Restaurant Business Plan Guide for 2024

What Is A Restaurant Business Plan?

An outline of your restaurant’s goals and the steps you will take to achieve those goals is the essence of a restaurant business plan.

The business plan also discusses the nature of the business itself, financial projections, background information, and organizational strategies that govern the day-to-day operations of your restaurant.

What is the importance of a restaurant business plan?

If you do not have a restaurant business plan, it will be extremely difficult – sometimes even impossible – for you to obtain financing from an investor or bank.

If you do not have this crucial starting or operational capital, you may not be able to keep your doors open for long, if at all.

A business plan is essential regardless of whether funding is the primary concern. It provides you with clear direction on how to translate general strategies into actionable plans for achieving your objectives.

In addition to the boots-on-the-ground functional strategy, the plan can also help solidify the mid-level business strategy and the corporate strategy that provides the driving force for the organization.

You should consider this plan as a roadmap that guides you when things are going smoothly and, more importantly, when they are not.

Writing a business plan will give your restaurant the best chance of success.

The first question to ask

Embarking on the task of drafting a restaurant business plan can feel overwhelming. As outlined in the “What To Include In An Effective Restaurant Business Plan” section below, a substantial amount of information and detail is required to ensure the final document is comprehensive and impactful. Instead of diving into the writing process immediately, it is highly beneficial to address several general questions first. These questions will assist in refining the information to be included in your plan, making the overall composition process less challenging.

The questions are:

• What is the problem addressed by the business’s product or service?
• What specific market segment will the business target?
• How does the business propose to solve the identified problem?
• Who comprises the target customer base for the business?
• What strategies will the business employ to market and sell its products or services to these customers?
• What is the estimated market size for the proposed solution?
• What is the business model that the company plans to adopt?
• How does the business intend to generate revenue?
• Who are the main competitors in the market?
• What measures will the business take to establish and sustain a competitive edge?
• What is the growth management strategy of the business?
• Who will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business?
• What qualifications make these individuals suitable for their roles?
• What risks and threats does the business face?
• How does the business intend to minimize or mitigate these risks and threats?
• What capital and resource requirements does the business have?
• What are the historical and projected financial statements of the business?

Depending on what kind of business you have, some of these questions might not be relevant, or you may not have the answers for them. However, it’s a good idea to think about and try to give information for the entire list. This way, your final restaurant business plan will be as thorough as possible. After you’ve responded to these questions for your business, you can use much of that information in the actual business plan. We’ll talk about what specific things to put in the next part.

What should be in a good plan for your restaurant business?

In this part, we’ll explain what you need to put in a good plan for your restaurant business and give a quick example for each part.

1) Summary of the executive summary

To begin your business plan, always start with a short summary. This introduces key things like:

– Mission statement (what your business aims to do)

– Concept (your business idea)

– Execution (how you’ll put your idea into action)

– Overhead costs (expenses to run the business)

– Labor costs (expenses for workers)

– Return on investment (how much profit you expect)

This part of your plan is like a teaser, making the reader curious to learn more.

Example

Fanty & Mingo’s is a fancy restaurant with 50 seats. We’ll serve a mix of Swedish and Peruvian food, calling it Sweruvian fusion. To save money, we’ll have simple yet stylish decorations, skilled cooks, and well-trained servers. Since we’re in a great area with a growing economy, we expect to make a 20 percent profit each year.

2) Statement of Mission

A mission statement is a short description of what your business does for its customers, employees, and owners. It’s different from a vision statement, which is about goals for internal decision-making. Even though they are closely connected, you can think about them in terms of who, what, why, and where.

The vision statement is about where you want your business to be and how you want your customers and community to benefit. On the other hand, the mission statement is about the who, what, and why of your business – it’s like a plan of action that turns the vision statement into reality.

Example

Here’s an example of what our made-up company stands for:

Fanty and Mingo’s is happy to create the tastiest Sweruvian food and give quick, friendly, and accurate service. Our aim is to be the best place to work, giving our team chances to grow and have a fulfilling career in a fun and safe workplace.

3) Description of the company

In this part of your restaurant business plan, you introduce your company to the reader. Each company’s description will be different and have its own important information. Some useful details to include are:

– Where your business is located

– Contact information

– Owner’s details

– A short description of their experience

– Legal status

– Short-term goals

– Long-term goals

– Quick study of the market

– Understanding the trends in your niche

– Why your business will do well in these market conditions

You don’t have to include all of this information. Just choose the ones that matter most to your business and make sense to share with your readers.

Example

Fanty & Mingo’s will start as a type of business called an LLC. It will be owned and run by Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe Washburne. Mr. Reynolds will be the main manager, and Ms. Washburne will be in charge of everything else.

We want our restaurant to stand out by having a great atmosphere, friendly and smart staff, and a diverse menu. This way, people will have a special experience when they eat at our place, and we can achieve our goal of providing excellent value in the fusion food niche.

Although the money we make after costs is better than what’s usual in the industry, we plan to spend more on paying our team well. This is to attract the best people to work with us.

In the first two years, we expect our restaurant to grow at a steady pace as more people hear about it from others in the area.

4) Analyze the market

A market analysis looks at three important things about the area where you want to open your restaurant:

1. The whole industry.
2. Other restaurants you’ll compete with.
3. The ways you’ll tell people about your restaurant.

This part is a quick introduction to these ideas. You can give more details about them in other parts of your restaurant business plan.

Example

• The restaurant business in our chosen location has a lot of opportunities because the city center is getting better. Some restaurants are already there, but most are bars and not very family-friendly.
• Fanty & Mingo’s wants to attract both tourists and locals who enjoy tasty food and a special atmosphere. We’ve divided our customers into five groups: 
• 1. Fancy single people
• 2. Families
• 3. Businessmen and businesswomen
• 4. Couples
• 5. Tourists

Our plan is to focus on these groups to make our restaurant grow by up to 17 percent each year.

5)  In the menu

In the menu part of your restaurant plan, you talk about the food you’ll serve in detail. Even if you haven’t finished designing your menu, you should have a few main dishes in mind.

It’s important to talk about how you’ll set prices and how that connects to your goals and how your business runs. This helps investors and partners understand what prices you’re aiming for and how you plan to make a profit.

Example

• We can’t show you a sample menu here, but if you want to learn more about creating a menu, setting prices, and get a free template, you can check out these helpful articles from the Sling blog:
• 1. “Menu Engineering: What It Is And How It Can Increase Profits”
• 2. “Restaurant Menu Pricing: 7 Tips To Maximize Profitability”
• 3. “How To Design Your Menu | Free Restaurant Menu Template”

6) The location

In this part, talk about where your restaurant might be. This helps you and your investors imagine what it will be like. Share a lot of details about the place, like how big it is, the layout, how it’s designed, details about the area’s people, and parking. The goal is to make it feel as real as possible..

Example

Fanty & Mingo’s will be in the growing downtown area of Fort Wayne, Indiana. We hope to get a space that’s at least 2,000 square feet. The dining room will be open and have lots of space, with nice colors. We want it to be close to the new baseball stadium so we can attract people before and after the games. Our goal is to appeal to young professionals who live nearby.

Parking will be easy, with spaces on the nearby streets and a big parking garage just two blocks away that can hold 1,000 vehicles.

7) Marketing

The marketing part of your restaurant plan is where you talk more about what you mentioned in the Market Analysis. Explain your plans to let people know about your restaurant and make sure they remember it well.

Example

Fanty & Mingo’s will use three different ways to make more people know about us and remember us:

1. People talking about us and things we do inside the restaurant.
2. Working together with other local businesses.
3. Getting attention from the media.

We’ll focus each way on a different group of people we want to reach. As we promote to our desired audience, we’ll use direct mail and broadcast media to reach many people, host exclusive VIP parties, and have a well-trained sommelier and wait staff for a classy touch.

8) Financials

Even though the part about money is later in your restaurant plan, it’s really crucial for getting support from investors and banks. We suggest getting a professional accountant to assist you in putting together this part. That way, it will be correct and give the best information.

Example

Fanty & Mingo’s requires $250,000 to invest in different things over the next year and a half, including:

– Fixing up the rented space

– Buying furniture for the dining area

– Getting kitchen and food-prep equipment

– Getting a license to sell liquor

– Purchasing supplies

– Covering legal fees

– Doing marketing

– Hiring and paying staff

In the first year, the profit and loss might not increase a lot, but as Fanty & Mingo’s builds its reputation and customer base, the business is expected to grow faster in the third and fourth years.

Restaurant Business Plan Format

Many people who start a new business find it helpful to have different versions of their business plan. Even though the information stays the same, the length and how you show it will change based on specific situations. Here, we talk about the four most common formats for business plans to fit various situations.

An elevator pitch

An elevator pitch is like a brief summary of the main points in your restaurant business plan. Instead of having a lot of details, it’s a quick and catchy introduction. You use it during a short elevator ride, hence the name. The goal is to grab the interest of potential customers, partners, and investors. A good elevator pitch is around 30 to 60 seconds and highlights the important parts of your restaurant business plan.

Pitch Deck

A pitch deck is like a presentation with slides and talking that aims to start a conversation and encourage people to learn more about your stakeholder plan (more details on that later). Most pitch decks cover the main points and use graphs to show market trends and benchmarks that guide decisions for the business. Some entrepreneurs use the deck to show new products. While this might not directly apply to a restaurant plan, if possible, you could share small samples of your current food or taste-test new dishes.

(External) Stakeholder Plan

A stakeholder plan is like a written presentation that business owners use to explain their business model to customers, partners, and possible investors. It can be as long as needed to share everything about your business. But it should be well-written, organized, and made for people who are looking at your business from the outside.

Imagine your stakeholder plan as a tool to persuade others to join in and help make your business happen. Write it in a way that makes readers want to work with you and support your business growth.

(Internal) Management Plan 

A management plan is part of your restaurant business plan. It talks about the things that owners and managers need to know to run the business well. Unlike the stakeholder plan, which is for people outside the business, the management plan is for people inside the business.

Most of the stuff in the management plan won’t matter much to people outside, so you can write it more openly and informally.

The success of any organization depends on the efficient management of its workforce

• Once you’ve made your restaurant business plan, it’s time to turn it into a real business. One of the toughest parts is making sure your team works well and your business succeeds. That’s where the Sling app can be useful.
• Sling has smart scheduling tools and other features to help you manage your team better. These include keeping track of time and attendance, having a built-in time clock, making sure labor costs are optimized, doing data analysis and reporting, helping with messaging and communication, and creating task lists. And there’s much more that can make running your business smoother.

With Sling, you can plan your schedule quickly, talk better with your team, and handle all your work in one place. If you use Sling for your schedules, you’ll have more time to focus on making your restaurant business plan happen.

For extra resources to help you run your business better, organize and plan your team, and keep track of labor costs, check out GetSling.com today.

Note: This information is for learning and not for legal, tax, HR, or any other professional advice. Talk to a professional for specific advice.

Explore more: Business Growth & Management, Templates & Guides

Creating an effective restaurant business plan requires a great deal of information and detail, as you will see in the section below.

It is highly beneficial to answer a number of general questions before starting with word one.

Rather than starting with the word onecess, it would be beneficial to answer a few general questions.

You can design your own website. The easiest way to make sure your website can accomplish all of these goals is to hire a pro. You’ll have more time to run and grow your business.

Please download your brochure for your business plan below – Myinvestorchoice is ranked the number 1 Agency on Upwork for preparing business plans