if your bottled beer cost is 28% and wine cost is 40%, you’ll have an average beverage cost of 34% to add to your forecast.
• If you are going to offer catering or other services, you can create another revenue stream that covers events executed, average spends, revenues, cost of goods sold and labour costs for that source.

Business Plan Summary

Your Business Plan Summary should tie the whole message together. Use this section to highlight how you’re different and what you’re offering, reiterating the most important points about your restaurant.

Sections to include are:

• Why you will succeed: in a few short sentences, repeat how you are different and why your business will work.
• What you need: if you’re asking for money, repeat the ask here.
• A thank you: a quick thanks at the end reminds people that you value their time and input.

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How to write a restaurant business plan

A solid restaurant business plan is essential to any success that comes your way. The best ones identify, describe and analyse business opportunities while setting a blueprint. Here, we’ve put together a guide for how to write a restaurant business plan so life at your spot starts off on the right foot.  

What your restaurant business plan should cover

When it comes to how to write a restaurant business plan, the strongest ones always include all or most of the components described below. Charles Bililies , founder and CEO of Souvla , advises that first-time restaurateurs read plenty of different business plans for other restaurants, technology and retail companies to get a better sense of layout options, writing styles and clarity of concept. Put the sections that you feel would be most compelling to someone who’s never met you first: the “Management Team” section if you’re coming from high-profile establishments, for example. The goal is for the reader to keep turning the page.

Quick links Branded cover Table of contents Restaurant concept Sample menu Service Management team Design Target market Location Market overview Marketing and publicity Specialists and consultants Business structure Financials Useful resources

1. Branded cover

Include your logo (even if it’s not finalised), the date, and your name .

2. Table of contents

Having a table of contents helps you navigate the business plan to easily find what you need. Plus, a table of contents looks more professional and improves readability, which is especially important if potential lenders want to see your business plan before offering any form of finance.

3. Restaurant concept

Describe your restaurant concept and get the reader excited about your idea. Go into detail about the food you’ll be serving, inspiration behind your concept and an overview of service style. Define clearly what will be unique about your restaurant.

4. Sample restaurant menu

The menu is the most important touchpoint of any restaurant’s brand , so this should be more than just a simple list of items. Incorporate your logo and mock up a formatted menu design (tap a designer for help if needed).

Your sample menu should also include prices based on a detailed cost analysis. This will give investors:

• A clear understanding of your targeted price point
• Provide the first building block to figuring out average bill estimations needed to create financial projections
• Show investors that you’ve done the homework needed to be confident that you’ll be able to sell these items at these prices and operate within your budget.

This section is most relevant for:

• Fine-dining concepts
• Concepts that have a unique service style
• If you have particularly strong feelings about what role service will play in your restaurant.

It can be a powerful way of conveying your approach to hospitality to investors by explaining the details of the guest’s service experience.

Will your restaurant have counter service designed to get guests on their way as quickly as possible, or will it look more like theatre, with captains putting plates in front of guests simultaneously? If an extensive wine program is an integral part of what you’re doing, will you have a sommelier? If you don’t feel that service is a noteworthy component of your operation, address it briefly in the concept section.

6. Management team

Write a brief overview of yourself and the team you have established so far. You want to demonstrate that the work experience you’ve acquired over the course of your career has provided you with the necessary skills to run a successful restaurant.

Ideally, once you have described the strong suit of every member of your team, you’ll be presenting a full deck. Most independent restaurant investors are in this for more than just money, so giving some indication of what you value and who you are outside of work may also be helpful.

Incorporate some visuals. Create a mood board that shows images related to the design and feeling of your restaurant. Planning on cooking in a wood-burning oven? Include that. Photos of materials and snippets of other restaurants that you love that are similar to the brand you’re building are also helpful.

8. Restaurant target market

Who is going to eat at your restaurant? What do they do for a living, how old are they, and what’s their average income? Perform a target market analysis to better understand your customers. Once you’ve described them in detail, reiterate why your specific concept will be appealing to them.

9. Restaurant location

There should be a natural and very clear connection between the information you present in the ‘Target Market’ section and this one. You probably won’t have a specific site identified at this point in the process, but you should talk about viable neighbourhoods . Don’t assume that potential investors will be familiar with the areas you’re discussing and who works or lives there — make the connections clear. You want readers to be confident that your restaurant’s ‘ideal’ diner intersects with the neighbourhood(s) you’re proposing as often as possible.

If you don’t have a site, this is a good place to discuss what you’re looking for in terms of square footage, foot traffic, parking, road accessibility and other important details.

10. Competitive market overview

Address the micro and macro market conditions in your area. At a macro level, what are the local and regional economic conditions? If restaurants are doing poorly, explain why yours won’t; if restaurants are doing well, explain how you’ll be able to compete in an already booming restaurant climate. At a micro level, discuss your direct competitors. Talk about what restaurants share your target market and how you’ll differentiate yourself.

11. Marketing and publicity

The restaurant landscape is only getting more competitive, so you need a watertight restaurant marketing strategy to get ahead. Talk about your pre- and post-opening marketing plan to show investors how you will gain traction leading up to opening day, as well as how you’ll keep the momentum going. If you’re going to retain a PR/marketing company, introduce them and explain why you’ve chosen them over other companies (including some of their best-known clients helps). If not, convey that you have a solid plan in place to generate attention on your own through social media , your website , and media connections. To help you get started be sure to check out our zero budget marketing checklist .

12. Specialists and consultants

List any outside contractors you plan to retain, such as:

• Main Contractor
• PR & Marketing

Briefly explain the services they’ll be providing for you and why you chose them, along with any notable accomplishments.

13. Restaurant business structure

This section should be short and sweet. What type of business structure have you set up and why did you make that specific decision? You will need to work with a lawyer to help you determine what business structure is best for you.

“ Step one : write a restaurant business plan. Step two : hire a good lawyer. In addition to helping me build a smart, sustainable business structure, my lawyer was also a great resource for reviewing my business plan because she’s read thousands of them. She was a very helpful, experienced outside perspective for more than just legal matters”, Charles Bililies explains.

14. Financials

Let your accountant guide you through this portion of your business plan. It is crucial that whoever you retain to help you with your finances has a wealth of restaurant experience (not just one or two places), as they should be familiar with the specifics of restaurant finances and know what questions to ask you.

Before creating realistic financial projections, your accountant will want to know approximately how many seats you’re planning on having, what your average bill will be, and how many covers you expect per day. Being conservative in these estimations is key as these three data points will be used as the basis for figuring out whether your concept is financially feasible.

Lou Guerrero, Principal at Kross, Baumgarten, Kniss & Guerrero, emphasises that, “You’ll get a lot of accountants that tell you that they’ve done a couple of restaurants, but you have to choose someone that has a deep expertise in what you’re doing. There’s nothing to gain from going with someone that doesn’t have a very restaurant-centric practice.”

A well-vetted accountant with restaurant experience will know exactly what you’ll need to have prepared to show investors. The key projections you can expect to work on are:

• Pro forma profit and loss statement for the first three to five years of operation
• Break even analysis
• Capital requirements budget

Useful tools to build a restaurant business plan in the UK:

If design is not your forte, consider using a free online template. There are plenty of templates available on the web that can aid in this process. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or need help getting started, there are some great options to start from:

• Canva :  Bring your descriptions and its templates will help you do the rest. Canva hosts a library of thousands of free templates to choose from.
• Prince’s Trust free templates:   a collection of free tools and templates to help you build your first business plan
• VistaCreate: The plug-and-play menu design templates are easy to use, and the platform has the option for print and delivery.

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Learn from the business planning experts, resources to help you get ahead, how to write a restaurant business plan, table of contents.

Opening a restaurant is an exhilarating blend of passion and precise strategic planning. To write a restaurant business plan means to lay the groundwork for success in one of the most dynamic sectors of the small business landscape — the restaurant industry. This industry is characterized by a variety of business models, from the quick-service joints that cater to the fast-paced life of urban dwellers to the fine dining establishments that offer an exquisite culinary experience. The importance of a strategic business plan in this sector cannot be overstated, as it marries the culinary passion of the restaurateur with the meticulous planning required to navigate the industry’s competitive nature.

This Guide is Suitable for:

Fine Dining Restaurant, Casual Dining Restaurant, Fast Casual Restaurant, Quick Service Restaurant (QSR), Buffet Restaurant, Cafe or Coffee Shop, Food Truck, Diner, Bistro, Bakery-Cafe, Tea House or Tea Room, Pop-Up Restaurant, Theme Restaurant, Seafood Restaurant, Vegetarian or Vegan Restaurant, Ethnic Restaurant, Bar or Pub

Dive deeper into mastering customer understanding by visiting our Know Your Customer page.

The Significance of a Thoughtful Business Plan

In the restaurant industry, a detailed business plan is indispensable. It guides new businesses through the myriad challenges they will face, from identifying the right target market to distinguishing themselves in a crowded marketplace. The competitive nature of the market makes it imperative for restaurant owners to have a solid plan that can attract investors, secure funding, and provide a clear direction for growth. A restaurant business plan is not just a document; it’s a strategic tool that outlines how the establishment will overcome these challenges and achieve its long-term goals.

Key Components of a Restaurant Business Plan

Creating a restaurant business plan involves several critical elements, each contributing to the plan’s overall effectiveness in conveying your vision for the restaurant:

• Executive Summary : This section provides a snapshot of your restaurant, including its concept, location, unique selling proposition, and an overview of your financial projections.
• Conceptualizing Your Offering : Detail your restaurant’s concept, the cuisine and menu offerings, and the dining experience you intend to provide, whether it’s casual dining or fine dining.
• Product/Service Planning : Discuss your menu in detail, including menu item selection, pricing strategy, and how your offerings will appeal to your target market.
• Location Selection : Explain the rationale behind the location choice, its appeal to your target demographic, and how it fits into your overall business strategy.
• Market Analysis : Conduct a thorough analysis of your target market, competition, and industry trends to demonstrate a demand for your restaurant.
• Strategy & Implementation : Outline your marketing plan and operational strategies, including how you plan to attract and retain customers.
• Management Summary : Introduce your management team, their expertise, and how their skills will contribute to the success of the restaurant.
• Financial Plan : Provide comprehensive financial projections, including startup costs, a projected income statement, cash flow estimates, and a break-even analysis.

Depending on your specific restaurant concept, you might also include sections on supplier agreements, kitchen and front-of-house technology, or customer loyalty programs, tailoring the business plan to suit the unique aspects of your business model.

Why Every Detail Matters

In the highly competitive restaurant industry, the devil is in the details. A business plan that meticulously covers every aspect of the operation—from market analysis to the financial plan—sets a restaurant apart from its competitors. This attention to detail not only demonstrates to investors, lenders, or landlords a deep understanding of the business but also provides a roadmap for navigating the complexities of the industry. It’s the detailed planning that anticipates challenges and outlines strategies for growth and sustainability.

Taking the First Step

Writing a restaurant business plan is the first step toward realizing your dream of opening a restaurant. It’s a step that underscores the importance of tailoring your plan to reflect the unique concept, market, and financial realities of your restaurant. This initial stage is crucial in transforming your passion for food and service into a viable business proposition. As you embark on this journey, remember that your business plan is a living document that will evolve as your restaurant grows. It’s your vision, strategy, and commitment to detail that will guide your restaurant to success in the dynamic and rewarding restaurant industry.

Top 3 Factors in a Restaurant Business Model

Crafting a business plan for a new restaurant involves a deep dive into the foundational elements that underpin the entire operation. These elements are crucial not just for the startup phase but also for the long-term sustainability of the restaurant. Here, we explore the top three factors essential for any successful restaurant.

Concept and Market Research

Defining Your Restaurant Concept : The cornerstone of your restaurant business plan is the concept. This is where you decide whether you’re launching a fast food joint, a fine dining restaurant, or perhaps a themed eatery that offers a unique dining experience. Your business concept should reflect in every aspect of the restaurant, from the sample menu to the restaurant design, ensuring a cohesive and memorable experience for your guests. 

Conducting Market Research : With a clear concept in hand, the next step is rigorous market research. This involves identifying your target customer, understanding their dining preferences, and pinpointing what they value in a dining experience. Additionally, a thorough competitive analysis is vital to understand the landscape you’re entering. Market research validates the demand for your concept, identifies potential challenges, and uncovers opportunities for differentiation. 

Location and Compliance

Choosing the Right Location : The success of your restaurant is significantly influenced by its location. Ideal locations are easily accessible, visible, and situated where your target customers frequent. Factors such as foot traffic, parking, and the vibe of the neighborhood play a crucial role in attracting diners. 

Understanding Regulatory Compliance : Navigating the maze of regulatory compliance is critical for every restaurant owner. This includes adhering to health and safety regulations, securing the necessary permits, and ensuring your restaurant design complies with local codes. 

Financial Planning and Management

Developing a Comprehensive Business Plan : The financial plan is a key component of your restaurant business plan. It outlines your approach to startup costs, operating expenses, revenue projections, and profitability. A robust financial plan provides a clear path to financial sustainability, enabling you to make informed decisions about pricing, cost management, and growth strategies. 

Securing Funding and Managing Cash Flow : For many restaurant owners, securing initial funding is one of the biggest hurdles. Whether through personal savings, loans, or investors, obtaining the capital to launch your restaurant is just the beginning. Effective cash flow management is crucial for the day-to-day operations of your restaurant. The restaurant industry is notorious for its tight margins; thus, diligent financial management ensures that the restaurant can navigate challenges, sustain operations, and position itself for growth.

Integrating Management Expertise

The successful integration of these foundational elements into your restaurant’s operation hinges on the expertise of your management team. This team is responsible for translating the business concept and market research into actionable strategies. Their collective experience and leadership are vital for aligning the restaurant’s operations with the business concept and market expectations.

The Pre-Planning Process for Restaurant Entrepreneurs

The journey from a spark of a restaurant idea to the launch of a new restaurant is both thrilling and daunting. The Pre-Planning Process is a crucial phase for entrepreneurs developing a new concept within the restaurant industry, ensuring that their vision aligns with market demands and is financially viable. This process involves methodical evaluation and adaptation, moving from ideation to readiness, and assessing the concept’s viability every step of the way.

Know Your Customer

Understanding your target market is the bedrock of developing a successful restaurant. This involves conducting Pre-Vision Interviews and applying the Jobs-to-be-Done theory to grasp the needs, motivations, and desires of your potential customers. This knowledge directly influences product development and the marketing strategy, ensuring that your restaurant concept meets the real demands of your target audience. By identifying the functional, social, and emotional ‘jobs’ your restaurant will fulfill for customers, you can align your business idea with customer their needs, creating a product that resonates deeply with your target market.

Dive deeper into mastering customer understanding by visiting our Know Your Customer page. 

Core Cost Analysis

Assessing the financial feasibility of your restaurant offering is next. Core Cost Analysis examines the major cost components of your restaurant, from the cost of goods sold to direct labor and additional direct expenses. This analysis, informed by insights into your customers’ expectations, evaluates whether your pricing strategy aligns with the value you deliver and the market’s willingness to pay. Understanding these costs is critical for setting realistic prices and budgeting effectively, ensuring your restaurant’s financial sustainability from the outset.

For a comprehensive guide on Core Cost Analysis and its impact on your financial planning, check out Core Cost Analysis . 

Business Model Development

The development of your business model is a pivotal step, utilizing tools like the Business Model Canvas to dissect your restaurant idea into core components. This framework helps integrate customer insights from the Pre-Vision Interviews and financial realities from the Core Cost Analysis, refining your business concept. It covers value propositions, customer segments, channels, customer relationships, revenue streams, key resources, key activities, key partnerships, and cost structure, providing a holistic ‘satellite view’ of how your restaurant will create, deliver, and capture value.

Visit our Business Model Development page to explore how to create, deliver, and capture value in your restaurant business. 

Operations in Detail

Operational planning requires attention to detail, focusing on key activities, resources, and partnerships that support your business’s value proposition and ensure customer satisfaction. Strategic decisions in this phase are critical for aligning your operations with your business goals and the needs of your target audience. This includes decisions on staffing, technology, supplier relationships, and more, all aimed at delivering an exceptional customer service experience.

To ensure your operational planning is on point, check our Operations in Detail guide.

Startup and Operating Costs

Understanding the startup and operating costs involved in launching and running a restaurant is essential for budgeting, pricing, and securing funding. This analysis highlights the significance of grasping these costs, from assets and expenses to working capital, setting the stage for financial planning that supports sustainable growth.

Understand the financial framework essential for your venture’s success by visiting Startup and Operating Costs .

Conclusion CTA:  Master the Pre-Planning Process to turn your restaurant vision into a reality. Visit the Pre-Planning Process section on Businessplan.com for a comprehensive roadmap and expert guidance. 

Plan & Pitch: A Comprehensive Guide for Restaurant Entrepreneurs

The Plan & Pitch section of Businessplan.com is an invaluable resource for entrepreneurs venturing into the restaurant industry. This segment is meticulously designed to support businesses from the germination of an initial concept through to the expansive phase of scaling for growth. Acknowledging the unique challenges and opportunities within the restaurant sector, this guide emphasizes a modular structure, allowing entrepreneurs to access tailored advice and guidance relevant to their specific scenarios.

Understanding Audiences

Identifying and understanding the audience for your restaurant business plan is crucial. Tailoring your strategy to align with the expectations of a bank, an investor, a regulatory body, a potential partner, or a landlord ensures your plan is not just heard but resonates with those who matter. 

For more insights on tailoring your business plan to different audiences, visit our Understanding Audiences page. 

Model-Based Planning®

Model-Based Planning® provides a strategic framework for detailed planning and competitive analysis in the restaurant industry. Whether you’re crafting a Mexican restaurant business plan or conceptualizing a food truck, this approach facilitates a comprehensive understanding of your business landscape, helping to refine your concept and strategy.

Discover the advantages of Model-Based Planning® for your restaurant business on our Model-Based Planning® page.

Narrative Development

Developing a compelling narrative for your restaurant business plan involves integrating your vision, strategy, and unique selling points. A well-told story not only engages but persuades, setting the foundation for a successful pitch to potential investors.

Learn how to craft an engaging story for your business plan at our Narrative Development page. 

Market Analysis

Market analysis is a critical component of business planning in the restaurant industry. It involves competitor analysis, industry analysis, and understanding the economic landscape to outline a path to success. This step is vital for making informed decisions and crafting strategies that will give your restaurant a competitive edge.

Master market analysis for your restaurant venture with our guidance at Market Analysis . 

Organizational Structure

Outlining the organizational structure and developing compelling biographies for the leadership in the restaurant business is significant. It ensures a clear operational structure and demonstrates the capability and credibility of your team to potential investors.

Learn how to define roles and develop compelling biographies by visiting Organizational Structure .

Financial Projections

Well-researched and developed financial forecasts are indispensable for restaurant businesses. They provide a clear financial roadmap, crucial for budgeting, pricing, and securing funding.

Understand the details of forecasting finances effectively by visiting Financial Projections .

Strategy & Implementation

Translating your restaurant business concept into actionable strategies for marketing, sales, and customer service is crucial. Crafting a comprehensive restaurant marketing plan ensures your business aligns with its goals and meets the expectations of your target audience.

Bring your restaurant plan to life by checking our Strategy & Implementation page. 

Pitch Deck & Finances

Creating an effective pitch deck and managing finances are key for startups seeking an investor. This guidance focuses on early-stage investment and a financial plan, critical for engaging potential investors and laying the groundwork for a successful launch.

Prepare to communicate your vision to investors with our Pitch Deck & Finances page. 

Conclusion CTA:  Develop a restaurant business plan that stands out with our Plan & Pitch resources. Start navigating the complexities of the restaurant industry with confidence at the Plan & Pitch section on Businessplan.com. 

Downloadable Tools for Restaurant Entrepreneurs

At Businessplan.com, we understand the complexities and unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry. To support you in navigating these challenges, we’ve developed a suite of downloadable tools designed to streamline the business planning process and ensure your plans meet industry standards. These tools are tailored to meet the specific needs of entrepreneurs, providing guidance and resources that cater directly to the intricacies of launching and running a restaurant.

Model-Based Planning® Worksheet : Our Model-Based Planning® Worksheet is an indispensable resource for any restaurant entrepreneur. It guides you through each phase of the business planning process, with a strong emphasis on industry-specific considerations such as business model design and customer engagement strategies. This worksheet is designed to ensure you pay thorough attention to every detail, from identifying your target market to planning your menu and service delivery. Its role is crucial in helping you develop a comprehensive and effective restaurant business plan that addresses the unique aspects of the restaurant industry.

Get the Restaurant Model-Based Planning® Worksheet

Business Plan Template : The Restaurant Business Plan Template is another critical tool offered on Businessplan.com. Developed with the restaurant entrepreneur in mind, this template assists in structuring your business plan effectively. It addresses all the critical sections necessary for restaurant businesses, from the executive summary to the financial projections, providing a clear guide to follow. Additionally, it offers the flexibility to customize your plan according to your unique vision, ensuring that your restaurant business plan is both comprehensive and personalized.

Get the Restaurant Business Plan Template

Conclusion and Next Steps for Your Restaurant Venture

Developing a successful business plan for your restaurant venture is a comprehensive process that bridges the gap between your initial concept and operational success. This journey requires meticulous planning, strategic decision-making, and a deep understanding of your target market. By synthesizing the key elements of concept and market research, location and compliance, as well as financial planning and management, you can create a roadmap that not only brings your idea to life but also sets the stage for long-term success in the competitive restaurant industry.

• Concept and Market Research : Your venture begins with a solid foundation built on thorough market research and a well-defined concept. 
• Location and Compliance : Choosing the right location is pivotal for attracting your target demographic, while navigating regulatory compliance ensures your restaurant operates smoothly and legally. 
• Financial Planning and Management : A detailed financial plan is the backbone of your venture, encompassing budgeting, revenue forecasting, and cash flow management. 

To align your business plan with your unique vision and objectives, start with the Pre-Planning Process or explore Plan & Pitch resources available on Businessplan.com. 

Remember, achieving success in the restaurant industry goes beyond offering a core product or service. It’s about creating a memorable experience for your customers and making strategic decisions that foster sustainable growth. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I tailor my business plan to attract potential investors specifically?

Tailoring your business plan to appeal to potential investors involves highlighting the aspects of your business that demonstrate profitability, scalability, and a clear competitive edge. Personal information about the management team’s experience and expertise can also reassure investors of your business’s potential for success.

• What information should I include in the business description section of my restaurant business plan?

The business description section should provide a comprehensive overview of your restaurant, including the concept, target market, menu offerings, and unique selling points. It should also detail the restaurant’s location, design, and how it fits into the broader market landscape. Highlight any differentiators that set your restaurant apart from competitors and outline your vision for the restaurant’s impact on the local dining scene.

• How much personal information should I share about my management team in the business plan?

Your business plan should include succinct biographies of key management team members, focusing on their relevant experience, skills, and contributions to the success of the restaurant. This section should illustrate why each member is uniquely qualified to execute the business plan, without delving into excessive personal detail.

• Should I highlight my past success stories in the business plan?

Yes, including past a success story or two in your business plan can significantly enhance your credibility and appeal to banks, potential investors, or even landlords. Highlight how these experiences have equipped you with the skills and insights necessary to make your current restaurant venture a success

• What are the key elements of a company overview in a restaurant business plan?

The company overview section should summarize the essence of your restaurant, including its name, location, cuisine type, and the dining experience it offers. It should outline your mission statement, core values, and the long-term objectives of your business.

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Your Checklist for How to Open a Small Restaurant: Steps to Culinary Success

If you’re itching to turn the key in the door of your very own small restaurant, clarity, and guidance are pivotal.

This step-by-step guide on how to open a small restaurant demystifies the process, providing the nuts and bolts on developing a solid restaurant concept, securing financing , and selecting your spot in the bustling culinary scene.

By the end, you’ll have a tangible roadmap that navigates through the essentials: permits, menus, staffing, and more.

Let’s get started on the pathway to making your small restaurant a reality.

The first ingredient of a successful restaurant is a distinctive concept. This goes beyond creating a menu or selecting a color scheme for your dining room; it includes the entire dining experience you want to offer your customers. The concept of your restaurant sets the stage for your success, carving out a unique identity in the highly competitive restaurant industry.

Understanding your target audience is fundamental to developing a successful concept. You need to consider their preferences, behaviors, and expectations.

Further reading

• Top 12 Restaurant Innovations to Inspire Owners

Your restaurant’s concept must resonate with your intended audience, ensuring customer satisfaction and encouraging repeat business. This is where your personal preferences, target audience, market demand, and cuisine types come in, helping you create a concept that not only attracts customers but also aligns with your work routine and the type of alcohol service, if any, you intend to provide.

No matter how small your restaurant is, having a distinctive concept will serve as a memorable identity that sets your establishment apart and turns dining into an event.

Moreover, a well-defined restaurant concept forms the foundation of your branding and marketing strategies , helping in attracting and retaining customers.

Small restaurants can adopt various formats such as:

• Top Strategies on How to Manage a Cafè Effectively

These formats cater to different customer preferences.

Creating a concept for your restaurant is an exercise in balancing innovation with practicality. Your chosen concept must be operationally feasible and financially sustainable for long-term success.

As you move from conceptualization to realization, remember that the concept you choose today will influence the many decisions you make down the line, from creating your business plan to selecting your restaurant location.

Creating a comprehensive business Plan

After defining your restaurant concept, the next step is to create a comprehensive business plan. This is a strategic outline of the restaurant’s components, providing a snapshot of your restaurant including its:

Target market

Competitive advantage

Marketing strategies

Financial projections

An effective business plan should also include a detailed industry analysis, which offers insights into the restaurant market, detailing opportunities, challenges, and an actionable strategy for growth.

• How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan in 2024 (Step by Step Guide with Templates)

Your business plan should leave no stone unturned. The business plan should include:

Executive summary

Company description

Industry analysis

Geographic analysis

Target market analysis

Food safety plan

Sample menu

Marketing plan

Management strategy

Financial plan

Each of these elements forms the backbone of your business plan, painting a clear picture of how your restaurant will operate, what it needs to succeed, and how it will overcome potential challenges.

Creating a detailed business plan is not just about having an operational guide for your restaurant. It serves as a persuasive tool for investors and stakeholders.

A solid business plan demonstrates that you have:

A clear vision for your restaurant

Understanding of the market in which you’ll operate

Thought through the financial and operational challenges you’ll encounter

Think of your restaurant business plan as a roadmap to success, guiding you from the initial stages of opening your restaurant to its eventual growth and expansion.

• 9 Essential Steps For Opening A Restaurant (Free Checklist)

Securing funding and financial resources

Once you have a comprehensive business plan in place, your next step is to secure the funding necessary to bring your restaurant to life. As a small restaurant owner, you have several funding options at your disposal, including:

Small business loans

Crowdfunding

Private investments

The support of alternative lenders

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers small business loan programs with variable timeframes, typically ranging from a few weeks to a few months, to secure funding for small business owners.

Additionally, small restaurants can benefit from grants provided by local farms, state governments, and organizations like the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest , Minority Business Development Center , and Grants.gov .

If you’re considering private investments, bear in mind that this involves an impressive sales pitch due to the high-risk nature of the food service industry. You might need to offer investors a share of profits or operational responsibilities.

Regardless of the funding option you choose, having a solid business plan is crucial. It gives potential investors confidence in your venture and increases your chances of securing the necessary financial resources.

Selecting the ideal location

Armed with a well-defined concept, a comprehensive business plan, and secured funding, the next step is selecting the ideal location for your restaurant. This decision is a lot more than just finding a space that fits your budget.

The surrounding demographics, including:

can inform the type of cuisine and menu pricing suited to local tastes and budgets.

Competition analysis is another factor to consider. It helps you avoid entering a market saturated with similar restaurants and underlines the need to create a distinctive dining concept.

Your restaurant’s location should also be chosen for its high visibility and heavy foot traffic to increase customer notice and visitation.

While a prime location may come with a higher price tag, the potential increased traffic and sales it can bring must be weighed against these cost implications, ensuring the financial viability of the restaurant.

Finally, the chosen location should align with your restaurant’s service style. For example, quick-service restaurants may seek convenience, while full-service restaurants might choose leisure-focused areas.

Designing an appealing menu

After securing the perfect location, it’s time to tantalize taste buds with a well-designed menu. Your restaurant’s concept dictates its menu creation, steering cuisine choices, presentation style, and the dining experience to align with themes, branding, and specialized offerings.

Cost efficiency and adaptability are key to menu design. Here are some important factors to consider:

Menus should be concise, with a focus on top-selling, brand-supportive items that lessen specialized equipment needs.

Menus should be capable of accommodating regular updates, especially seasonally.

The physical design elements of the menu, including the use of white space, consistency between online and print versions, strategic placement of profitable or popular items using the ‘golden triangle’ design concept, visually appealing descriptions, and brand-reflective colors, all influence customer decisions and restaurant profits.

Just as critical as the design is the feedback from your customers. Actively seeking and incorporating customer feedback is vital for continuously refining the menu, ensuring it remains fresh, relevant, and tailored to consumer preferences.

So, whether you’re serving up a classic dish or introducing a new culinary delight, keep your customers’ preferences at the heart of your menu decisions.

Obtaining necessary licenses and permits

Now that your menu is ready to wow diners, it’s time to ensure you’re legally ready to open your doors. Opening a small restaurant requires obtaining a food service license through the local health department and, if you plan to sell alcohol, a liquor license.

It’s important to thoroughly understand local regulations and zoning laws, as compliance is crucial to avoid legal issues and ensure the safety of customers.

The process for applying for a food service license typically involves supplying restaurant information, paying fees, and passing a health department inspection, while a liquor license application requires additional details like a business license, zoning permit, and federal excise tax registration.

Given the time-consuming nature of the licensing process, you may benefit from professional legal assistance to navigate the application steps, compliance, and periodic renewals.

Managing restaurant finances and operating expenses

With the necessary licenses and permits in place, the next step is to manage your restaurant’s finances and operating expenses effectively.

Restaurants typically start with costs around $275,000, with additional expenses if purchasing the property, making it crucial to build a projected budget with detailed expense categories and sales targets based on past financial data and 12-month or 13-period tracks.

Maintaining a budget necessitates regular audits, understanding the importance of working capital to cover three to six months of expenses, and daily reviews of financial reports to adjust the budget and keep track of labor costs and cash flow.

Forecasting sales are enhanced by analyzing past POS data and factoring in external market changes, which assists in managing future financial planning and allowing for unexpected costs.

Significant restaurant expenses include food costs, labor, rent, and operating costs, requiring differentiation between fixed and variable costs and that the restaurant’s floor plan budget reflects initial financial projections.

Effective budget management involves implementing pricing strategies like psychological pricing and keeping abreast of cost-saving strategies through networking, while also being flexible with non-traditional costs.

Building your restaurant's brand and marketing strategy

With the finances in place, it’s time to build your restaurant’s brand and marketing strategy. A strong brand identity is vital for making a restaurant memorable and driving revenue.

Key elements of restaurant branding include:

Marketing materials

• How to Name a Restaurant (Expert Tips, Ideas & Examples)

These elements should be consistent to make the brand recognizable and create emotional connections with customers.

Understanding the customer demographic is instrumental in shaping marketing strategies that resonate with the intended audience and can involve special offers to create a unique selling proposition.

Creating a marketing plan involves:

Setting measurable goals

Selecting marketing methods

Budgeting according to the restaurant’s life stage

Running campaigns based on customer profiles

• A Complete Guide to Writing a Restaurant Marketing Plan (Free Template)

Making use of social media platforms and email marketing are key strategies in spreading the word about the restaurant and engaging potential diners.

Promotions and trendsetting are marketing tactics that can position a restaurant as a leader in the industry and attract customers by offering variety and exclusivity.

Finally, integrating a quality customer experience into marketing efforts is foundational, as the restaurant itself can act as a significant medium for marketing to ensure repeat customers.

Setting up an efficient layout and atmosphere

Once your brand identity and marketing strategy are established, it’s time to focus on setting up an efficient layout and atmosphere for your restaurant.

An effective restaurant floor plan should include:

Proper circulation and movement

A mix of dining, waiting areas, kitchen, storage, restrooms, and entryways

Accessible spaces to accommodate all guests, including those with disabilities

Considerations for social distancing

By considering these factors, you can create a layout that maximizes efficiency and provides a comfortable experience for your customers.

Smaller restaurants, particularly in urban areas focusing on takeout and delivery, benefit from kitchen designs that optimize space and allow for flexible, efficient operations in the restaurant business.

Restaurant owners should consider incorporating adaptable equipment, as it is crucial for meeting changing service demands and promoting staff efficiency.

To improve the overall customer experience, furniture, and seating layout should be deliberately planned, with dimensions that ensure comfortable customer flow and an atmosphere that conveys the restaurant’s brand identity.

• 25 Strategies to Improve Efficiency at Your Restaurant

Hiring and training a talented team

Now that your restaurant layout and atmosphere are set, it’s time to bring in the heart of your restaurant - your team. Determine staffing needs and define roles based on the size of your restaurant to ensure all operational areas are adequately covered.

Create detailed job descriptions using keywords that embody the restaurant’s culture and service style, and specify schedule requirements, wages, and benefits.

Offer competitive compensation and benefits to attract and maintain a skilled workforce, based on research and a defined pay scale. Train interviewers on interpreting applicants’ physical cues and use standardized questions to objectively assess candidates’ values alignment and work history.

Foster teamwork and a sense of ownership among employees by adopting an open-book management style, and sharing financials and operational challenges.

Implement career progression opportunities to improve retention and encourage feedback through performance reviews and one-on-one meetings. Regularly train staff to maintain necessary skills and offer cross-training for career development.

Promote work-life balance with flexible scheduling options, and provide access to earned wages to enhance employees’ financial stability.

Implementing a reliable point-of-sale system

With a talented team in place, the final step before opening your restaurant is implementing a reliable point of sale (POS) system.

Restaurant POS systems handle all transactions including cash, card, and digital payments, and adapt to different restaurant types and sizes, eliminating miscommunications by sending orders directly from servers to the kitchen.

POS systems offer features such as:

Cloud-based software for remote management

Performance management tools

Staff scheduling automation

Detailed insights into menu item popularity

Inventory management down to the ingredient level

Automation of repetitive tasks like inventory alerts and reordering

These features enhance coordination between restaurant staff and operations, making POS systems a valuable tool for restaurant management.

Built-in reporting capabilities in POS systems provide essential sales performance and customer data, which are crucial for strategic planning and informed business decisions.

They also improve customer service through fast and accurate order processing, and built-in loyalty programs cultivate customer loyalty by rewarding repeat business and tracking preferences for targeted promotions.

Cloud-based POS software offers the flexibility to manage the restaurant from any location with internet access and to make menu updates and administrative changes on the go.

• 10 POS Integrations to Help Boost Efficiency at Your Restaurant

Congratulations! You’ve journeyed through the essential steps of opening a small restaurant, from defining your unique concept and crafting a compelling business plan to implementing a reliable POS system.

Each step along the way has been designed to equip you with the knowledge and tools you need to navigate the exciting world of the restaurant industry.

Remember, the road to a successful restaurant is a journey, not a race. With careful planning, a clear vision, and a passion for delivering an unforgettable dining experience, you’re well on your way to becoming the next sensation in the restaurant industry.

So, are you ready to turn up the heat and start cooking up your culinary success story?

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you make money with a small restaurant.

Yes, it is possible to make money with a small restaurant, but it can be challenging due to low-profit margins and a high failure rate, with profitability depending on various factors.

Is it hard to run a small restaurant?

Running a small restaurant is challenging due to long hours, tight finances, and potential initial unprofitability. The turnover of staff and challenging customer interactions can also add to the difficulty.

Is $ 10,000 enough to open a restaurant?

No, $10,000 is not enough to open a restaurant from the ground up, but it could be enough to purchase a pre-existing restaurant and put additional funds into it. Keep in mind that building from the ground up could be considerably more costly.

Why is defining a restaurant concept important?

Defining a restaurant concept is important because it serves as a memorable identity, helps the restaurant stand out, and forms the foundation of branding and marketing strategies, aiding in attracting and retaining customers. This is crucial for the success of the business.

What are the components of a comprehensive business plan?

A comprehensive business plan should include an executive summary, company description, industry analysis, target market analysis, marketing plan, management strategy, and financial plan to provide a thorough overview of the business.

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Elana Kroon used to work in restaurants before becoming a journalist and expert restaurant industry content creator at Eat App.

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More From Forbes

It Takes More Than A Great Business Idea To Succeed

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The timeless adage "I have a great business idea" has ignited the flames of many entrepreneurs, but the path from concept to profitable business is filled with challenges.

It’s not enough to have a good business idea. You need to know how to run a business.

Running a business comes much responsibility and requires you to be multi-talented. Understanding how to balance the books, manage teams, cultivate customer relationships, and stay compliant with regulations are just the beginning of the journey.

Without this multifaceted expertise, even the most innovative idea may falter before reaching its potential. The reality is that a good business concept must have good management to succeed in a competitive market.

Here are the steps you need to cover to get your business positioned for success:

1. laying the groundwork.

The excitement of a new venture can sometimes cloud a crucial question of whether your business is a viable idea. Before moving forward, you must ensure there's a market for the product or service you want to offer.

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Market viability hinges on various factors, including having a clear understanding of who your customers are, their needs, and their purchasing habits. This involves conducting surveys, interviews, and observing consumer behavior in your niche.

2. Drafting a business plan

With a confirmed business idea in hand, the next step is to write a comprehensive business plan . The business plan will serve as your roadmap, consolidating your vision, mission, and strategy into a coherent plan that demonstrates how you will make your business successful.

3. Financing your business idea

Capital is the lifeblood of any business, and securing the right financing is often one of the most challenging tasks for new entrepreneurs. When looking to fund your startup, consider bootstrapping. Utilize your savings, personal loans, or credit cards to fund your business. This approach gives you complete control in your business.

If you must raise capital, remember to show potential investors what makes your business different and how profitable it can be. High-growth potential startups may attract venture capitalists. VC firms provide financial support in exchange for equity, but the demands for returns can be substantial.

Don’t forget to consider other means of capital such as angel investors , crowdfunding, small business loans and grants.

4. Legal considerations and business structure

Choosing the right legal structure for your business is important. You need to consider liability protection, tax implications, and operational flexibility. The most common business structures include sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, and LLC.

Your business structure determines the kind of taxes you'll pay, how you'll manage liability, and your ability to raise capital. Consult with a legal professional or accountant to ensure you select the appropriate structure for your needs.

5. Branding and marketing

A brand is the face of your business, conveying its personality, values, and why customers should choose you. Branding is about creating a compelling narrative that resonates with your target market. From your website copy to your customer service interactions, every touchpoint should reinforce your brand's message.

Marketing is how you'll get that brand message out into the world. From content marketing to social media, advertising, and public relations, your marketing plan should be as intentional and cohesive as your branding strategy.

6. Launching your business

Once the groundwork is laid, it's time for the grand opening. A successful launch is all about generating momentum and establishing a positive image in the market. Ensure that your offer is ready for prime time. Both the product or service itself and its delivery should meet or exceed customer expectations.

Leverage your networks, both professional and personal, to generate excitement. Host a launch event, offer exclusive deals, or collaborate with influencers in your industry. Launch aggressive marketing and sales campaigns that are tailored to attract and convert your target audience. And collect feedback. Early customer feedback can be invaluable. Use this time to listen and tweak your approach based on what you learn.

Transforming a business idea into a successful reality involves a mix of creativity, strategic planning, and relentless execution. Every step, from confirming the idea's viability to launching and growing the business, requires deliberate action and continuous learning.

The bottom line is that while the path to entrepreneurial success is filled with challenges, it's also marked by the immense satisfaction that comes from creating something meaningful, turning your idea into a thriving, impactful business. By approaching your journey with resilience, foresight, and curiosity, you can turn your business idea into a legacy that endures.

Melissa Houston, CPA is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Profitable Business . She is the founder of She Means Profit, which is a podcast and blog . As a Finance Strategist for small business owners, Melissa helps successful business owners increase their profit margins so that they keep more money in their pocket and increase their net worth.

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.

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Home / Free Canva Presentation Templates / Simple Restaurant Marketing Plan

Restaurant Marketing Plan Presentation Template

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Simple Restaurant Marketing Plan

Crafted specifically for hospitality mavens, this slideshow template is your key to a delectable marketing strategy. With a sophisticated blend of black and beige, the design sets the perfect stage for video content that tells the savory story of your brand. Ideal for chefs, restaurateurs, and food marketers, this presentation template serves as the ultimate tool for showcasing menus, culinary innovations, and promotional plans. Elevate your gastronomic journey with this elegant and effective slideshow template—where every slide whets the appetite for success. Embark on a flavorful marketing adventure today and let your culinary brand shine!

Features of this template

• 20 ready-to-use 16:9 slides completely customizable to suit your needs
• Hundreds of charts, frames, lines and shapes to choose from
• Handy animation and transition features for each slide
• Easy downloading or sharing in a wide range of formats
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• Millions of professionally designed images and photos
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How to Write a Bar Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

Elon Glucklich

6 min. read

Updated March 17, 2024

Free Downloads: Sample Bar and Brewery Business Plan Templates

From sports bars to neighborhood pubs to upscale cocktail bars—drinking establishments are one of the oldest and most enduring types of businesses.

And the industry is projected to grow nearly 2.5% between 2023 and 2030, leaving plenty of opportunity for new businesses..

But competition in the bar industry can be fierce. You need to know your clientele, competitors, and how you’ll stand out if you want to succeed. Not to mention mapping out all the details of your financials and operations. 

Luckily, you can cover all of that (and more) by writing a business plan.

• What should you include in a bar business plan?

These are the typical sections to consider including in your bar business plan.

• Executive Summary
• Market Analysis
• Marketing and Sales Strategy 
• Operations Plan
• Business Overview

Financial plan

The sections you need will vary depending on why you’re writing a business plan and what you intend to do with it . 

Suppose it’s to manage your operations and not something you expect anyone outside of the business to read. In that case, consider keeping it to a few pages and skipping sections like the executive summary.

If you’re applying for a loan, then you’ll need a more formal plan that includes all the sections listed above.

Check out our step-by-step guide to writing a full business plan for more details.

• The 6 elements of an effective bar business plan

Executive summary

Your executive summary is a short, high-level overview of your entire plan. 

The summary should give readers a sense of what factors will make your bar successful. That could include securing a high-visibility location, partnering with a chef who will oversee meal preparation, or negotiating deals with brewers to get their beers in your bar.

If you’re seeking a bank loan for your bar, the lender will read your executive summary first. In all likelihood, they won’t read any further unless the executive summary grabs their attention. 

So, make it clear and convincing.

Market analysis

The market analysis may be the most important part of your entire business plan. 

It’s where you carefully research and document:

• Who your target customers are
• What they want
• What other establishments they may consider

Start by identifying the size of your market . Focus on the number of potential customers above the legal drinking age in your area. Then, segment these customers based on demographics such as age, income level, and lifestyle preferences. 

Then look into who you will be competing with. List and research other bars as well as indirect competition from restaurants, clubs, and even grocery stores that sell beer or home entertainment options.

Here are a few examples of what this process will look like:

Bar customer segmentation

If you find there are a lot of college students and younger adults near your bar location, you should cater your offerings to their tastes. But if you’re near office buildings or event venues, you may want to focus on older customers with more disposable income.

Will you offer a more diverse drink menu, better food, or a unique theme? Explain how these factors will set your bar apart and attract customers. Or, if your area lacks a certain type of bar, such as a sports bar or a high-end cocktail lounge, describe how filling this gap in the market will serve as your competitive advantage.

Marketing and sales strategy

Your market analysis gives you insights into potential customers. Your marketing and sales strategy is where you use those insights to get those customers in your door.

As you looked around at your competitive landscape, maybe you gained some insight into how your ideal customers discover new bars — through social media, online reviews, local event listings, or word-of-mouth.

Start by developing marketing strategies that are tailored to those channels . Consider tactics like:

• Creating engaging social media content showcasing your unique drinks, events and ambiance.
• Partnering with local businesses or events to increase visibility.
• Introducing special promotions to encourage repeat visits and attract new customers.
• Hosting themed nights or events to create buzz and attract specific customer segments.

In your business plan, document how you will implement these efforts and the resources required. 

Operations plan

The operations section of your business plan is where you detail the day-to-day requirements for running the bar smoothly. Start by describing your physical space and key equipment, such as:

• Beverage dispensing systems
• Glassware and utensils

Specify the types and number of each that you’ll need. Then you can address staffing needs, describing the roles of bartenders, servers, and support staff. Document in your plan that you’ll have a staffing strategy to cover peak hours.

You should also cover inventory management. Describe how you’ll stock alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, ingredients for cocktails and food. Be sure to spend time discussing supply chains for sourcing these ingredients.

Document the types of technology you’re using, like point-of-sale systems, inventory tracking, or customer reservation platforms. 

Finally, ensure that your operations plan demonstrates how you will comply with any licensing, health and safety regulations and that you have a plan for ensuring responsible customer behavior.

Business overview

The overview should fill in any gaps the reader may have, including:

• The name of your bar
• When it was founded (if it’s an existing business)
• The inspiration behind the business

You should include the background and qualifications of key team members here. Include their experience in the bar industry and any other experience that’s relevant to their position.

If you’re running an existing bar, discuss previous achievements like revenue milestones, recognitions, or community events you’ve hosted.

You don’t need a deep financial background to run a successful business. But it’s important to develop projections for how you expect the bar to perform. If you’re starting a new bar, consider that you’ll need to pay upfront costs like equipment, supplies, licenses and rent.

Then there are the ongoing costs like employee salaries, marketing, and continuing to keep your shelves stocked.

Making educated guesses about the future will help you determine what’s working, and where you should make adjustments as you run your business.

Include sales and expense forecasts in your plan. The financial section also should include a cash flow statement , income statement , and balance sheet .

Remember, no one knows exactly how the future will pan out — these projections are your baseline for how you think the business will do, and you’ll adjust them over time as you update your plan with actual results.

• Bar business plan templates and examples

To see how other bar businesses have created their plans, browse our free library of bar and brewery business plans . You can also check out our full selection of food and beverage business plans , or our entire library of over 550 business plans across industries.

Download as many as you want in PDF or Word format to help you write your own business plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

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Discover Fairfax Virginia

Discover: explore: connect: belong, winter events.

2019 Winter Events and Festivals: The holidays are over, the weather is colder and the days seem longer. Welcome to winter! The months of January and February seem to drag along for many of us, as we try to keep ourselves busy with cleaning, organizing and exercising while anxiously awaiting the return of spring. If this sounds like you, then hopefully some of these winter events will help lift your spirits and encourage you to get out and about in Fairfax (and Northern Virginia area) and enjoy some winter fun!

January 5 – January 6, 2019 D.C. Big Flea and Antique Market : This event is held at the Dulles Expo Center on Saturday from 9am to 6pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Cost: $10. The mid-Atlantic’s largest indoor antiques and collectibles flea market. Come shop for anything from fine antiques to vintage clothing & handbags. Dealers showcase a wide variety of merchandise – porcelains, glass, silver & jewelry, artwork, and collectibles of all eras.

January 12, 2019 Washington Wedding Experience : EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, VA. Event runs from 11am to 5pm. It is an exciting destination, with everything imaginable to plan an amazing wedding. You will be inspired as you gather unique ideas, sample sweets and savories, enjoy decor design and inspiration and relax with a fashion show filled with the latest trends and styles. You will receive expert advice from the area’s most trusted wedding professionals, brought to you all in one place. Tickets $15/for all day; $10 after 1pm admission.

January 12 – January 13, 2019 NBC Health and Fitness Expo : Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Learn about health, wellness and fitness at this free event in Washington, DC. Saturday, Jan. 12 from 9am until 5pm and Sunday, Jan. 13 from 9am to 4pm.

January 18 – January 20, 2019 Home and Remodeling Show : Dulles Expo Center Friday and Saturday from 10am to 9pm and Sunday 10am to 6pm. Cost: $12. The Home & Remodeling Show is the ONLY place for you to experience what’s new in home related products and services, remodeling, renovation, decor, cool products and more. You’ll have the opportunity to meet hundreds of experts and experience thousands of products and services. From our Design Home, to the Make-It, Take-It workshop, there’s lots to see at the 2019 Home Remodeling Show. Get great ideas to help refresh your space. Buy tickets online and save $3!

January 21, 2019 10th Annual Give Together – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service : Give Together is a family volunteer event with service projects designed for young people and little hands. This special event is the perfect opportunity to teach children the value of giving back to our community– while enjoying giving together with family and friends. Give Together is a free event! Please register here .

January 26 – January 27, 2019 Monster Jam at the Capital One Arena, Washington, DC : Monster Jam® is the world’s largest and most famous monster truck tour featuring the biggest names in monster trucks including Grave Digger®, Max-D®, El Toro Loco® and more!  Show time is at 1pm and 7pm on Jan. 26th and 1pm on Jan. 27th. Tickets start at $15.

January 27, 29 – January 30, 2019 80th Anniversary of the Wizard of Oz : The Wizard of Oz will be playing in movie theaters nationwide January 27, 29 and 30 for its 80th anniversary! Reserve your seats now.

February 1 – February 3, 2019 Chocolate Lover’s Festival : The Chocolate Lover’s Festival will kick-off Friday, February 1st for Liquid Chocolate from 6pm-8pm and continue thru the weekend – Saturday, February 2nd  from 10am to 7pm and Sunday, February 3rd from 12noon to 4pm. This annual event is held in Fairfax City and celebrates all things chocolate including The Taste of Chocolate, The Chocolate Challenge, the Kiwanis Chocolate Chip Pancake Breakfast and a Chocolate Scavenger Hunt. It’s a great time to come and visit the City of Fairfax!

February 1 – February 3, 2019 PAW Patrol Live! Race To The Rescue : EagleBank Arena, Fairfax, VA. Come roll with the PAW Patrol as everybody’s favorite heroic pups race to the rescue on the day of the Great Adventure Bay Race. When Mayor Goodway goes missing, Chase, Marshall, Skye and the rest of the PAW Patrol will need to team up with Ryder to save Adventure Bay’s mayor and stop Foggy Bottom’s Mayor Humdinger from winning the race.

February 2 – February 3, 2019 Tet Festival : Dulles Expo Center  Saturday 10am to 11pm and Sunday 10am to 10pm. Each year, the Vietnamese Community in Northern Virginia joyfully celebrates Tet (Lunar New Year) with various festivals. This special two-day indoor grand festival features over 30 famous national and local Vietnamese musical and comedy performers, Vietnamese cultural dances and exhibitions, food tasting galore, and lots and lots of FUN for adults and children. Tet Grand Festival 2019 will be one of the largest Lunar New Year festival in the United States.

February 2, 2019 For The Love of It 10K : Grab your sweetheart (or friend or family member) and challenge yourselves at this great race at South Lakes High School track: 11400 South Lakes Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191 and begins at 8am.

February 2 – February 3, 2019 16th Annual Lunar New Year Year Celebration at Fair Oaks Mall : Enjoy traditional dragon dances, cultural dances from varies countries, martial arts demonstrations and craft making. The event is free and open to all ages.

February 9, 2019 Chocolate Walk in Occoquan : Enjoy a day of shopping & dining, walk around the town of Occoquan enjoying chocolate treats from participating businesses. Enter the drawing for a chance to win a beautiful chocolate diamond solitaire necklace and gift certificate. Start your Chocolate Walk journey at Town Hall to receive your Chocolate Walk Passport and instructions. Continue your journey to participating business (follow the red balloons!). Find eight Valentines symbols to complete your Chocolate Walk Passport. Return your passport back to Town Hall before 4 pm to enter the drawing. This event is Free and open to the public. No purchase necessary to win. Winner chosen by random drawing, need not be present to win. Must be 18 years or older to enter.

February 10, 2019 Love the Run You’re With 5K : Begins at 9am at Pentagon City in Arlington. The course runs along Army Navy Drive starting and finishing near the intersection of 15th St South and South Hayes Street. Special additional Love Run Categories – Wear your heart on your sleeve (or your chest)! In the spirit of the holiday, all registrants will select one of three categories * Co-Dependent (registrant is in a relationship – or doesn’t want to reveal status) * Stupid Cupid (registrant is single) * Love ’em or Leave ’em (well . . it’s complicated)

and for Couples teams … * Co-Dependent Category – Form a team with your honey! * Stupid Cupid Category – Snub your nose at the holiday and form a two-(wo)men team with your pal, family member, or other singleton. * Love ’em or Leave ’em Category – Not sure the status? Join your other confused friends and form a two-person squad.

February 10, 2019 Run Your Heart Out 5K : Spend your Valentines Day with someone special and make it a 5k date – take part in our 7th annual Valentine’s Day-themed race meant for those who can’t help but LOVE to run! The race starts and finishes at the =PR= Fairfax location (11895 Grand Commons Ave., Fairfax, VA 22030) at Fairfax Corner. Race begins at 9am; 1k fun run begins at 9:05am.

February 14 – February 18, 2019 Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment : Capital One Arena, Washington, DC. Enter the dazzling world of Disney magic, LIVE ON ICE! Rev up for non-stop fun with four of your favorite Disney stories at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment. Thrill to high-speed stunts as Lightning McQueen, Mater and the crew of Disney Pixar Cars race across the ice! Dive into adventure with Ariel and The Little Mermaid undersea kingdom. The toys are back in town with heroic action when Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie and the Toy Story gang escape from Sunnyside Daycare and race for home in their most daring adventure! Plus, enter the wintry world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa and pals Olaf and Kristoff from Disney Frozen as they learn that true love comes from within. From wheels to waves, icy wonderlands to infinity and beyond, your familys favorite Disney moments come to life at Disney On Ice presents Worlds of Enchantment. Tickets start at $15.

February 16, 2019 Valentine’s Love Jam Live in Concert at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax at 8pm. Starring Tyrese, Avant, Ginuwine, 112 and Next.

February 22 – February 24, 2019 Capital Remodel and Garden Show : Dulles Expo Center Friday and Saturday 10am to 9pm; Sunday 10am to 6pm. Cost: $10. It’s the first sign of Spring! THE CAPITAL REMODEL & GARDEN SHOW returns to the Dulles Expo Center offering homeowners a valuable one-stop shopping experience for the latest remodeling, decorating and landscaping products and services. If you’ve got a home project in mind or you want to discover the latest styles, trends and ideas for the inside or outside of your home, we have the inspiration you need to get started!

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