Restaurant Business Plans

One of the first essential steps of opening a restaurant, bar, brewery, or eatery is creating a business plan. Strategic business plans outline the goals for your restaurant and how you plan on reaching those goals. DMD Restaurant Consultants will help you construct a restaurant plan that combines financials and your restaurant’s narrative. This combination is essential to secure potential investors and see where you fall in the industry.

Success in the restaurant industry isn’t easy, but writing a restaurant business plan ensures you take the time to set yourself up for success. Your plan will cover all of the pillars of running a restaurant, from creating a sample menu to figuring out the amount of capital you need. Restaurant business plans are one of the most important parts of launching your restaurant, so you need professionals to guide you while creating one.  

What Does A Restaurant Business Plan Include?

Your business plan will include every detail of your restaurant because it’s what potential investors will read to determine whether or not they believe in your restaurant enough to provide you with capital. Therefore, you want to show people that you have taken the time to think about all of the factors of running your own business and show financial projections to prove that your restaurant has all of the necessities to be profitable.

To combine your personality, plans for your restaurant, and planned profitability, your restaurant business plan must include the following sections.

Branded Cover Page

Branded Cover Page

Your cover page will be the first thing people see, so you want to make the best first impression possible. Plus, you can begin to create a brand for your restaurant by featuring your logo, your business name, brand fonts, and contact information.

Man with papers in his hand

Executive Summary

This section will explain your overall vision. It should define your restaurant’s uniqueness and include topics such as your mission statement and core values. Some potential investors will only read your executive summary, so it must be flawless.

People sitting at Table

Company Overview

Your company overview section will go through the specifics of your restaurant and help you create a thorough strategy. So, you will include general information, like the layout of your restaurant, your business entity, the number of owners, etc.

 
Team Meeting

Team and Management

One of the most vital parts of any successful business is having a dependable management team. This section is all about your staff; you’ll outline role responsibilities, positions you need to fill, and your management team’s experience.

Reading Menu

Sample Menu

Obviously, you can’t have a successful restaurant without a successful menu that keeps customers coming back. Therefore, it’s essential to create a unique menu design and figure out how your menu will stand out from your competitors’ menus.

Person on computer Reading Charts

Market Analysis

Now your restaurant business plan will start to dive into the specifics. First, we’ll conduct thorough research and list industry information, target market characteristics, location analysis, market share potential, and market pricing.

 
Paper and pencils and pens on table

Marketing and Sales

The data found completing the marketing analysis will help guide your marketing and sales decisions. For example, does the current market require you to run social media promotions, or should you create additional revenue streams to compete with others?

Image of the back of a bar

Business Operations

This section is devoted to the day-to-day operations of your restaurant. You’ll discuss your customer service policies, hours of operation, restaurant technology you’ll be utilizing, and other internal and external factors.

Coins and a plant in a potter

Financials

The financials section will state your current financial situation and your projections for the next year, three years, and five years. Your financials breakdown will explain why you need the amount of capital you’re asking for and when you expect to break even.

 

Supporting Documentation

Finally, you need to include any documentation that will help tell the story of the above data. It may consist of financial statements, a restaurant floor plan, industry references, or even renderings of your restaurant.

 

To Have A Successful Restaurant, You First Need To Have A Successful Business Plan

Even though DMD Restaurant Consultants is in Colorado Springs, we’ve helped restaurants all over the country find success. With all of the restaurants, bars, breweries, and food shops we’ve helped develop, one thing is constant: a strategic business plan. Most restaurants require external funding to launch, and without an in-depth business plan, it’s almost impossible to secure financing.

Whether you’re opening your first restaurant or planning to expand, one of the first steps you need to complete is writing a restaurant business plan. Connect with our industry-leading experts today to learn more about how a restaurant business plan is integral to your success.