business plan for a franchise restaurant

Eat App for

How it works

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

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. 

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 common 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.

1.1 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.

1.2 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.

1.3 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.

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 menu for your restaurant business plan. You can choose a design that you can envision yourself using and add your logo to the mock-up.

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.

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.

7.1 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.

7.2 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. 

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.

Growth Marketing Manager at Eat App

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.

Reviewed by

Nezar Kadhem

Co-founder and CEO of Eat App

He is a regular speaker and panelist at industry events, contributing on topics such as digital transformation in the hospitality industry, revenue channel optimization and dine-in experience.

Share this article!

Related articles

How to Calculate Food Cost in:...

Whether you're putting together a menu for your...

The A to Z Guide to:...

86 that dish? Camper? Kill it? In the weeds?

OpenTable vs. Resy::...

When it comes to choosing an online restaurant...

Join restaurants in 70+ countries using Eat App

Empowering restaurants, one table at a time Discover seamless dining with Eat App

• Reservation system
• Table management
• CRM and guest profiles
• Reports & trends
• Integrations
• Privacy policy
• Terms of service
• The 16 Best Reservation Systems
• Guide to Restaurant Marketing
• Guide to Customer Service
• Guide to Making a Restaurant Website
• All articles

"> "> Compare us

• Seven Rooms
• Compare All

© Eat App. All rights reserved.

Upmetrics AI Assistant: Simplifying Business Planning through AI-Powered Insights. Learn How

• AI ASSISTANTS

Upmetrics AI Your go-to AI-powered business assistant

AI Writing Assist Write, translate, and refine your text with AI

AI Financial Assist Automated forecasts and AI recommendations

• TOP FEATURES

AI Business Plan Generator Create business plans faster with AI

Financial Forecasting Make accurate financial forecasts faster

Strategic Planning Develop actionable strategic plans on-the-go

AI Pitch Deck Generator Use AI to generate your investor deck

See how it works  →

AI-powered business planning software

Very useful business plan software connected to AI. Saved a lot of time, money and energy. Their team is highly skilled and always here to help.

- Julien López

• BY USE CASE

Starting & Launching a Business Plan your business for launch and success

Validate Your Business Idea Discover the potential of your business idea

Secure Funding, Loans, Grants Create plans that get you funded

Business Consultant & Advisors Plan seamlessly with your team members and clients

Business Schools & Educators Simplify business plan education for students

Students & Learners Your e-tutor for business planning

• Sample Plans
• WHY UPMETRICS?

Reviews See why customers love Upmetrics

Customer Success Stories Read our customer success stories

Blogs Latest business planning tips and strategies

Strategic Planning Templates Ready-to-use strategic plan templates

Business Plan Course A step-by-step business planning course

Ebooks & Guides A free resource hub on business planning

Business Tools Free business tools to help you grow

• Sample Business Plans
• Food, Beverage & Restaurant

Food Franchise Business Plan

If you are planning to start a new food franchise in your town, the first thing you will need is a business plan. Use our food franchise business plan example created using upmetrics business plan software to start writing your business plan in no time.

Before you start writing your business plan for your new food franchise business, spend as much time as you can reading through some examples of food and restaurant business plans .

Reading some sample business plans will give you a good idea of what you’re aiming for and also it will show you the different sections that different entrepreneurs include and the language they use to write about themselves and their business plans.

We have created this sample food franchise business plan for you to get a good idea about how a perfect food franchise business plan should look like and what details you will need to include in your stunning business plan.

Food Franchise Business Plan Outline

This is the standard food franchise business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Introduction
• A BON Fide Enterprise
• Marginal Enterprise
• Irrevocable Commitment
• Doctors Associates, Inc.
• Company Values
• Business Model
• Keys to Success
• Summary Operating Forecast
• All Day Value — includes the famous $5 foot long and the $3 Six-Inch Select
• Featured Products
• All Sandwiches
• Fresh Fit Choices
• Fresh Fit For Kidz
• Sides, Drinks, Extras
• The Subway Old Cut
• The Subway PM Sub
• The WM Meer
• Demographic Trends
• Health Consciousness
• Convenience
• Lithe Rock, AR Demographics
• Operating Policies
• Operating Philosophy
• Strict Inventory Controls
• Purchasing Cost Controls
• Recipe a Portion Controls
• Sanitation a Food Handling
• Management’s Role
• Software a Systems
• Money a Profit Management
• Hiring the Best
• Training for Excellence
• Retaining the Best
• Staff Turnover / Training Costs
• Target Market
• Market Positioning a Branding
• National Advertising
• Local Marketing
• Grand Opening Budget
• Competitive Landscape
• Direct Competitors
• History and Structure
• Professional Services
• Tarek El Amarani
• Staffing a Compensation
• External Issues
• Pre-Ownership Expenses
• Revenue Assumptions
• Direct Costs
• Income Statement
• Balance Sheet
• Cash Flow Statement

Say goodbye to boring templates

Build your business plan faster and easier with AI

Plans starting from $7/month

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this food franchise business plan example into your business plan and modify the required information and download your food franchise business plan pdf and doc file. It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

Download a sample food franchise business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free food franchise business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your food franchise business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

Related Posts

Restaurant Business Plan

Cloud Kitchen Business Plan

Business Plan Presentation Complete Guide

AI Tools for Business Plan Creation

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

Plan your business in the shortest time possible

No Risk – Cancel at Any Time – 15 Day Money Back Guarantee

Popular Templates

Create a great Business Plan with great price.

• 400+ Business plan templates & examples
• AI Assistance & step by step guidance
• 4.8 Star rating on Trustpilot

Streamline your business planning process with Upmetrics .

Franchise Restaurant Business Plan: 10 Facets of Your Plan

Starting a franchise restaurant business comes with a great deal of work and planning. You’ll need skills in restaurant management , restaurant data analytics , and forecasting for restaurants . You’ll need financial support and projected success. To bring it all together, you should have a franchise restaurant business plan.

You don’t need a business plan to start a restaurant, but oh boy will your job be easier with a plan in place. It gives you a sense of security in your future, with sets of guidelines for any situation at the ready. Read on through this BinWise blog to learn how to write and work with a franchise restaurant business plan.

What Is a Franchise Restaurant Business Plan?

So, what is a franchise restaurant business plan? It’s a detailed guide to the things you’ll need to do for your business, and the facts and figures to know. It’s similar to many other types of business plans, including:

• Cafe franchise business plans
• Cafe business plans
• Standard restaurant business plans
• Brewery business plans

All in all, most business plans follow the same structure. It’s a structured plan to give you the tools to run a successful business. There are going to be lots of parts of your franchise restaurant business plan that are unique to your business. There will also, however, be many parts that are standard across business plans. 

10 Facets of the Franchise Restaurant Business Plan

Setting up your restaurant franchise business plan starts with the basic steps. As you work through the sections of a business plan, you’ll find yourself going in-depth in all the important places. A business plan structure gives you the tools to find the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities of your new business plan. 

These 10 facets of the franchise restaurant business plan will get you started. Some of these steps are unique to franchises. Others are basic parts of every business plan. They all come together to show you how to plan for your franchise restaurant business. As you follow through this sections you’ll learn about the process of running a successful franchise restaurant.

10. Executive Summary

Your executive summary is the place to define your business and give a brief, succinct overview of your business needs and plans. This is your introduction to frame your business plan.

9. Franchise Disclosure Document

The franchise disclosure document, or FDD, is the legal work of declaring your franchise business. It’s helpful to complete this as part of your business plan work. 

8. Menu Components

The restaurant menus part of your franchise restaurant business plan are vital for the legal startup process. You need to share exactly what ingredients you’ll be needing in your supplies. If you're doing something unique, like table d’hote menus , you'll need to plan that out entirely.

7. Franchise Operations Manual

The franchise operations manual is the guidebook of how your franchise restaurant locations will operate. This is a comprehensive guide, with daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly plans written out in full.

6. Industry Analysis

Your industry analysis should be focused on all franchise restaurants. This is a broad scope for your first analysis among the several analysis projects on this list.

5. Market Analysis

Your market analysis is all about your customer base. This is the place to dive into what customers will be looking for from your franchise, and how you can provide for them.

4. Marketing Plans 

Your marketing plans come up right after the market analysis because the two go hand in hand. Your marketing plans should be curated to reach your target market of customers.

3. Competitive Analysis

A competitive analysis is the third of the analysis projects, and the last one in your business plan. It serves to show you the franchises in your immediate area, and how you can be better than them.

2. Management and Staffing Organization

Management and staffing organization showcases the functions within your business. This is especially important for organizing each franchise location.

1. Financial Planning

The financial planning section is the place to write up your budget, financial situation, and any possible needed assistance. This part is particular for being shown to potential investors. 

"Key Takeaway: You don’t need a business plan to start a restaurant, but oh boy will your job be easier with a plan in place. It gives you a sense of security in your future, with sets of guidelines for any situation at the ready."

Frequently Asked Questions About Business Plans for Franchising a Restaurant

Creating a franchise restaurant business plan comes with a lot of heavy mental work. You’ll face the tough questions of your franchise business, and need answers to continue. You’ll have to plan for each possibility, and prepare your plans for your franchise partners. It’s a lot to manage. Our answers to these frequently asked questions will help you get started and remain steadfast.

How Do I Write a Business Plan for a Franchise?

Some key tips to use when it comes to writing a business plan for a franchise include:

• Defining your target audience, so you have a clear idea of who you’re creating this business for
• Setting business marketing goals, to set up a marketing plan that will lead to direct, tangible results through content marketing , email marketing , and more
• Develop your marketing strategy, so that marketing can become an instinctual, regular part of your franchise business
• Build up your sales strategy, to learn how to sell from a franchise perspective, as opposed to a singular restaurant perspective
• Identify your KPIs, or key performance indicators, to be able to measure your success and areas for growth
• Continue to monitor your business, to adjust your business plan and strategies as needed

These tips will guide you as you write your franchise restaurant business plan. They work in conjunction with many of the steps outlined in this blog, to support and grow your franchise restaurant business plan.

Do I Need a Business Plan To Open a Franchise?

You don’t technically need a business plan to open a franchise, but your business will do much better with a business plan. When you dive into a business without a structured plan with defined sections and clear guidance, you put your business at risk. You’ll reach points where you’re not sure what to do, and you’ll have to struggle to find out. A business plan is the answer.

How Do I Build a Successful Franchise Business?

To build a successful franchise business, you need a steady plan, a great team, and patience. Your business plan will pave the way for success with defined steps to take. Your team is vital for managing your franchise locations and supporting you in specified ways. Patience is a must for any restaurant, bar business , or hospitality industry job. It will bring you through hard work.

How Do I Write a Food Business Plan?

To write a food business plan, for a restaurant, bar, or even a country club, follow the basic steps and map your business in your mind. The basic steps of a business plan can come from this blog. You can also dive into restaurant business plans or a catering business plan . Mentally plan on top of these phsyical plans to develop your restaurant concept .

Your Franchise Restaurant Business Plan: Details to Run Your Business 

Writing up your franchise restaurant business plan is one of the most tangible steps toward starting up your franchise. It shows you what you’ll need to focus on with particular attention. It gives you a place to organize finances, marketing, market analysis, and so much more. 

When you’re ready to create your franchise business with a quality plan, reach out to BinWise and BlueCart . The BinWise Pro beverage inventory program , paired with the BinScan app , gives you peace of mind when you do inventory . BlueCart’s order management software simplifies your order management system . 

Restaurants | How To

How to Franchise a Restaurant in 11 Steps

Published January 9, 2024

Published Jan 9, 2024

REVIEWED BY: Mary King

WRITTEN BY: Ray Delucci

This article is part of a larger series on Restaurant .

• 1. Assess If Franchising is a Fit
• 2. Craft A Franchise Business Plan
• 3. Create a Franchise Disclosure Document
• 4. Build Out an Operation Manual
• 5. Establish Your Legal Structure
• 6. Determine Fee Structure
• 7. Build Out Financial Targets
• 8. Market Your Franchise Availability
• 9. Select Your Franchisees
• 10. Support & Train
• 11. Monitor Your Locations
• Why You Should Franchise
• Examples of Franchise Costs
• Pros & Cons of Franchising

Bottom Line

Some of the most successful food businesses in the restaurant industry come in the form of franchised restaurants. The franchise model allows the owner of a food business (the franchisor) to grow their brand and revenue while a third party (the franchisee) undertakes the operational management of the franchised business. If your restaurant concept is streamlined, easily replicated, appeals to a wide customer base, and is profitable, you might be wondering how to franchise your restaurant.

In this article, I break down the steps it takes to franchise a restaurant and go into detail on the process you can expect, plus how to tell if your restaurant is one that would do well with the franchise model. I also give the pros and cons of restaurant franchising and give insight into the best practices you should adopt. Let’s dive in.

Step 1: Assess If Franchising Is a Fit

Knowing if your restaurant can be a franchise is the first very important step in this process. Franchising is not a model for every restaurant, and this is for good reason. Answering a few questions can help you determine if franchising your restaurant is a good idea.

Is your restaurant profitable?

The first step in knowing if you should franchise your restaurant is if it is profitable and successful financially. Profit margins between 5%–8% are usually a good indicator your restaurant is performing well, especially closer to 8%. That being said, when you are successful as a restaurant, and there is demand for more of your product, then that is when you should feel comfortable branching out.

Can your concept scale?

The next part in assessing if a franchise model is right for you is your ability to scale your food. The most successful franchise models serve the same great quality food consistently across various locations. This could be one of the biggest struggles in making a franchise restaurant business, as it takes time, organization, and an operator who is very in tune with why the restaurant does well. So having standardized recipes, replicable systems of managing the business and serving guests, and access to comparably sourced ingredients are just a few of the many aspects you need to replicate your restaurant.

Do you have the funds to franchise?

Lastly, being liquid enough to cover your bills and support expanding into another location is absolutely vital to whether you can franchise or not. The costs to build out a restaurant are still there, albeit supplemented by the franchisee you bring with you. But there will still be financial obligations, and you will need to help fund the new business as your franchisee works on getting it up and running.

Step 2: Craft a Franchise Business Plan

Your franchise business will be a separate entity from your original restaurant. So you’ll still have your original business (i.e., “Awesome Restaurant, LLC”), and you’ll add a separate business to handle the franchising aspect (i.e., “Awesome Restaurant Franchising, LLC”).

The next step to creating your franchise business is writing a franchise business plan . This business plan articulates the overall vision of your franchise model and gives your franchisees a blueprint for financial success. A franchise business plan is also how you will ensure that you, as an operator, have thought of everything and are not making this decision on a whim.

Your franchise business plan should include:

• The structure of your franchise, including leadership as the business grows
• Target market
• Key demographics
• Regions expected to branch out into
• Supporting data for key expansions
• Growth projections
• Final expectations

The final step in the business plan should be articulating how you can support your franchise owners when they come under your network. Often, franchisees are people with capital and a willingness to start in the food industry but many lack the basic knowledge to open a restaurant on their own. With a solid business plan in place, you offer not only confidence but the guiding documentation they will use to understand and execute your concept’s goals and the brand vision you may have.

Step 3: Create a Franchise Disclosure Document

The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) is a legal document that provides information to potential franchisees. The FDD describes the terms of the relationship between the franchisor (you) and future franchisees.

Your FDD should include:

• Details about the franchisor (you)
• Details about the management team that prospective franchisees can expect to interact with
• Required start-up costs needed to start a franchised restaurant, along with
• A list of royalty percentages and other licensing fees

This FDD will also contain the relevant trademarks, patents, and other company information that is specific to your business that franchisees would be privy to. Sourcing restrictions, territory expansion, public figures related to the restaurant, and any other item that could have financial implications in owning a business are also typically included.

As you can imagine, this legal document is extensive and is key for doing business within the law and with good standing. If you didn’t consult with a franchise attorney when writing your business plan, you absolutely need one to help create your FDD. You can find franchise attorneys from a simple internet search, or find attorneys that specialize in business formation and franchise disclosure on legal services sites like LegalZoom.

Step 4: Build Out an Operation Manual

When you first started your restaurant , you likely wrote an employee handbook and recipe book to ensure consistently great quality in your food and service. Take this same mindset and apply it to your franchise business. You’ll need to create a guide for franchisees to ensure consistency and lay out the expectations for anyone running a business with your brand name attached.

An operations manual that is intensive, easy to follow, and offers guidance on the major tasks a franchisee will perform is something that will help elevate your business and determine how well you grow and succeed at gaining multiple franchise locations.

Your operations manual should be able to share how exactly to perform certain tasks and the philosophies behind why you approach problems and other tasks within the business, including:

Staff Management

• Hiring, onboarding, and training staff
• Performance expectations
• Promotion expectations
• Management hierarchy for each location
• Termination process
• Any other relevant employee-specific information

Food & Beverage Handling

• Food preparation
• Vendors and vendor sources
• Standardized recipes
• Philosophies on the overall guest dining experience

Operational Proficiency

• Specific contracts with repair services
• Equipment maintenance
• Safety system checks (such as fire suppression)
• Opening and closing the restaurant
• Inventory and ingredient tracking
• Performing restaurant forecasting
• Performing restaurant audits

You basically want to give your franchisees the playbook of success that you had with your guests in your first restaurant. This manual is the key to how your restaurants will function, so being as detailed as possible in how the people leading these businesses should perform is vital.

Step 5: Establish Your Legal Structure & Other Items

Establishing how your franchise business is legally set up is key. Standard practice in the industry dictates that you often will have your own parent company that establishes the franchise network. You then want to have each business be its own legal entity—for example, having your own original restaurant and the newly expanded restaurant separate. This helps protect each individual business and keeps them all in standing order financially in case one business is confronted with a difficult situation.

The legal structure is important as it allows your businesses to operate with peace of mind while also protecting each of them in their own right as operating businesses.

Other documents you may want to file for are trademarks and restaurant-specific patents you may come up with. These specific legal filings keep the successful parts of your business that drive business yours and help avoid any bad faith actions in regards to copying or taking away from your business. All of this should be done with the oversight of a lawyer or someone familiar with restaurant and individual property law.

Related: LLC vs S corporation vs C corporation: Which Is Best for Your Business?

Step 6: Determine Fee Structure

The next step is to determine the fees and other charges the franchisee will incur and pay you while operating. You need to be able to decide whether you will charge your franchisees only a royalty on top-line sales, for marketing support, or just an upfront fee. This is very important, as it gives you the game plan on how you will make money in the franchise process.

In this process, you will also look at some other important criteria. Many franchise programs require an individual franchisee to have a net worth of a certain amount to qualify. This would mean their cash and assets minus any debt they may have. For example, Subway requires a franchisee to have a net worth of $80,000 to participate in their franchise program. They also require applicants to have $30,000 in liquid assets alone to be given a shot at owning and operating their own location.

It is important to note that the percentage of top-line sales requested may change by concept. For example, Taco Bell has a 5% rate for monthly fees to operate, and this is built into the contract your franchisee will sign when starting out. It is up to you to determine the rate you would like to charge, but do note higher rates may make some franchisees wary. So, a rate that financially makes you a profit but also gives the franchisee a chance to make money is what you should aim for.

Step 7: Build Out Your Financial Targets

Knowing the financial goals you will have for your franchisee leaders is key to their success and your ability to track them. The good news is that the basis of franchising restaurants is the success of your own business, so copying this over should not be too difficult of a task. But you do need to be aware of the costs of goods, the market pricing that you will have on items, and how much it will cost to operate based on that individual location and the geographical location it sits in.

With franchised restaurants, it is very common to perform restaurant audits and have monthly financial goals that involve profit and loss (P&L) . So having targets on food cost , liquor cost, labor cost , total sales, and any other important financial markers you value is essential to ensure your restaurants perform to where they need to.

You also need to have a plan on how to support your franchisee partners to hit these goals. You need to remember that some franchisee partners are joining your brand because they want support and guidance on how to build a successful restaurant. Having clear financial goals and a roadmap on how to support their ability to achieve them is key in order to find success for all parties involved.

Step 8: Market Your Franchise Availability

Letting people know that you are offering a franchise opportunity is key to attracting potential franchisees. You will also want to highlight and champion why it is such a good prospect to franchise out a piece of your business. Some of the items below I have seen in the market are examples of what you should do to make potential franchisees more interested in your brand:

• Add a franchisee information page to your website. This page will sell the reason why choosing your business model to franchise is a good decision. Take, for example, Tim Horton’s page , where the coffee giant sells the perks of franchising out a location.
• Advertise in franchise industry publications (franchise listing websites, Franchise Times , Franchising Magazine USA , etc.).
• Consider social media marketing. Targeted ads on Facebook , Instagram, and other social media sites will allow you to reach your desired demographic while spreading the word more organically. Another site to share your opportunity is LinkedIn. Consider a post on the franchise opportunity and share it within your network to get possible leads.
• Publishing a press release on your franchise opportunities is another great way to get the word out. Local newspapers and online journals can share this as well, so having a formal announcement for traditional media centers to publish is key.
• Share the word at industry nights, local culinary American Culinary Federation meetings, and other events where industry and business professionals will gather. Work on your franchise pitch and be comfortable sharing it with others in the food space.
• Learn How to Write a Press Release in 6 Steps
• Demystifying the Press Release Format (+ Free Template)

Step 9: Select Your Franchisees

Maybe one of the most important steps, if not the most important step, in franchising restaurants is finding leaders who will take the reins and help grow your brand. The people you choose to franchise your restaurant to are literal extensions of your brand. They represent your food, your image, and how your product is sold to customers and are in control when you are not around. Your vetting process for choosing who gets to franchise your restaurant needs to be one that is intentional and finds the best candidates.

First, being enthusiastic about your business and wanting to grow it is the first aspect you should look for in someone. You will want your first franchisees to also have a proven track record in restaurants and food business management, as it is these first few that will lay the groundwork for the rest of your franchise network. They should meet all capital and asset requirements that we discussed earlier, and finally, should be able to prove a track record of good business practices.

Step 10: Support & Train

Training your franchisees will allow you to get their businesses running in the quickest time possible. It will also allow you to instill the methods, practices, and philosophy you have when running your restaurant. The training for franchisees should be in-depth and offer them the ability to truly learn how to run your restaurant concept. It would be wise to have a training program laid out by the time you’ve selected your partners. This program should be able to detail their daily tasks, expectations for customer experience and end product, and how to manage higher-level tasks for the businesses they run.

You can start with support by helping with hiring and training staff and teaching your franchise partners how to vet and hire employees. You should also teach them and support them in marketing and how they can get their business out there. Helping set up systems— point-of-sale (POS) systems , audio systems, security systems, staff and customer safety systems—and ensuring their facility is in working condition is vital in this process as well. While some franchise programs do not offer this level of in-depth training, you should definitely consider it for your first few franchises.

Your goal is to replicate the dining experience that has made you so successful that you can actually begin to franchise out. Do not waste the opportunity with a lack of support, especially when franchising your first few locations.

Step 11: Monitor Your Locations

The last step in franchising your restaurant is monitoring each location for success. This can be done by requiring restaurant monthly audit reports by each franchisee, reviewing sales, and also by reviewing customer reviews. Additionally, performing in-person visits and sitting down to dine as a customer lets you see how your locations are doing.

The more effort you put in, the more you can catch, and the better you can help build out the number of franchise restaurants you have to offer. While franchising your restaurants takes the pressure of managing multiple locations, your involvement in guiding all of your franchisees is what will determine the amount of success you have overall.

Why You Should Franchise Your Restaurant

Many popular restaurant and food businesses are actually franchises; McDonalds, Subway, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, to name just a few. Plenty of new businesses—like Crisp & Green and Big Chicken —start franchising every year. In a franchise restaurant system, the franchisor offers up their brand and proven business model for a franchisee to use to set up their own business. The franchisor benefits from franchising fees and increasing market expansion while the franchisee benefits from starting a a business that has already proven to be successful.

A financial benefit of franchising your restaurant is that, as the franchisor, your royalty payments and franchise fees typically come from top-line sales. This means you receive your fees from the overall sales of your franchises, not the bottom-line profit; you will be paid your fees no matter how well (or poorly) the franchise is managed. Finally, if you plan on exiting your business, you’ll be able to sell a business that has the added revenue stream of franchise royalties, not just the profit margin of a traditional restaurant. The upside for franchising your restaurant is very high, and when done right, it can be financially lucrative.

Examples of Restaurant Franchise Costs

There are many examples out there of popular restaurants that have gone on to franchise and expand their brands rapidly. The common denominator is that these restaurant brands have been able to offer crave-able dining experiences that are consistent in each location, no matter how large the growth has been. Check out the real-world cost examples for these popular restaurant brands.

These are the big, recognizable brands. But every day smaller brands choose to expand via franchising. If you are considering converting your successful restaurant into a franchise business, you can look at franchise brands like Toastique or Crisp & Green for inspiration.

Pros & Cons of Franchising Restaurants

While franchising a restaurant can be lucrative, there can be some drawbacks to the process if you are not careful. It can also be a challenge if the right systems are not in place to manage the growth you will experience when franchising your restaurant. Below we share some of the pros and cons of making the decision to franchise your business.

Pro: Exponential Growth Options

The ability to grow your brand and increase your sales with the help of other food business professionals is why franchising your brand is such a popular option in the first place. One only has to look at any major national brand that employs the franchise method to see how lucrative it can be. By expanding your business at a much faster rate than you would on your own, you get to introduce your brand to more customers and create a larger customer base to sell to. This will lead to more sales and more opportunities to grow as your brand is recognized more and more.

Con: Lack Of Consistency

While this con can be avoided with the right process in place, if your consistency in great products is not there, then your brand’s image can be put in a negative light. Your business is ultimately in the hands of another. With this decision comes a risk that you need to decide to take.

If you are not able to effectively lead your franchisees into a space where they can effectively replicate the product you sold originally, then the risk of failure and alienating customers is high. It only takes one bad experience to drive a customer away, and if word gets out that the food and drink being served is not good, then customers will be wary to show up and support your brand.

Pro: Lower Cost for Brand Growth

Another great reason to franchise your restaurant is the fact that it will cost less with the funds from the franchisee that joins your program. You are relying on using some capital from the franchisee when building out the space, and they will often be responsible for a sizable amount of the cost it will take to get the business off the ground. This allows you to open up new units or locations with less of a cost barrier and can prove to be very useful if demand for your restaurant is high and you need to open more locations in a shorter time window.

Con: Large Time Investment Upfront

While the goal of franchising your restaurant concept is to relieve the workload of growing your brand, it will require a lot of time upfront. This can be a challenge for restaurant operators who are already running their own business. The process of franchising a restaurant is its own full-time job, as you can see from the steps we laid out above. To make your new locations succeed, you need to ensure they are running efficiently and delivering quality products. This takes away time from other tasks and can be a large lift for single operators who are already very busy with their original concept.

Pro: Major Profit Opportunity

The last big pro to franchising your restaurant is the fact that over time, with the right growth plan and success, you can make a large amount of profit off your restaurant brand. Not only will this come from increased exposure, but the more units you open, the more royalty fees you collect. Earning off of a set royalty fee is a much more efficient way to bring in a profit, and it also makes exiting your restaurant brand much easier if you ever decide to sell the company you have built. The long-term gains of franchising a restaurant brand can be very lucrative when done right.

Franchising a restaurant that has high demand from a local customer base is a great idea if the concept can be replicated and deliver consistently great customer experiences. That being said, there is a lot of effort that goes into franchising a restaurant and ensuring that the partners you bring in to run your concepts have the tools they need to succeed. Use the 11 steps above to understand the franchise process and what you can expect to do if you decide your business is ready to take this exciting next step in its evolution.

About the Author

Ray Delucci

Ray Delucci is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America with a Bachelor’s in Food Business Management. He has experience managing restaurants in New York City, Houston, and Chicago. He is also the host of the Line Cook Thoughts Podcast, where he interviews and shares the stories of foodservice workers. Ray currently works in food manufacturing and food product development.

Join Fit Small Business

Sign up to receive more well-researched small business articles and topics in your inbox, personalized for you. Select the newsletters you’re interested in below.

• Starting a Business
• Growing a Business
• Small Business Guide
• Business News
• Science & Technology
• Money & Finance
• For Subscribers
• Write for Entrepreneur
• Entrepreneur Store
• United States
• Asia Pacific
• Middle East
• South Africa

Copyright © 2024 Entrepreneur Media, LLC All rights reserved. Entrepreneur® and its related marks are registered trademarks of Entrepreneur Media LLC

How to Write a Business Plan for Your Franchise This vital step can make the difference between success or failure in the franchise world.

By Clarissa Buch Zilberman Edited by Carl Stoffers May 8, 2023

You're set on becoming a franchisee . You may think it's time to call a franchisor, tell them you're interested, and get funding from your local bank , right? Wrong.

If you're considering buying a franchise, you'll need to write a thorough business plan before moving forward.

A business plan is a detailed document that describes how your business will achieve its goals. Consider it an essential tool for any business owner — including franchisees!

Sound daunting? It can be. But it's a crucial and necessary step in starting your own business. Plus, becoming a franchisee means that the franchisor will provide some of the strategies, plans and overall business information , with some minor tweaks for your specific market.

Here's how to get started.

Related: Considering franchise ownership? Get started now and take this quiz to find your personalized list of franchises that match your lifestyle, interests and budget.

Start with comprehensive research

Before you can begin writing your franchise business plan, you need to gather information about your franchise business . Research the industry, market trends and competitors in the area. You should utilize a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis of the business, as well.

Next, research the franchisor's history, vision, mission and values . This will help you understand the franchisor's expectations and see if your goals align with the brand. You may have already done a lot of this research when narrowing down your franchise choices .

Related: The 4 Biggest Myths About Franchising

Define your business concept and target market

Your business concept should include details about your product or service , pricing strategy, location, unique selling proposition and market advantages.

Much of this information will be supplied by your franchisor. However, make sure to tweak it correctly for your specific location and audience .

Develop a financial plan

A financial outline is a critical component of your franchise business plan. It should include details about your startup costs, ongoing expenses , revenue projections and profitability.

You should also share cash flow, balance sheets and income statements here. With these documents, you can readily identify any gaps in your business and develop strategies to address them.

Related: 10 Tips to Go From Employee to Boss, From Franchisees Who Did It

Outline your marketing and sales strategy

You may get a headstart from your franchisor on the marketing and sales strategy . This is where you'll want to include more information about your target audience, marketing channels and tactics to promote your business.

From a sales strategy perspective , include your pricing strategy, sales team structure and sales targets that are tailored to your area.

Develop an operations plan

Your operations plan should include details about your day-to-day work, staffing requirements and supplier relationships. You should also outline any technology and equipment needs, inventory management and quality control procedures , some of which your franchisor may dictate.

Create a management team and personnel plan

Your management team and personnel plan should detail the leadership structure of your business, each team member's role and responsibility and the qualifications and experience needed for each position.

You should also outline a staffing plan , which will include your recruitment strategy, employee benefits and training and development programs.

Create an executive summary

An executive summary is literally a summary of your business plan that will provide all the necessary information to someone who only has a few moments to review your business plan. It should summarize the key points of your franchise business plan and research.

Get started by outlining your business plan

A franchise business plan, at the minimum, should include the following sections :

• Executive Summary: This section provides a brief overview of your business, your mission statement, goals and target market.
• Company Description: This section includes more information about your business, such as what you do or sell, your company history and your management team.
• Market Analysis: This section analyzes the market for your products or services, including your target market, competition and competitive advantage.
• Operations Plan: This section describes how your business will operate, including your location, your marketing and sales strategies and management and staffing plan.
• Financial Plan: This section projects your business's financial performance, meaning your revenue, expenses and profit.
• Appendix: This section includes supporting documents, such as financial statements, marketing materials and legal documents.

A business plan will help you succeed

Writing a franchise business plan is a critical step in becoming a successful franchisee . It requires comprehensive research, a well-defined business concept, a solid financial plan, a strong marketing and sales strategy, a detailed operations plan and a competent management team.

Remember: It's a living document, so be sure to update it regularly as your business grows and changes. This will ensure that your plan always reflects the current state of your business.

Tackle a business plan logically and seek help from an expert or your franchisor, as necessary. Then you're off to get your loan, finish your applications and open your doors !

Related: Is Franchising Right For You? Ask Yourself These 9 Questions to Find Out.

Entrepreneur Staff

Freelance Writer, Editor & Content Marketing Consultant

Clarissa Buch Zilberman is a writer and editor based in Miami. Specializing in lifestyle, business, and travel, her work has appeared in Food & Wine, Realtor.com, Travel + Leisure, and Bon Appétit, among other print and digital titles. Through her content marketing consultancy, By Clarissa , she leverages her extensive editorial background and unique industry insights to support enterprise organizations and global creative agencies with their B2B, B2C, and B2E content initiatives. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick Red Arrow

• Lock 3 Things Your Business Idea Must Have to Succeed — as Proven By Famous Harvard Business School Startups
• This Couple Cashed in Their 401ks to Launch a Virtual Business — Here's How It Led to a 9-Figure Exit and Co-Owning 2 Professional Soccer Teams
• Lock The No. 1 State to Retire in Might Not Even Be on Your Radar, According to a New Report
• Lock 12 Books That Self-Made Millionaires Swear By
• Lock These Are the Highest-Paying Side Hustles for a Single Day of Work
• Use These 3 Steps to Find the Perfect Franchise Opportunity for You

Most Popular Red Arrow

These brothers had 'no income' when they started a 'low-risk, high-reward' side hustle to chase a big dream — now they've surpassed $50 million in revenue.

Sam Lewkowict, co-founder and CEO of men's grooming brand Black Wolf Nation, knows what it takes to harness the power of side gig for success.

How to Break Free From the Cycle of Overthinking and Master Your Mind

Discover the true cost of negative thought loops — and practical strategies for nipping rumination in the bud.

Improve Workflow with Advanced Diagramming for $20

This is the last day you can get Microsoft Visio 2021 Professional or Project Pro for Windows for only $20.

Disney Is Laying Off 14% of Pixar's Workforce, Cutting Original Content: 'We Lost Some Focus'

The job cuts had been anticipated since January.

School of Rock Taps Latin America Master Franchisor for United Kingdom Expansion

The music educator is taking a new step in its international expansion with a master franchise agreement in the UK — and a familiar face is leading the venture.

I Thought I Was Resilient, Until a Devastating Loss Showed Me Resilience Is Not Something You Just 'Have'

It's something you build.

Successfully copied link

How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan: Complete Guide

• January 31, 2023
• Food & Beverage

👇 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?

Restaurant Financial Model

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

2. Restaurant Business Overview

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

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

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

a) History of the Project

Any business must have two components:

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

Passion & experience

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

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

What is your restaurant’s mission?

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

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

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

b) Business Model

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

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

What are the different types of restaurants?

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

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

c) Products & Services

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

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

d) Pricing Strategy

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

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

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

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

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

e) Legal Structure

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

3. Restaurant Market Overview

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

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

Therefore, you must cover here 3 important areas:

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

a) Restaurant Industry Status Quo

How big is the restaurant industry in the us.

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

How big is the restaurant industry in your area?

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

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

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

How fast is the restaurant industry growing in the area?

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

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

What are the current restaurant market trends in your area?

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

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

Some common questions you may ask the target audience include:

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

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

b) Competition Overview

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

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

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

Here is a sample table that you can use:

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

Restaurant SWOT Analysis

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

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

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

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

c) Customer Analysis

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

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

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

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

4. Sales & Marketing Strategy

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

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

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

What marketing channels do restaurants use?

A few marketing channels that restaurants typically use are:

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

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

What is your unique selling proposition?

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

A few examples of USPs can be:

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

5. Management & People

You must address 2 things here:

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

a) Management

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

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

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

b) Organization Structure

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

6. Financial Plan

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

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

There should be 2 sections to your financial plan section:

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

a) Startup Costs

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

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

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

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

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

b) Financial Projections

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

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

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

Your financial projections should answer at least the following questions:

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

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

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

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

7. Use of Funds

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

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

If you raise debt:

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

If you raise equity

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

Use of Funds

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

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

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

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

Privacy Overview

Restaurant Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Restaurant Business Plan

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

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

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

Restaurant Business Plan Example

Executive summary, business overview.

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

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

Products Served

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

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

Customer Focus

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

Management Team

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

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

Financial Highlights

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

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

Company Overview

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

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

Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse History

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

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

Industry Analysis

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

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

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

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

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market, customer segmentation.

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

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

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

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

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

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

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

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

Competitive Advantage

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

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

Marketing Plan

Promotions strategy.

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

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

Operations Plan

Operation functions:.

The company will hire the following:

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

Milestones:

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

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

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

7/10/202X – Finalize menu.

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

8/15/202X – Start of marketing campaign

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

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

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

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

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

Chef Peter Logan, Co-Owner

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

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

Anastasia Gillette, Co-Owner

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

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

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

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

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

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

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

Financial Projections

Income Statement

  Balance Sheet

  Cash Flow Statement

Restaurant Business Plan FAQs

What is a restaurant business plan.

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

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

What Are the Main Types of Restaurants?

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

How Do You Get Funding for Your Restaurant Business Plan?

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

What are the Steps To Start a Restaurant Business?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn more about how to start a successful restaurant business:

• How to Start a Restaurant Business

Where Can I Get a Restaurant Business Plan PDF?

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

• Accounting & Financial Franchises
• Advertising & Marketing Franchises
• Automotive Franchises
• Business Opportunities
• Business Services Franchises
• Children's Franchises
• Cleaning Franchises
• Coffee Franchises
• Computer & Internet
• Consultant & Business Brokers
• Courier Franchises
• Employment & Staffing
• Entertainment Franchises
• Fitness Franchises
• Food Franchises
• Health & Beauty
• Healthcare & Senior Care
• Home Based Franchises
• Home Services Franchises
• Industrial Franchises
• Mailing & Shipping
• Moving & Storage
• Pet Franchises
• Photography Franchises
• Printer, Copying & Sign Franchises
• Real Estate Franchises
• Restaurant Franchises
• Retail Franchises
• Sports Franchises
• Tax Franchises
• Training Franchises
• Travel Franchises
• Vending & ATM Franchises
• Franchises Under $1,000
• Franchises Under $5,000
• Franchises Under $10,000
• Franchises Under $20,000
• Franchises Under $30,000
• Franchises Under $40,000
• Franchises Under $50,000
• Franchises Under $60,000
• Franchises Under $70,000
• Franchises Under $80,000
• Franchises Under $90,000
• Franchises Under $100,000
• Franchises Under $200,000
• Franchises Under $300,000
• Franchises Under $400,000
• Franchises Under $500,000
• United States of America
• International Franchises
• Franchise Directory A-Z
• Top Franchises
• Hot & Trending Franchises
• New Franchises
• Low Cost Franchises
• Recession Resilient Franchises
• Green Franchises
• Mobile Franchises
• SBA Approved Franchises
• Special Financing Offers
• Franchises for Veterans
• Master Franchises
• Franchise Information Center
• Ultimate Guide to Franchising
• Ultimate Guide to Financing a Franchise
• Ultimate Guide to FDDs
• FDD Research Hub
• Franchise Services
• Franchise Direct Blog
• Franchise Articles
• Franchise Reports
• Franchise News
• Franchise Success Stories
• Testimonials
• Franchise Expos and Events
• Franchise Videos
• Discovery Days
• The Franchise Direct Top 100 Global Franchises List
• Franchise Direct's Top 100 Franchises 2024
• Top 100 Franchises Ranking for 2023
• Top 100 Franchises Ranking for 2022
• Top 100 Franchises Ranking for 2021
• Top 100 Franchises Ranking for 2020
• Client Sign in

Start Your Search For A Franchise...

Creating a business plan for your franchise: what to prepare before asking for money.

🕒 Estimated Reading Time: ~8 minutes

Congratulations! You’ve decided that owning a franchise is the right investment for you. You may have even already decided on the type of franchise, and maybe even the franchise brand you are going to pursue.

What’s next? Financing. Securing the funding needed to make your franchise dreams a reality. And unless you are one of the fortunate people that has enough money saved to cover costs, you will likely be seeking a lender to make up the difference between the amount of money you currently have to invest and amount of money needed to open and maintain your franchised business until you 'break even.' (Breaking even is the point in the lifespan of a business where the operation starts turning a profit.)

To convince lenders that you are worthy of their money, the creation of a business plan is crucial. Lenders use a business plan as a guide to assess whether the prospective franchisee is a on a path towards success and profitability.

To approve loans, lenders want to have a clear, straightforward account of the business to be opened, the principals involved, and—perhaps most importantly—perspective on when the borrowed money will likely be repaid.

It's helpful to prepare for the meeting with the lender like a college graduate student would prepare for a thesis defense presentation. In both instances, it is the goal of the person (or people) going into the meeting to have done the adequate level of research necessary to competently back up the stated claims for the desired result (be it the granting of a master's degree to the student or the gaining of a loan for the prospective franchisee).

Important note: the business plan isn’t just for getting money.

Not only does a business plan help in securing funding, it forces you to take a hard look at the investment you are about to make. It gives you a chance to anticipate the challenges that come with opening a business, and temper unrealistic expectations.

As time passes and you move further into franchise ownership, the business plan you’ve created should be updated and utilized as a guide in helping you reach your franchise goals.

Parts of a Business Plan

Creating a business plan doesn't have to be complicated.

There is no standardized length for a business plan, but no lender wants to read a novel-length presentation. The main thing is that the plan is thorough enough to cover all aspects of your individual franchise. You want to give the lender confidence that you are prepared to take on the managing of a business that will turn a profit in a reasonable amount of time.

The key is compiling the proper information to address the reservations of the lenders you will meet with. This is where opening a franchised business offers a notable advantage over an independent business.

The franchise disclosure document (FDD) provided by the franchisor of the system you are investing in contains a great deal of the information needed to complete a business plan.

This information includes the company’s corporate background, a description of the target market, the competitive advantage of the product/service, marketing initiatives, plus the start-up and ongoing costs. Some franchisors even offer assistance to franchisees in the preparation of the plan.

Common parts of a business plan include the following, according to the Small Business Administration  (a sample business plan is located at the end of this article):

Company description: A good place to look for the information for this section is Item 1 of the FDD. Provide an overview of the franchise and its history to the lender. You will also provide a brief outline of the franchise’s service/product (more detailed information will be given in the next section).

Service/product description: Describe in detail the service and/or product your franchise will provide to customers. This section can be combined with the company description. Again, Item 1 of the FDD is where you will find much of the information you need for this section. Item 16 will also be helpful in discussing what you will and will not be able to sell as a franchisee of a particular franchise system.

Market analysis: Use this section to prove to the potential lender that you are not jumping into a business venture on a whim. Concentrate on the specific area (market) in which the franchised business will be located. The territory description in the FDD (Item 12) will help you to a point.

Give a brief discussion of the following:

• How big is your market?
• What kind of people (demographically and financially) make up this market?
• Is the market under-served in regards to this service/product?
• If there is competition, who are your competitors and what is your competitive advantage?
• Discuss what experts are forecasting for the service/product in terms of trends and growth possibilities for your specific market (can include demographic, legislative or environmental factors).

Management structure: This section provides a look at the people who will be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the franchise, particularly you as the owner. Is this venture going to be a sole proprietorship or will there be multiple owners? Explain if you will be involved day-to-day with business operations, or will be acting as an absentee owner.

For yourself and all of the others with an ownership stake, if applicable, detail all business qualifications. Stress any and all experience (even if volunteer) that is relevant to being successful in the future with the franchise operation. Item 15 of the FDD will help with explaining the managerial obligations of the franchisee.

Marketing plan: 'How are you going to get customers?' is the main question you’re answering in this section. Use FDD Item 11 to your advantage here. It provides an overview of the franchisor’s advertising and marketing efforts. Also, it provides a description of the training you will complete before opening. Often marketing and sales courses are part of required training.

Financials: This is the meat of your business plan. In this section, don’t only ask for the money you need. Give the lender the big picture of your financial situation as well. Detail how you are going to obtain the entire initial investment. Often times, a lender will not be financing all of the franchise investment. Are you using a mix of personal savings, loans, credit, etc.?

In addition to the funding request, you will be doing some financial projection. Give a reasonable time frame when the lender can expect full repayment of the loan, and back up that claim with figures. Include graphs and charts detailing the start-up costs, projected profit and loss and projected sales forecast for the franchise.

The franchisor can be of significant help to you in completing this section (via Items 5 and 19 of the FDD, and in direct conversation). However, keep in mind the franchisor is restricted legally about making certain claims about projected earnings. Be conservative with the projections as unexpected delays and unforeseen circumstances do happen.

Appendix: The appendix technically isn’t a part of the business plan, but an additional section to present items that would enhance your presentation. Include items you feel would be necessary to giving the lender a complete picture of you and the franchise you are seeking financing for. Examples include: the resumes of management figures, tax returns, media clippings, etc.

As previously mentioned, the best outside source of information to complete your business plan is the franchisor. No other outlet is going to know that franchise system better. 

Additional resources include online sites such as Bplans.com, which offers site visitors a substantial library of sample plans to review, as well as general business websites like the Small Business Administration. Prospective franchisees can also use a professional business plan writer, particularly for the review of a plan before sitting down with the lender.

Confidentiality agreement: Because business plans contain sensitive and confidential information, the content needs to be safeguarded against potential leaks. To do this, you will need to enter into a confidentiality agreement with the parties you allow to review your business plan.

The agreement will bind them not to disclose or reveal any confidential information they receive, without your written permission.

Sample Business Plan Confidentiality Agreement Template

Sample franchise business plan: Please note that the example business plan linked below is a sample of one way to format a business plan. There are several different acceptable formats, and the contents of business plan sections will vary significantly due to factors including the franchise system, the type and amount of loan sought, the franchisee’s background, etc.

Sample Business Plan

Suggested reading:

• The Ultimate Guide to Franchising
• What is Franchising?
• The Benefits of Franchising
• Choosing the Most Profitable Franchise for You
• 11 Key Steps in Opening a Franchise
• Franchises vs. Business Opportunities
• The Cost to Start a Franchise and Financing Options
• Basics of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
• Creating a Business Plan for Your Franchise
• Completing and Signing a Franchise Agreement

You have saved info requests

• Credit cards
• View all credit cards
• Banking guide
• Loans guide
• Insurance guide
• Personal finance
• View all personal finance
• Small business
• Small business guide
• View all taxes

You’re our first priority. Every time.

We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. And while our site doesn’t feature every company or financial product available on the market, we’re proud that the guidance we offer, the information we provide and the tools we create are objective, independent, straightforward — and free.

So how do we make money? Our partners compensate us. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research. Our partners cannot pay us to guarantee favorable reviews of their products or services. Here is a list of our partners .

How to Write a Restaurant Business Plan

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

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

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

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

Why you shouldn’t skip a restaurant business plan

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

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

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

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

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

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

How to write a restaurant business plan: Step by step

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

Executive summary

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

Your restaurant business plan executive summary should include information on:

Mission statement: Your goals and objectives

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Company overview

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

Your restaurant business plan company overview should include:

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

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

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

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

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

Team and management

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

Your restaurant business plan team and management section should have:

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

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

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

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

Sample menu

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

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

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

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

Market analysis

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

Your restaurant business plan market analysis should include:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marketing and sales

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business operations

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

The business operations section should include:

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

Hours: Your hours and days of operation

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

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

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

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

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

Budget: Your current budget or a general startup budget

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

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

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

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

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

Start Your Dream Business

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.

On a similar note...

Restaurant Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

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 Business Plan for a Restaurant

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.

Finish Your Restaurant Business Plan in 1 Day!

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

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.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Franchise Business Plan Template [Updated 2024]

Business Plan for Franchises

Franchise businesses are great in that they have much higher success rates than starting a business from scratch.

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

The following business plan template gives you the key elements to include in a winning plan for your franchise business. It can be used to create a franchise restaurant business plan, a store franchise business plan, a startup business franchise or any other type of franchise business plan. In addition to this template, all franchise business plans should also include market research to help support the business opportunity and help craft your marketing plan and financial projections.

You can download the franchise business plan template (including a full, customizable financial model) to your computer here.

Below are links to each of the key sections of a business plan to help you with how to create a franchise business plan: I. Executive Summary II. Company Overview III. Industry Analysis IV. Customer Analysis V. Competitive Analysis VI. Marketing Plan VII. Operations Plan VIII. Management Team IX. Financial Plan Click below to see each section of our free franchise business plan template. You can also click here to get our franchise business plan sample pdf .

Comments are closed.

Franchise Business Plan Outline

Franchise Business Plan

What is your initial plan when you have just franchised a business? Most people would find it absurd to immediately prepare a business plan for their franchise. Many would think that when you franchise, the franchisor would provide them the business plan apart from other elements necessary to operate the business. However, that is not the case. The task of creating a business plan for your franchise heavily falls on you. You have to note that developing a franchise business plan is not necessarily similar to the business plan of independent businesses.

• 9+ Business Plan Profit and Loss Template Examples
• 8+ Management Consulting Business Plan Examples

It is much simpler because, most likely, the franchisor can provide the answers to most of the questions that your business plan is seeking to address. Hence, creating a franchise business plan does not really require tough brainstorming, planning, and preparation. Although you still need to be specific in your goals as a franchise, the franchisor can provide you the information regarding your target market, the suitable location for your business, and many other basic information.You may also see  advertising and marketing business plan examples .

Franchise Marketing Plan Template

• Google Docs

Size: A4, US

Do not be too overwhelmed with the thought of creating a successful business plan and instead focus on what you can do and what you can ask from your franchisor. Moreover, the examples of franchise business plan displayed below can surely help you in your start-up.

Banking Franchise Business Plan Example

Size: 2.6 MB

Basics in Franchise Business Plan Example

Size: 279.5 KB

Company Franchise Business Plan Example

Franchise Definition

By the book, a franchise is a method of parceling out goods or service. It is a type of business where the franchisee agrees to pay certain fees as well as follow certain business franchise rules in order to acquire the right to sell the goods or services of the franchisor, the company who established the company. The franchisee can also benefit from its business methods, trade secrets, goodwill, professional training, as well as operating assistance.You may also see company plan examples .

Popular Franchises

As we all know, many people love franchising business because the franchisor does not need to do hands-on on the operations because it has a lot of franchisees who can do the actual selling. Although they can operate a business on their own, they do not bear the hassle of opening branches to the different parts of the world. In fact, it is the franchisee’s task to disseminate the business in different areas.You may also see  restaurant operational plan examples

On the other hand, it would be less bothersome for the franchisees to open up a business when they do franchising because they already have the basic requirements for a start-up from the franchisor. They only need to pay the fees, get some professional training, and adhere to the rules and immediately operate. The risk of losing is also low.You may also see  business proposal letter examples

Hence, no wonder why there are a lot of franchising businesses today which are evidenced by the following companies:

1. McDonald’s

3. Burger King

4. Pizza Hut

5. 7 Eleven

6. Marriott International

8. Dunkin’ Donuts

9. InterContinental Hotels and Resorts

10. SUBWAY®

11. Baskin-Robbins

12. Domino’s Pizza

13. Taco Bell

14. Ace Hardware Corporation

15. Jani-King Commercial Cleaning Services

16. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts

18. Carrefour

19. Europcar

20. Choice Hotels

Comprehensive Franchise Business Plan Example

Size: 3.4 MB

Detailed Franchise Business Plan Example

Size: 179.5 KB

Entrepreneurship Business Plan Example

Size: 147.7 KB

Elements of a Franchise

A franchise, for it to operate legally, consists of the following three elements: trademark, fee, and control or assistance.

Under the trademark of the franchisor, the franchisee must operate his business in providing goods or services. For example, when you are franchising Ace Hardware Corporation, you do not need to make your own company name as you are adopting the company name of the franchisor. Hence, in your operations, you must bear the name Ace Hardware Corporation.You may also see  restaurant strategic plan examples

There are certain franchise fees associated to the franchise which is a requirement and a condition for you to obtain the franchise and begin the operation. While the franchise fees are payment for the trademark and other benefits that a franchisee acquire from the franchisor, some franchisors would use the fee to aid in the start-up materials and tools of the franchisee.

Control or Assistance

Another element of a franchise is that, although the franchisee is running the business through his or her own operations, the franchisee is still subject to various requirements that are imposed by the franchisor. These include requirements regarding the location of the business, the design of the site as well as the appearance of the store, hours of operation, sales methods, marketing, as well as management systems.You may also see  business plan guidelines examples

Key Considerations

If you are still new to franchise, you need to know and understand the basics in franchising for you to easily perform franchising operations. There are some points to consider when you are in a franchise business, and these are as follows:

1. Business Suitability

One of the critical factors that you must consider is the suitability of your business. This includes your personal aims, your objectives, as well as your ability and will to manage this type of business—franchising.

2. Benefits

Another thing that you must consider in franchising is the benefit that you can acquire from the franchise. Although most of the franchise have a low risk of not being profitable, there are some franchise that would provide you very less returns.You may also see  tutoring business plan examples

3. The Downside

You must also consider the downside of franchising. For the franchisor, he or she must carefully assess the franchisee regarding the ways they can be trained and controlled. For the franchisee, he or she must scrutinize the legitimacy of the business.

4. Franchisor’s Life

Know that if you are a franchisor, it is your responsibility to manage the initial period of the franchise as well as to train the franchisee. He or she must also ensure to keep the franchisee interested in their business through launching and introducing new products and services.You may also see  farm business plan examples

5. Corporate Image

Franchisees can benefit from a strong corporate image of the franchisor. The franchisor must be legal and registered, and if the franchisor has a trademark, it must be registered with the Patent Office.

6. Legal Agreement

There must be an agreement signed before the commencement of the franchise or start of the franchise operations. There must also be an agreement as to who will shoulder the legal costs, whether it may be the franchisor or the franchisee. For this, you might want to take a look at franchise agreements .

7. Financial Matters

Another important consideration is the financial aspect of the franchisor. The franchisee would normally expect that there is transparency in the financial statements of the franchisor and that the accounting records involve positive amounts.

The franchise products or services must be carefully tested in the market with a pilot franchise and an independent franchisee for a certain period of time, usually over a minimum of twelve months to ensure that the franchise is not a failure.You may also see risk plan examples .

9. Operating Areas

In order to find the optimum area of the franchise, where it is conducive to the target market, a research must be carried out to define a certain location that will support the business based on the number of people, number of households, number of businesses, number of cars, etc. You might also be interested in rental property business plan .

10. Franchise Package

The franchise must provide the franchisor the benefit of the franchise even at the commencement of the franchise through providing a package of a fair amount of initial stock, training, manuals, accounting system, and other necessities for a start-up. For reference, you can check out tech startup business plans .

11. Brand Security

As has been said above, the patent or trademark of the franchisor must be registered with the Patent Office. This will cover the protection for the business name and the logo of the business . This will also ensure the franchisee that the business he or she is into is not only credible but also safe and secured.

12. Company Structure

The structure of the company who serves as a franchisor must also be taken into consideration. This will enable the franchisee to understand more about the business that he or she is into.You may also see  convenience store business plan examples

Franchising Business Plan Fundamentals

Size: 217.1 KB

Sefa Franchise Business Plan Outline Checklist Example

Size: 160.6 KB

Short Franchise Business Plan Example

Size: 21.6 KB

Soup and Salad Franchise Restaurant Business Plan Example

Size: 1.4 MB

Sections of a Franchise Business Plan

If you have already started in your franchise, one of the first things that you must have is a business plan . Although you might think that the resources and basic provided by the franchisor is enough, well, it is really not. You must have your own business plan that will detail your plans as well as the detailed steps in achieving those plans.

In your business plan, you must include these important section for it to be comprehensive and detailed:

1. Operational Plan

In your operational plan , it must contain information demonstrating your understanding of the nature of the business, the products and services for sales, the systems and methods used in selling, as well as the processes engaged to operate the business.

Operational plan is important in order to demonstrate how the business is executed. Also include your ways in interacting the customers, the delivery of the products or services, the systems for communication, execution timetables, among others.

2. Marketing Plan

In this section of your business plan, you must illustrate the company’s blueprint in order to create interest not only in the company but also its products. Normally, the franchisor would provide you advertising materials for your marketing. However, you may also need to develop additional advertising materials that better suits in the area where you are doing business.

The importance of marketing plan is that it is used to map out how to engage the market and sustain customer flow. You must include in your marketing plan the description of your target market, the channels for communication, marketing strategies, and many other plans related to marketing.

3. Management Plan

In your management plan, you must include the management—the people who set the strategies, oversee and execute, allocate the resources, and make the decisions—as well as the company’s vision and philosophy. Normally, the franchisor already has this in their company documents, but you can contribute in enhancing and improving their management plan through creating your own relevant management plan. This is integrating your own vision for your franchise to the management plan that they have already created.

This is important because it provides evidence of competency and management systems. Hence, relevant sections from the franchise management manual, tactical positions, strategic principles, and prevailing business models must also be included in this section of your business plan.

4. Financial Plan

Your financial plan is your method of proving how your operations can make money in doing what it is supposed to do. You may include in your plan the financial successes of other franchises and of the franchisor’s own operations. This is to demonstrate your anticipated success in your franchise.

A financial plan is important in order to show the key elements of the company’s operation. Hence, it is recommended that you will include in your financial plan your operational budget, the funds that you need and expect to raise of borrow, as well as the anticipated costs and revenues in the form of projections.

If you are contemplating on venturing into franchise business, it is better that you start immediately and enjoy the benefits from your franchise. The earlier, the better. Remember, a franchising business provides lesser risk and you are assured of the return, especially when you are franchising a business that already established its name in the industry, for example, McDonald’s.You may also see lean business plan examples .

So what are you waiting for? Make the wise decision now, and use the examples of franchise business plan provided above to help you in your start-up. If you got to start some time, why not now?

Text prompt

• Instructive
• Professional

Create a study plan for final exams in high school

Develop a project timeline for a middle school science fair.