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

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A restaurant business plan is a framework that guides you to plan and forecast every element of restaurant management and operations.

This includes anything from your restaurant's menu design , location, financials, employee training , and a lot more.

Creating a solid business plan is important, as it helps:

  • Transform your restaurant ideas into reality.
  • Boosts entrepreneurial success by 16% (Harvard Business Study) .
  • It equips you to navigate challenges before they arise.
  • Attracts potential investors.

Planning is key to restaurant success. Without a plan, you're more likely to join the 26% of restaurants that fail within a year.

Create a business plan to set yourself up for success.

Here's how to get started. 

best restaurant business plan template

What is a restaurant business plan? 

Before writing a business plan, it is important to understand its fundamentals.

It serves as a roadmap for starting and running your restaurant , making it easy for outside parties, such as investors, to understand your objectives, vision, and plan of action for your restaurant.

The length and level of detail of business plans vary, ranging from brief synopses to large papers. Investors can benefit from clear insights and additional information provided by beginning with a concise plan and working their way up to a detailed one.

In short, a thorough description of the resources allocated to the success of your restaurant should be included in your business plan.

Steps to include in your business plan 

Your restaurant and mission statement needs to reflect your brand and goals, but you don't have to start from scratch.

The Eat App Restaurant Business Plan template , created by industry professionals and packed with insider information, is your go-to manual for creating a profitable business plan.

Your finalized business plan should have 11 essential elements, no matter how you write it. Continue reading below. 

1. Executive summary

A restaurant business plan should always begin with an executive summary. Why?

  • 80% of venture capitalists say they read the executive summary first.
  • 62% of investors say they would not continue reading a business plan if the executive summary did not capture their interest.
  • A strong executive summary can increase the likelihood of securing funding by up to 40%.

An executive summary not only acts as the introduction to your restaurant business plan samples but also as a summary of the entire idea.

The main aim of an executive summary is to draw the reader (oftentimes an investor) into the rest of your business plan.

The executive summary also helps you envision the identity of your restaurant which essentially shapes the customer experience and sets you apart from competitors.

To establish a distinct identity, you need to focus on c ommon elements of an executive summary, including:

  • A mission statement  
  • Proposed concept development
  • Cuisine selection
  • The overall execution
  • The potential costs
  • Expected return on investments (ROI)

Let's take a more in-depth look at the concept development, cuisine selection, and mission statement.

Further reading

  • How to write a restaurant executive summary

Concept Development

Selecting the type of restaurant, service style, and atmosphere is the first step towards creating a unique dining experience. Whether you envision a sample menu for a:

  • cozy, intimate bistro
  • bustling quick-service deli
  • fast-casual restaurant
  • fine dining establishment

Your concept should reflect your passion and expertise in the industry.

Cuisine Selection

The cuisine you select for your restaurant can significantly influence its success.

Choosing the appropriate cuisine is vital for distinguishing your establishment from competitors and attracting your target market.

To make an informed decision, consider factors such as:

  • Market demand
  • Expertise and passion
  • Ingredient availability
  • Competition
  • Profitability
  • Cultural fit
  • Seasonality
  • Dietary restrictions and trends

In the highly competitive restaurant industry, keeping track of current and emerging cuisine trends can be a significant advantage.

Creating a mission statement

A well-constructed mission statement communicates the purpose, values, and goals of your restaurant to potential investors and customers alike.

A mission statement serves as a guiding light for decision-makers and employees, fueling their efforts to achieve your restaurant’s objectives.

To create an impactful mission statement, consider the following steps:

  • Identify the purpose of the restaurant.
  • Contemplate the brand’s image.
  • Account for the target audience.
  • Incorporate company values.
  • Ensure brevity and comprehensiveness.

Related content:  How to Write a Restaurant Mission Statement  

Remember, your mission statement should not only differentiate your restaurant from competitors but also resonate with your target market .

2. Company description

This is where you carefully introduce the company in the restaurant business plan. Include the name of the restaurant you are launching in this field along with its address, phone number, and other important information. Then, also include the owner's information as well as a synopsis or explanation of their background. The restaurant's legal position and its short- and long-term objectives should be outlined in the second section of the company description. To demonstrate your understanding of the changes in the local food business and the reasons why the most independent restaurant investors will be successful in this market, please submit a brief market research.

Here's an example of the page layout:  

Company Description

Restaurant Name: [Restaurant Name]

Location: [Restaurant Address]

Contact: [Restaurant Phone Number] | [Restaurant Email Address]

Owner: [Owner Name]

Experience: [Owner Name] has over [Number] years of experience in the restaurant industry. They have worked in various roles, including [List of Roles]. They are passionate about food and creating a memorable dining experience for their guests.

Legal Standing: [Restaurant Name] is a [Type of Legal Entity] registered in [State/Province].

3. Market analysis

The market analysis portion of the restaurant business plan is typically divided into three parts.

3.1 Industry analysis

What is your target market? What demographics will your restaurant cater to?

This section aims to explain your target market to investors and why you believe guests will choose your restaurant over others.

Comprehending your target market is key to customizing your restaurant offerings to their preferences and needs.

By diving into demographics, preferences, dining habits, and trends, you can fine-tune your concept and marketing strategy to reach and appeal to your target audience effectively.

An example of analyzing your target market

  Comprehending your target market is key to customizing your restaurant offerings to their preferences and needs.

Demographics and preferences

Identifying your primary target market involves considering factors such as:

For example, a neighborhood with a high concentration of families might prefer a family-friendly restaurant with a diverse menu catering to various age groups and dietary preferences.

Conversely, a trendy urban area with a predominantly young and affluent population may gravitate towards upscale dining experiences and innovative cuisine.

Cultural and ethnic backgrounds also have a significant impact on restaurant preferences, with people from different backgrounds having distinctive tastes and customs that influence their dining choices.

By thoroughly understanding the demographics and preferences of your target market, you’ll be better equipped to create a restaurant concept that resonates with them and ultimately drives success.

Dining habits and trends

As the restaurant industry continues to evolve, staying informed about dining habits and trends is crucial for adapting your offerings and attracting customers.

For example, the rise of online ordering and delivery services has significantly influenced dining habits, with many consumers seeking the convenience of having their meals delivered to their doorstep.

Health trends have also had an impact on dining habits, with an increasing number of individuals seeking healthier options when dining out.

  • How to find your restaurant's target market

3.2 Competition analysis

It's easy to assume that everyone will visit your new restaurant first, so it is important to research your competition to make this a reality.

What restaurants have already established a customer base in the area?

Take note of everything from their prices, hours, and service style to menu design to the restaurant interior.

Then explain to your investors how your restaurant will be different.

3.3 Marketing analysis

Your investors are going to want to know how you plan to market your restaurant. How will your marketing campaigns differ from what is already being done by others in the restaurant industry?

How do you plan on securing your target market? What kind of offers will you provide your guests? Make sure to list everything.

The menu is the most important part of a restaurant's debut. Your restaurant wouldn't be able to operate without it.

You most likely don't have a final draft at this time, but you should aim to create a mock-up for your restaurant business plan. You can choose a design that you can envision yourself using and add your logo to the mock-up.

  • Top Free Restaurant Menu Makers

There are several resources available online if you need assistance with menu design or don't want to hire a designer.

But the price should be the most important component of your sample menu. The cost research you've completed for investors ought to be reflected in your prices. They will have a clearer idea of your restaurant's intended price range as a result.  You'll quickly see how important menu engineering can be, even early on.

5. Employees

The company description section of the restaurant business plan briefly introduces the owners of the restaurant with some information about each. This section should fully flesh out the restaurant's business plan and management team.

The investors don’t expect you to have your entire team selected at this point, but you should at least have a couple of people on board. Use the talent you have chosen thus far to highlight the combined work experience everyone is bringing to the table.

Download our free restaurant business plan  It's the only one you'll ever need. Get template now

6. Restaurant design

The design portion of your restaurant business plan is where you can really show off your thoughts and ideas to the investors. If you don’t have professional mock-ups of your restaurant rendered, that’s fine.

Instead, put together a mood board to get your vision across. Find pictures of a similar aesthetic to what you are looking for in your restaurant.

The restaurant design extends beyond aesthetics alone and should include everything from restaurant software to kitchen equipment. 

7. Location

The location you settle on for your restaurant should be well aligned with your target market (making it easier to cater to your ideal customer) and with your business plans.

At this stage in the process, it's not uncommon to not have a specific location in mind - but you should at the very least have a few options to narrow down.

Pro Tip: When you approach your investors about potential locations, make sure to include as much information as possible about each venue and why it would be ideal for your brand. 

Example for choosing an ideal location

Choosing the ideal location for your restaurant is a pivotal decision that can greatly influence your success. 

To make the best choice, consider factors such as foot traffic, accessibility, and neighborhood demographics.

By carefully evaluating these factors, you’ll be better equipped to maximize visibility and attract your target market.

Foot traffic and accessibility

Foot traffic and accessibility are important factors in selecting a location that will attract customers and ensure convenience.

A high-traffic area with ample parking and public transportation options can greatly increase the likelihood of drawing in potential customers.

Additionally, making your restaurant accessible to individuals with disabilities can further broaden your customer base and promote inclusivity.

Neighborhood demographics

Analyzing neighborhood demographics can help you determine if your restaurant’s concept and cuisine will appeal to the local population.

Factors such as income levels, family structures, and cultural diversity can all influence dining preferences and habits.

By understanding the unique characteristics of the neighborhood, you can tailor your offerings and marketing efforts to resonate with the local community.

Conducting a market analysis can be a valuable step in this process.

To gather demographic data for a particular neighborhood, you can utilize resources such as the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and reference maps.

Armed with this information, you can make informed decisions about your restaurant’s concept, menu, and pricing, ensuring that your establishment is well-positioned for success within the community.

Conducting market research will further strengthen your understanding of the local demographic.

8. Market overview

The market overview section is heavily related to the market research and analysis portion of the restaurant business plan. In this section, go into detail about both the micro and macro conditions in the area you want to set up your restaurant.

Discuss the current economic conditions that could make opening a restaurant difficult, and how you aim to counteract that. Mention all the other restaurants that could prove to be competition and what your strategy is to set yourself apart.

9. Marketing

With restaurants opening left and ride nowadays, investors are going to want to know how you will get word of your restaurant to the world.

The next marketing strategy and publicity section should go into detail on how you plan to market your restaurant before and after opening. As well as any plans you may have to bring a PR company on board to help spread the word.

Read more: How to write a restaurant marketing plan from scratch

10. External help

To make your restaurant a reality, you are going to need a lot of help. List any external companies or software you plan on hiring to get your restaurant up and running.

This includes everything from accountants and designers to suppliers that help your restaurant perform better, like POS systems and restaurant reservation systems .

Explain to your other potential investors about the importance of each and what they will be doing for your restaurant.

11. Financial analysis

The most important part of your restaurant business plan is the financial section . We would recommend hiring professional help for this given its importance.

Hiring a trained accountant will not only help you get your own financial projections and estimates in order but also give you a realistic insight into owning a restaurant.

You should have some information prepared to make this step easier for the accountant.

He/she will want to know how many seats your restaurant has, what the check average per table will be, and how many guests you plan on seating per day.

In addition to this, doing rough food cost calculations for various menu items can help estimate your profit margin per dish. This can be achieved easily with a free food cost calculator. 

  • Important restaurant metrics to track

A well-crafted restaurant business plan serves as a roadmap to success, guiding every aspect of the venture from menu design to employee training.

By carefully considering each component of the plan, aspiring restaurateurs can increase their chances of securing funding, attracting customers, and achieving their long-term goals.

Remember, a restaurant business plan is not just a document to satisfy investors; it is a living tool that should be revisited and updated regularly as the business grows and evolves.

By staying committed to the plan and adapting it as needed, restaurateurs can ensure that their culinary dreams have a solid foundation for success.

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Saif Alnasur

Saif Alnasur used to work in his family restaurant, but now he is a food influencer and writes about the restaurant industry for Eat App.

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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

best restaurant business plan template

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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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan + Free Template

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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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

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

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Related Restaurant Resources

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

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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.

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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

best restaurant business plan template

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

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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.

best restaurant business plan template

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

best restaurant business plan template

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

Image depicts a restaurant worker in a new restaurant.

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.

Image depicts two restaurant workers discussing finances.

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.

Image depicts two restaurant workers having a discussion.

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.

Image depicts two restaurant workers having a discussion over a tablet.

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 Small Restaurant Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

Group of seven individuals standing around inside of the entrance of a restaurant. Two are speaking with the owner, who just finished planning for his restaurant, preparing to order food.

Makenna Crocker

10 min. read

Updated March 18, 2024

Free Download:  Sample Restaurant Business Plan Template

From greasy spoon diners to Michelin Star restaurants, food service has captured the hearts and imaginations of countless culinary entrepreneurs.

In the United States, 90% of restaurant owners operate small restaurants with fewer than 50 employees . And 70% operate in just one location.

If you’re passionate about food and dream of opening a restaurant, you have plenty of company. But cooking skills alone won’t cut it. You need a plan.

In this article, we’ll walk you through writing a small restaurant business plan, from conducting market research to developing promotional strategies and creating a financial forecast. 

Need more guidance? Download our free small restaurant business plan template .

Why write a small restaurant business plan?

Starting a restaurant from scratch isn’t cheap.  Startup costs range from $175,000 to $750,000 and include hefty upfront expenses like:

  • Building lease
  • Kitchen equipment
  • Ingredient sourcing

The financials section of a business plan gives you space to compile these costs into an expense budget and compare them to your revenue projections . These will be invaluable in helping you determine if your restaurant concept is financially viable.

And if you need a bank loan or investor to help fund your restaurant , they’ll want to see a plan that includes financial projections (more on that later).

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  • How to write a small restaurant business plan

The business plan is not only where you lay out your plan, vision, and goals for the restaurant – it pushes you to thoroughly research and understand your market , competitors , and customers to make informed decisions. It guides you through the intricacies of opening and running a small restaurant and helps you keep your finances in order.

Here are some tips for writing a small restaurant business plan that sets you up for success.

  • Start with a company overview

A good place to start is to think about the big picture. What do you want your restaurant to be? Are you envisioning upscale dining in a candlelit, intimate setting? Or maybe you’re going for comfort food in a family-friendly atmosphere?

Capture the essence of your restaurant with a brief, attention-grabbing overview. Think of the start of your overview section as an elevator pitch. You’re introducing your concept and vision to highlight what will make your business unique .

Just keep it succinct. 

You’ll need to include other important information about your business here, such as the legal structure of your business and the qualifications of you and your management team.

If you’re writing a business for an existing restaurant, you should also cover its history – when the restaurant was founded, who was involved, and milestones it has reached.

  • Understand your target market

Conducting a thorough market analysis is key to the success of your small restaurant. In an industry as competitive as the restaurant business, you’ll need to have your finger on the pulse of your dining market if you hope to create a unique offering.

Defining your target market is essential when starting your restaurant, helping answer questions like:

  • Is there demand in the local market for your food?
  • Who are your primary competitors? 
  • Is there building space for lease near where your target customers live or work?
  • What types of partnerships with food distributors (wholesalers, farmers, butchers, etc.) will be needed to ensure a steady flow of fresh ingredients?

The first step is to identify who your diners will be. 

It’s unrealistic to try to appeal to every single customer. So, ask yourself who you envision walking through your doors. Are they:

  • Adults aged 40 and over, with lots of disposable income and exotic culinary tastes.
  • Children, young adults, and families looking for quick, convenient food that doesn’t stretch their budgets.

Of course, these aren’t the only two customer demographics for a restaurant. But you should get the sense that these customer segments have very different preferences.

Read more: Target market example

Understanding your target market involves more than just demographics. Consider their:

  • Spending habits
  • Daily routines

If you plan to operate in a busy city center, your target market might include working professionals seeking quick lunch options or upscale dining options after work. But if you’re opening in a less visible area near residential neighborhoods, you may be more likely to target families.

  • Size up your competition

With a target customer in mind, you need to understand who you’ll be competing with for their dining budget.

Analyzing your competitors is about understanding their strengths, weaknesses, and strategies. 

Start by identifying direct competitors (other small restaurants) and indirect competitors (like fast-food chains or food trucks). Observe how they attract customers, the ambiance they create, and the variety and pricing of their menus.

Get a feel for their operational strategies:

  • How much staffing do they have?
  • How fast (or slow) is their service?
  • What kinds of supplier relationships do they seem to have?

And their marketing tactics :

  • How do they engage with customers?
  • What deals or promotions do they offer?
  • What kind of reviews are they getting online?

Finally, think about their long-term position: 

  • Have they expanded or downsized recently?
  • Have they changed their operating hours?
  • Have they changed their menu?

As you observe these competitors and their customers, ask yourself what they are doing right and where they are coming up short. 

This knowledge will help you identify gaps in the market and opportunities to offer a unique experience.

  • Create a detailed operations plan

With so many moving pieces to manage as a restaurant owner, writing an operations plan is just as important as creating a market analysis.

The operations section of your business plan details how your restaurant will function daily. 

It should briefly touch on every aspect of running the business–from staffing needs to how often you will need to buy new ingredients, kitchen equipment, or dining utensils.

Your operations plan will reflect the unique needs of your business, but a typical restaurant operations plan might include:

  • Staffing and training: Lay out a staffing plan, with the roles and responsibilities of each team member. Include strategies for hiring, training, and employee retention.
  • Equipment and technology: Outline your dining, kitchen, and technology needs, from tables and chairs to ovens and point-of-sale systems.
  • Supply chain management: Explain your ingredient sourcing and inventory management strategies and your plan to build relationships with suppliers.
  • Customer service policies: Describe how you manage customer service needs and feedback to ensure a positive dining experience.
  • Health and safety protocols: Detail procedures for maintaining kitchen hygiene practices and food handling standards to ensure food safety and compliance with health regulations.

Without an operations plan, you’ll lack a documented strategy for managing your kitchen workflow, maintaining customer satisfaction, or even basic tasks like inventory or staffing.

And if you’re writing a business plan to get a bank loan or investment , they’ll want to see that you have a plan for successfully managing the restaurant. 

  • Actively market your restaurant

Your small restaurant may serve the most mouthwatering dishes in town, but no one will discover it without effective promotional strategies. 

You need to develop a comprehensive marketing plan to showcase your culinary delights and entice customers through your doors.

Consider both traditional and digital marketing channels to reach your target audience. Traditional methods may include:

  • Hosting special events
  • Participating in local food festivals
  • Partnering with complementary businesses in your community

Digital strategies may include:

  • Creating an engaging website
  • Building a strong presence on social media platforms
  • Utilizing online review platforms to build credibility and foster positive word-of-mouth.

When developing your promotional strategies, consider the following tips:

Be smart about your online presence

Build a visually appealing and user-friendly website that showcases your restaurant’s ambiance, menu, and story. 

Leverage social media platforms to engage with your audience, share enticing food photos, and run targeted advertising campaigns.

Consider promotions

Encourage repeat business by implementing a loyalty program that rewards customers for their patronage. Offer incentives such as discounts to certain customer segments, like seniors, veterans, or students.

Engage with the local community

Participate in community events, sponsor local sports teams or charity initiatives, and establish partnerships with neighboring businesses. 

Becoming an active community member will build brand awareness and loyalty.

Don’t ignore your pricing and financial strategy

According to data from the National Restaurant Association , about 60% of restaurants fail in their first year, and 80% close within five years.

You need to understand your startup and ongoing operating expenses to run a successful small restaurant.

Start by estimating your startup costs , including:

  • Site acquisition (down payment if owning the space, initial payment if leasing)
  • Building improvements
  • Equipment purchases
  • Licenses and permits
  • Initial inventory
  • Menu creation

Then, account for ongoing operating expenses, such as:

  • Employee wages
  • Mortgage or rent payments
  • Ingredient costs

Pricing your menu items strategically is essential to ensuring profitability. Analyze ingredient costs, consider portion sizes, and compare prices in your local market to determine competitive yet profitable pricing.

Conduct a break-even analysis to determine the number of customers you need to serve to cover costs and start generating profits. Regularly review your financials and adjust your pricing as needed to maintain a healthy bottom line.

Consider these financial aspects when developing your small restaurant business plan:

Budget Allocation

Determine how you will allocate your budget across different areas of your restaurant, such as kitchen equipment, interior design, marketing, and staff training.

Prioritize investments that will have a direct impact on customer experience and operational efficiency.

Revenue Streams

Identify multiple revenue streams for your restaurant. This may include revenue from food sales, catering services, private events, or partnerships with local businesses.

Diversifying your revenue sources can help stabilize your cash flow.

Cost Control

Develop strategies to control costs without compromising quality. Efficient inventory management, negotiation with suppliers, and staff training on waste reduction can contribute to cost savings.

Sales Forecasting

Create a sales forecast based on your market research, pricing strategy, and seating capacity. Consider seasonal fluctuations and special events that may impact your restaurant’s performance.

Other information to include in your small restaurant business plan

As a restaurant owner, a few components of your business plan are unique to your industry. 

None of these fit neatly into any one section of a business plan. We suggest addressing them in additional sections or within the appendix .

Restaurant location and layout

Include information about your restaurant’s location . 

Some of this information will be included in your market analysis, but once you’ve secured a location, you should go deeper and analyze factors like:

  • Rent and utilities
  • Foot traffic
  • Parking availability
  • Nearby businesses

Explaining the layout of your restaurant – especially your kitchen – is also important. Consider adding photos or diagrams of each room to your plan. 

Diagrams can be especially helpful. You can add in-depth details for seating arrangements in the dining room or how staff should move efficiently throughout the kitchen.

What do many people do before deciding whether to eat at a restaurant? 

They look at the menu.

You can gain or lose customers on the strength of your menu. It affects numerous business areas, from marketing to pricing and operations.

For instance, if you’re running a family-friendly restaurant but your prices are too high, people will see that on your menu and may decide to eat somewhere cheaper. 

On the other hand, if you’re running a fine dining restaurant , but your menu fails to describe your dishes in an appealing way, diners may go somewhere they perceive as having higher quality meals.

That makes the business plan a great place to create menu concepts. 

You can experiment with different offerings, price points, and menu designs until you’re confident about sharing them with customers. 

And since business plans are continuously updated as your business changes—you can see how your menu has changed over time and what’s been most successful.

Download your free small restaurant business plan template

If you’re ready to start a restaurant, you can download our free small restaurant business plan template from our library of over 550 sample business plans . 

Get started today, and discover why businesses that plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t .

More restaurant business plan examples:

  • Food truck business plan
  • Coffee shop business plan
  • Bakery business plan
  • Brewery business plan

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Content Author: Makenna Crocker

Makenna Crocker is the Marketing Specialist at Richardson Sports. Her work focuses on market and social trends, crafting gripping and authentic content, and enhancing marketing strategy to foster stronger B2B and B2C relationships. With a master’s degree in Advertising and Brand Responsibility from the University of Oregon, she specializes in generating a strong and responsible brand presence through content that positively influences and inspires others.

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Table of Contents

  • Why you need a plan
  • Don’t ignore your pricing and financial strategy
  • Additional info to include
  • Free business plan template

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Restaurant Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

how-to-start-a-restaurant (1)

If you want to start a restaurant or expand your current one, you need a business plan.

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their restaurants. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a restaurant business plan step-by-step so you can create your restaurant’s business plan today.

Download our Ultimate Restaurant Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Restaurant Business Plan?

A restaurant business plan provides a snapshot of your restaurant business as it stands today, and lays out your projected growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research, information about your target market, and a sample menu to support your winning restaurant business plan.

Why You Need a Restaurant Business Plan

If you’re looking to start a restaurant or grow the existing restaurant you need a business plan. A restaurant business plan will help you secure funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your restaurant in order to improve your chances of success. Your restaurant business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Restaurants

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a restaurant are bank loans and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your restaurant business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest.

To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable. But they will want to see a professional restaurant business plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business.

The second most common form of funding for a restaurant is angel investors. Angel investors are wealthy individuals who will write you a check. They will either take equity in return for their funding or, like a bank, they will give you a loan. Private equity groups are also a good source of funding for restaurant chains looking to expand further.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a restaurant business plan.

Use the following restaurant business plan template which includes the 10 key elements for how to write a restaurant business plan that will help you start, grow, and/or secure funding for your business.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your restaurant business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your business plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of restaurant business you are operating and the status; for example, are you a startup, do you have a restaurant that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of restaurants?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your business plan. For example, give a brief overview of the restaurant industry. Discuss the type of restaurant you are operating. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer a financial analysis of your business.

Company Overview

In your company analysis, you will provide a brief description of the type of restaurant you are operating.

For example, are you writing a small restaurant business plan or a business plan for a restaurant franchise. Further, you might operate one of the following types:

  • Fine Dining : characterized by the fancy decor, a dress code, and high prices
  • Casual Dining : offers waiter/waitress service in a nice (but not overly fancy) atmosphere with moderate prices
  • Fast Casual : characterized by quality food (close to the quality of casual dining) but no waiter/waitress service in an accessible atmosphere
  • Fast Food : quick service style provided at the counter or via a drive-through. Lowest quality food and lowest prices
  • Steak Restaurant : focuses on steak entrees and is usually a higher priced and fancier restaurant
  • Buffet Restaurant : may or may not offer waiter/waitress service. Patrons serve themselves from buffet food selection
  • Ethnic Restaurant : focuses on a specific ethnic cuisine such as Indian food, Mexican food, or Moroccan cuisine.

Within these types of restaurants, there are also ethnic food specialties such as American, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, etc.

In addition to explaining the type of restaurant you operate, the Company Analysis section of your restaurant business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

  • When and why did you start the business?
  • Your mission statement and how it connects to your restaurant’s brand.
  • What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include sales goals you’ve reached, new restaurant openings, etc.
  • Your legal business structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, also called a Market Analysis, you need to provide a market overview and an overview of the industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the restaurant industry educates you. It helps you understand the target market in which you are operating.

Secondly, research can improve your strategy particularly if your research identifies market trends. For example, if there was a trend towards speedy restaurant services, it would be helpful to ensure your business plan calls for take-out or other quick-service options.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your business plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your restaurant business plan:

  • How big is the restaurant business (in dollars)?
  • Is the market declining or increasing?
  • Who are the key competitors in the market?
  • Who are the key suppliers in the market?
  • What trends are affecting the industry?
  • What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
  • What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your restaurant? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your restaurant business plan must detail the customer base or target market you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: business executives, college students, sports enthusiasts, soccer moms, techies, teens, baby boomers, etc.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of restaurant you operate. Clearly, baby boomers would want a different atmosphere, pricing and sample menu options, and would respond to different marketing promotions than teens.

Try to break out your customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to diner demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and average income levels of the new customers you seek to serve. Because most restaurants primarily serve customers living in the same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. This should also include how your customers choose where they should eat, their dining habits, and how much they are willing to spend on a meal.

The answers to the following questions should be included in your customer analysis:

  • Who is your target market?
  • What are their needs and wants?
  • How do they make dining decisions?
  • What motivates them to choose one restaurant over another?

The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and building customer loyalty.

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With Growthink’s Ultimate Restaurant Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

This competitive research should help you identify the direct and indirect competitors that your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other restaurants.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from you that aren’t directly competing. This includes restaurants, supermarkets, and customers preparing dishes for themselves at home. You need to mention such competition to show you understand that not everyone frequents a restaurant each day.

With regards to direct competition, you want to detail the other restaurants with which you compete. Your greatest competitors will be restaurants located very close to your specific location, who are of the same type (e.g., fine dining, casual dining, etc.) and who offer the same cuisine (Japanese, Italian, etc.).

For each such competitor, provide an overview of the other businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

  • What types of repeat customers do they serve?
  • What menu items do they offer?
  • What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
  • What are they good at?
  • What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the existing customers’ perspective. And don’t hesitate to find out this information from customers by reviewing your competitors’ Yelp listings and other review pages.

The final part of this section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

  • Will you provide superior food items?
  • Will you provide menu items that your competitors don’t offer?
  • Will you make it easier or faster for customers to acquire your meals?
  • Will you provide better customer service?
  • Will you offer better pricing?

Think about your unique selling points that will help you outperform your competition and document them in this section of your business plan.

    Finish Your Business Plan Today!

Marketing plan.

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a restaurant business plan, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product : in the product section you should reiterate the type of restaurant that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific menu items you offer/will offer.

Price : Document the prices. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the menu items you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the location of your restaurant. Perform a location analysis and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, is your restaurant located next to a heavily populated office building, or gym? Discuss how your location might provide a steady stream of customers. Also, if you operate or plan to operate food trucks, detail the locations where the trucks will operate.

Promotions : the final part of your restaurant marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

  • Making your restaurant’s front store extra appealing to attract passing customers
  • Search engine marketing and optimization
  • Social media posting/advertising
  • Advertising in local papers and magazines
  • Reaching out to local bloggers and websites
  • Local radio advertising
  • Banner ads at local venues

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your restaurant business plan explained your goals, your operational plan describes how you will meet them.

This section of your restaurant business plan should have two key elements as follows:

  • Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your restaurant such as serving customers, procuring supplies, keeping the restaurant clean, etc.
  • Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to serve your 1,000th customer, or when you hope to reach $X in sales. It could also be when you expect to hire your Xth employee or launch a new location.

Management Team

To demonstrate your restaurant’s ability to succeed as a business, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in the restaurant business. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience operating restaurants and/or successfully running small businesses.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Pro-Forma Profit & Loss Statement / Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows how much revenue you expect to earn or have earned, and then subtracts your costs to show your actual or projected profit.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you serve 100 customers per day or 200? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Pro-Forma Balance Sheets

While balance sheets include much information, to simplify them to the key items you need to know about, balance sheets show your assets and liabilities.

For instance, if you spend $250,000 on building out your restaurant, that will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $100.000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Pro-Forma Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

For example, let’s say a company approached you with a massive $100,000 catering contract, that would cost you $50,000 to fulfill. Well, in most cases, you would have to pay that $50,000 now for ingredients, supplies, equipment rentals, employee salaries, etc. But let’s say the company didn’t pay you for 180 days. During that 180-day period, you could run out of money.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a restaurant:

  • Location build-out including design fees, construction, etc.
  • Cost of equipment like stoves, refrigerators, blenders
  • Cost of ingredients and maintaining an adequate amount of supplies
  • Payroll or salaries paid to staff
  • Business insurance
  • Taxes and permits
  • Legal expenses

Attach your full financial projections, detailed cost analysis and/or break-even analysis in the appendix of your business plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your store design blueprint, location lease, or initial menu design.

Taking the time to write your own restaurant business plan for your business is a worthwhile endeavor. It will help you communicate your ideas and provide potential investors with the information they need to make an informed decision about investing in your restaurant.

A well-crafted business plan will also give you a road map for growing your business and achieving your long-term goals. So, while it may take some time to put together, it will be well worth the effort in the end.

If you follow the restaurant business plan template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the restaurant business, your competition, and your existing customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful restaurant concept.

Want more tips? Check out our related articles:

  • How to Start a Restaurant
  • Restaurant Startup Costs: How Much Does It Cost To Start a Restaurant?
  • How To Write a Restaurant Marketing Plan + Template & Examples
  • How To Get Funding To Start and/or Grow Your Restaurant

Restaurant Business Plan Template FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my restaurant business plan.

Growthink’s Ultimate Restaurant Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily complete your restaurant business plan.

Where Can I Download a Free Restaurant Business Plan PDF?

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

Where Can I Find a Small Restaurant Business Plan PDF?

Our small restaurant business plan PDF is a free resource to to help you get started on your own small restaurant business plan.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Restaurant business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan professional services can help you create a winning business.

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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 .

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Restaurant Business Plan Template

Download the Free Restaurant Business Plan Template from BentoBox

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How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: Complete Guide

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  • January 31, 2023
  • Food & Beverage

best restaurant business plan template

👇 Check all our resources on restaurants 👇

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?

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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)..!

best restaurant business plan template

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%.

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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 .

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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.

best restaurant business plan template

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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Starting a restaurant business is a fulfilling yet challenging endeavour that must be prepared for with a proper business plan. Many entrepreneurs who embark in this journey tend to have difficulties in writing down their plans, but this is what this article is for. This will serve as a collection of business plan guidelines with the sole purpose of helping you turn your dreams into reality.

Restaurant Description

Restaurant Description

To get things off the ground, you need to know your restaurant inside and out. Taking note of the various aspects and details can help you better plan things out. After all, if you don’t have a clue about what you’re building from the ground up, you wouldn’t be able to come up with things like your mission statement . Written below are the aspects of your restaurant that you need to be clear with:

Type of Business

One of the first things you need to decide is what type of restaurant you’ll be setting up. Is it a fast food chain? Perhaps a fancy restaurant? Maybe a cafe? Deciding this is one of the most important initial decisions to make as it will be the foundation of all other decisions in the future.

Location is an important factor for any business and restaurants are no exceptions. You need to cite your chosen location in your business plan and why it makes the best sense for you to be there. Foot traffic, convenience, its relation to your restaurant’s theme, and more ought to be outlined here.

This part will be dedicated to how your brand is to be presented to your customers. It is the message you send, but the core quality would be your products and services. The consistent delivery of excellence is always a great message to send and it will say a lot about your brand.

Part of coming up with a business plan is the exploration and outlining of concepts and themes you may have in mind. This is the creative side of the business which makes everything so interesting, so be as specific and realistic as you can about what you plan to put out there and how it is to be done.

This can go hand-in-hand with the type of restaurant and your chosen themes. You’re likely to change things up as you progress, but it is still important to specify the dishes of your initial menu template . State their prices, what their names are, and how you intend to present them to your customers.

The funding and investment of others in your restaurant must also be outlined in your business plan. Take note of the specific amount and if that is not possible, then at least write the amount range of the initial investment. Having a clear idea of the resources available to you can help in various stages of operating a restaurant.

Describe the physical aspect of your restaurant with details such as the space you have, the decors, your equipment, and more. Take into account the space when deciding on the placement of tables, chairs, counters, and the like. Equipment like your refrigerator, the stove, your inventory, must also be noted down. Feature your chosen colors, your logo, and the unique designs you have in mind prominently.

Market Analysis

Market Analysis

No strategic marketing plan would be complete without a thorough market analysis. Here is where you break down and analysis both your customers and your competition. It is crucial to continuously define and learn from both as you expand your restaurant’s success rate more and more over the years.

Target Market

When it comes to your target market , you must first identify and define them through several factors. This includes their age groups, educational attainment, income level, cultural background, location, and so much more. In doing so, you get a clearer idea of their wants and needs.

Starting off your competitive analysis by asking certain questions is often the right way to go. Ask about the nature of your competitors, their specific services, their innate strengths and weaknesses, among various others. One easy method to compare your business to your competitors’ is known as a competition grid. This is done by writing down the names of products and services that can compete with you on the left side of a piece of paper. At the top, list down the characteristics of each one. Such a technique can help you see just where your business fits within the market overall.

Management

This is what holds everything together in a restaurant business. Before you go about constructing your management policy, you must first differentiate the two primary parts. There is the front of the house management and then there’s the back of the house management. Here’s a quick look at their respective responsibilities and how you can successfully run either one of them.

Front of the House Management

When it comes to dealing with areas that are exposed to customers, the front of the house management has that covered. Among the responsibilities is making sure that customers’ first impressions are positive ones. This means not only creating an ambience that is welcoming and satisfactory, but also ensuring that the place is tidy and organized.

This is the department that deals with the behind the scenes part of running a restaurant. Here the chefs prepare the dishes, expense tracking is done, employee performance review is done, among others. Restaurant owners will be handling several of these responsibilities, although a few from the front of the house management will also need their attention.

Operations

There are considerable things to take note of when it comes to operations. It’s varied nature means having to look into your POS system, working on operations and management spreadsheets , managing employees, and more. Here is a specific breakdown of the areas that will require your constant attention, in one way or another:

There are different things to take into account when hiring staff. For cooks, the most significant factor to look into would be their experience and level of training. The wait staff must be capable of fast movements and multitasking. Although it is considered entry-level, dishwashers are among the most important. For them, it pays to be nicer and more generous since you wouldn’t want them to suddenly walk away from their highly stressful work.

Before you focus on the training, you must first ensure that you’ve got the right people for the job. They must meet the necessary standards in abilities, experiences, and personality traits for their work. Once that’s done, they have to be exposed to your structured plan. Provide your staff with achievable and measurable goals. This way, you can better monitor what they need to learn, what to work on better, and where they naturally shine.

Daily Operations & Production

As the restaurant owner, your responsibilities extend to working with employees, dealing with customers, financial planning, sanitation maintenance, and production upkeep. It is not a requirement, but a background in hospitality and business administration can help in these areas. Juggling the day to day responsibilities will also involve proper delegation of tasks besides the preferable competence in all other areas.

Customer Service

One of the first things to remember is that the customer is always right. Although it doesn’t have to be interpreted literally, it is a saying that embodies a mindset when dealing with customers. Remain sympathetic and understanding to whatever concerns they may have. Also take any feedback they may have into consideration; the satisfaction that they’ve been listened to is bound to enhance their perception of your restaurant.

When dealing with suppliers, it is important to take note of factors that mean the most to you. This could be about the payment terms, the quality, the pricing, the delivery schedule, and the transport of packing. Look for a supplier who is capable of accommodating your needs. As you deal with prospective suppliers, you may end up having to compromise on certain things. The key then is to decide what is or is not acceptable in negotiations.

Management Controls

One thing to keep in the back of your mind is the potential occurrence of employee fraud and theft. Establishing internal management control can involve written policies procedures, monitoring systems, and active supervision. When it comes to financial control, tech such as accounting softwares, point-of-sale registers, and the like are also going to come in handy. Concerning inventory, it is advisable to check for damaged containers and seeing if the items delivered matches what was ordered.

Administrative Systems

Concerning administrative systems, the best thing to have is excellent communication across virtually all departments. Teamwork is also something that is crucial to the consistent delivery of high quality service. Concentrated efforts to foster both can charge up your restaurant, hopefully ending with a culture of unity and premium performances on everybody’s part.

When in need of help, you can always reach out to certain specialists or consultants. They’ll be able to provide you with their unique brand of wisdom, knowledge, and overall guidance. Just be sure to have a definable and measurable goal in mind. Another thing to look out for would be to receive a quote for the service, as well as the expected time the work is going to take.

Financial Projections

Financial Projections

The development of your financial projections, both in the short-term and long-term, will depend on various things at your disposal. This will include your cash handling policy , budget plan , income worksheet , and so much more. To be even more clear, here are the specifics of what you need to project for your restaurant:

Sales Projections

The projection of your sales is critical to your business because it can help you understand just how profitable your restaurant concept is. With these projections, you’d also be able to estimate how much to spend and what your spending priorities should be on. You can base these sales projections on three factors:

This involves how many customers your restaurant can feasibly serve at any given time depending on the size of your physical space.

This talks about the overall market. Questions will include if your guests are of the repeat customers variety or will you be able to attract new ones; if your restaurant is answering a certain demand in the market; if there is major competition around, and so much more.

This asks the question of what the max number of customers can you serve in any given day. Normally, this is determined through demographic research.

Expense Projections

Forecasting your operating expenses comes from looking at the restaurant’s recurring costs. This includes your sales and marketing, your general and administrative costs, and your market research. Getting a good idea of how much you’ll be spending can go a long way in making sure your general budget is on point.

Capital Budget

This is the process that helps you determine just how viable your long-term investments are concerning your restaurant’s projects. As a business owner, there are a few techniques that you can resort to, and these are:

Payback Period

This measures the time which your initial cash flow is earned back by your project.

Accounting Rate of Return

This calculates your project’s profitability by the total net income projected, divided by your average or initial investment.

Net Present Value

This is equal to your initial cash outflow, minus the sum of your discounted cash inflows.

Internal Rate of Return

This refers to the discount rate where your project’s net present value turns to zero.

Profitability Index

Otherwise known as the ‘PI,’ this involves your project’s ratio of present value for its future cash flows.

Start things off with your annual operating budget. From there, cite your anticipated income for each month. Once that’s done, go for the monthly expenditures so that you can arrive at the cash flow worksheet . To ensure that everything remains effective, you need to update your projections at a monthly basis.

Advertising & Marketing

Advertising & Marketing

Making sure that your restaurant is well known to potential customers is why so much effort is put into advertising and marketing. In today’s world, there is a myriad of methods that entrepreneurs can employ and the more innovative you are, the better. Ready your social media Marketing plan , your marketing promotion tracking , and others. Here’s what you can do for your business as far as ads and marketing are concerned.

Methods to Promote

In today’s business climate, there are two primary ways you can advertise and promote. One, is through online means. The other is through traditional, offline methods. Online marketing involves the use of email, social media platforms, search engines, and the like. If your restaurant has a Facebook or Instagram page, you can easily post a status update or a picture of a brand new dish to entice customers both current and prospective. You can reach out to consumers through their emails, give promotions and discounts, all without having to leave your desk.

Traditional methods, on the other hand, remains the same as it always has been. You can have staff hand out flyers to customers as they enter or leave your restaurant. TV or radio ads are still viable, if somewhat outdated, options. Newspapers aren’t unheard of as an advertising medium either. Despite all that, one of the better methods to promote is through word of mouth. Create an excellent enough experience for your customers and they’ll be sure to talk about it to their friends, families, co-workers, and others.

One way for you to target your audience is through the creation of a buyer persona. The greater detail you put into this, the higher your chances of targeting a specific audience as your brand strategies play out. Another way to target audiences is through the use of email and online surveys. This way, you can keep yourself updated with your consumer’s thoughts and opinions about your product and service.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

When it comes to actually writing down your plans, there can still be some tips that ensures a greater quality output. You may have gathered all the information related to your endeavor, but putting them all together is still a whole new ball game. Here are things that you should keep in mind as you write down your business plan:

Keep it Short

Nobody wants to read a wall of text. As much as possible, you should make sure that your writing is both clear and concise. Get straight to the point and include only what is necessary. Keep in mind that people tend to have little patience when it comes to reading. The shorter it is, the easier it will be to attract people and make them understand what you’ve got planned.

Know your Audience

You’ve done a lot of research into your own business by now; know that doing the same for your audience is going to yield just as much positive results. Realizing who you are writing for can do absolute wonders for your writing, since your knowledge will serve as a guideline for what you should or shouldn’t do.

Don’t be Intimidated

Your entrepreneurial journey will be difficult and daunting, but letting fear and intimidation get to you is defeat from the get go. Console yourself with the acquisition of as much knowledge and wisdom as you can. Believe that what you’ve written is right and in the event that it isn’t, open your mind to constructive criticism and strive for ways to improve.

Understand the Competition

You can do a lot worse than making sure you have a thorough understanding of what you are up against. Learning how your competition conducts business is the first phase in adapting and countering them.

Focus on the Opportunity

As an entrepreneur, you carve out opportunities as opposed to waiting for them to pop up. When all else gives you doubt, remember what made you want to take the risk in the first place. Focus on all the opportunities you’ve had thus far and it will give you the necessary kick and drive to keep going and succeed.

Summarise your Ideas

This goes hand in hand with keeping things short. Unless you’re divulging actual details and specifics, it is best to just write down summaries of ideas. Anything that is theoretical or abstract at this point should be written in a minimal manner.

To top it all off, just because you’re keeping things short and summarizing doesn’t mean you can keep anything important uncovered. If nothing else, ensure that your business’ key areas are all covered. Miss or neglect one and you’ve got a serious flaw in your hands.

7 Business Plan Templates for all Restaurant Needs

7 Business Plan Templates for all Restaurant Needs

One last thing to tackle would be the different templates that you may need. Since each situation is different, it pays to know which business plan template is best suited for you. Here are seven samples that you may want to take into consideration.

Restaurant Business Plan

Restaurant Business Plan Template

  • Business Plan Guidelines Template

Include your concept, a sample menu, what type of service you’ll be getting into, how you plan to run your service team, the design, and many more. This ought to be the one Business plan you know best.

Business Plan to Get a Loan

Restaurant Business Plan To Get A Loan Template

With this type of business plan, all necessary financial information is needed. This includes your profit and loss statements, bank statements, and balance sheets. You can opt to write your pro forma statement yourself or get an accountant to do that for you.

Restaurant Business Plan for Investors

Restaurant Business Plan for Investors Template

  • Investment Company Business Plan Template

As it concerns business plans for investors, you need to ensure that what you’ve got is 100% complete. Leave nothing out, especially the most important components. By doing so, you further guarantee that investors will be more attracted to your plans, increasing the odds of you acquiring funding from them.

Restaurant Business Plan for Landlord

Restaurant Business Plan for Landlord

A restaurant business plan for a landlord should include an explanation for your interest in a certain property. Market research data also needs to be included, particularly data that shows why your plans for the space is viable. Spell out your lease terms, renewal options, as well as how you are able to finance the lease payments.

Franchise Business Plan Template

Franchise Business Plan Template

Franchising means knowing your budget and doing extensive research on the certain franchise you mean to take on. These are the two things your business plan will center around. There will be interview processes where you’ll have to smooth over any specifics with the franchisor. Adjustments may be made to your plan in such cases.

Banquet Hall Marketing Plan

Banquet Hall Marketing Plan

Since banquet halls are often leased for the hosting of seminars, weddings, award ceremonies, and the like, all of this must be indicated in the business plan template. You can expect things like budgets optimizing monthly leases or mortgage expenses in these plans.

Food Delivery Business Plan

Creating this type of plan depends on the type of food delivery business you have in mind. If you are more of a highly organized and local business, you would need a more standardized process. When going for a general health food delivery, innovation is key. Should diet meals be what you’re going after, then highlighting the responsibilities involved is best.

As you can see, there’s a lot to take in when it comes to creating a restaurant business proposal . There can be a lot to prepare for, but learning how to overcome restaurant crisis is just one hurdle on your entrepreneurial journey. So take those tips to run a successful restaurant at heart and you should be more than fine in this undertaking. In wrapping this up, you are now one step closer to achieving your goals as a restaurant owner.

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COMMENTS

  1. Free printable restaurant business plan templates

    With Canva's ready-made business plan templates for restaurants, you can breeze through the hard work and go straight to hearing the resounding "yes" of investors. Canva's beginner-friendly editing platform makes creating business plans fun for anyone. With a few clicks, you can select a layout that matches your restaurant's branding ...

  2. How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan in 2024 (Step by Step Guide

    6. Restaurant design. The design portion of your restaurant business plan is where you can really show off your thoughts and ideas to the investors. If you don't have professional mock-ups of your restaurant rendered, that's fine. Instead, put together a mood board to get your vision across.

  3. Restaurant Business Plan Template

    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 ...

  4. How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan + Free Template

    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.

  5. How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

    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 ...

  6. How to write a restaurant business plan

    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.

  7. Restaurant Business Plan Template [Free Download]

    Here's how to get started with your new restaurant business plan in 10 easy steps: Fill out your contact information in the form above and click "Submit.". Click the "Download" button on the next page to save the business plan document to your device. Open the document in Word, Pages, or your word processor of choice.

  8. How to Write a Small Restaurant Business Plan

    Download your free small restaurant business plan template. If you're ready to start a restaurant, you can download our free small restaurant business plan template from our library of over 550 sample business plans. Get started today, and discover why businesses that plan grow 30% faster than those that don't. More restaurant business plan ...

  9. Restaurant Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

    This section of your restaurant business plan should have two key elements as follows: Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your restaurant such as serving customers, procuring supplies, keeping the restaurant clean, etc. Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve.

  10. Free Restaurant Business Plan Template

    This free restaurant business plan template is your first step in making your dream a legal, planned reality. Template preview . e-Sign with PandaDoc. Templates ... There isn't a single best business model for restaurants, as there are a lot of factors at play: from menu and decor to location and staff wages. ...

  11. Business Plan Template: Restaurant

    Tool. A restaurant business plan provides the foundation for your business. Not only is a detailed business plan the key to your restaurant's success, but it also outlines your vision by detailing how your business will take shape and operate. Highly customizable - Easily add your concept, ideas and information into the editable template.

  12. How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan [Free Template]

    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 ...

  13. Free Restaurant Business Plan Template

    The plan can serve as both a blueprint for day-to-day internal activities and a pitch for potential funding sources. Typically, a restaurant business plan should include: Company information. Mission and vision. Location (s) Legal structure. Hours of operation. Management structure and key personnel. Industry analysis and competitor research.

  14. How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: Complete Guide

    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 ...

  15. Writing a Business Plan for a Restaurant

    A restaurant business plan is a document that outlines your restaurant's concept, goals, target market, marketing strategies, operations, and financial projections. It serves as a blueprint for your business, helping you make informed decisions and attract potential investors or lenders. A well-developed restaurant business plan not only ...

  16. Restaurant Business Plan Template

    The business plan provides them with a complete description of your strategy. Download the free Restaurant Business Plan Template to organize your vision and ensure that nothing is overlooked. For guides for specific restaurant type's business plan, learn from our resources below. Food Truck Business Plan. Bar Business Plan.

  17. Restaurant

    Set your new restaurant up for success with this delectable business plan template. Get your fresh restaurant on the right track using Visme's detailed business plan template. Integrate a few of our high-quality stock images into your work to immediately surpass your competitors. Our wide range of beautiful visuals is at your disposal.

  18. How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

    This restaurant business plan template contains all the most important sections of your business plan — you can download your customizable copy of the business plan template here, and read on to learn about the key elements that make a restaurant business plan successful. Related Business Plan Resources. Restaurant Business Plan Executive Summary

  19. Restaurant Business Plan [ How to Guide & 6+ Samples

    7 Business Plan Templates for all Restaurant Needs. One last thing to tackle would be the different templates that you may need. Since each situation is different, it pays to know which business plan template is best suited for you. Here are seven samples that you may want to take into consideration. Restaurant Business Plan; Download Now

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  23. BAR 1980, Moscow

    Review. Save. Share. 5 reviews #3,625 of 11,090 Restaurants in Moscow $ European Russian. Yuzhnobutovskaya St., 117, Moscow 117042 Russia +7 499 110-19-80 Website Menu. Closed now : See all hours. Improve this listing. See all (71) There aren't enough food, service, value or atmosphere ratings for Bar 1980, Russia yet.