Restaurant Business Plan: Free Sample and Template
A complete, realistic business plan for a 70-seat neighborhood bistro with beer and wine, written in Cuttles. Read it, download the PDF, or copy it into your own account and change the numbers to fit your restaurant.
A ready-made plan you make your own: replace the sample business with your idea, numbers and name, and it's ready to present to investors, banks and partners.
The PDF is free, no signup. "Use this template" copies the full plan and budget into your own Cuttles account: 7-day free trial, plans from €8/month.
- Startup costs in the sample$439,000Renovation of a former restaurant, kitchen, dining room, licenses and a 10% contingency
- Sales in the first full year$863kAbout 75 guests a night at roughly $34 a head, plus takeout and events
- Covers its monthly costs fromFebruary 2028Opening in April, with sales building up over 12 months
- Funding$600,000$250,000 owners' equity + $350,000 SBA 7(a) loan
Illustrative figures from the sample plan, for a fictional business. Your numbers will differ.
What's inside this restaurant business plan
The full plan for Hearth & Table, a fictional restaurant, as your bank or investor would receive it. Click a page to see it full size.
Cover
Concept and opportunity
Business strategy and SWOT
Competitors and customers
Runway chart from the budget
Startup cost table
3-year summary
Capital and roadmap
- ConceptHearth & Table: a 70-seat bistro with a seasonal menu cooked over a wood-fired hearth, priced for a weeknight.
- Opportunity1,400 new households on the river and no sit-down restaurant within walking distance.
- MarketNational restaurant demand (National Restaurant Association), the local catchment and a bottom-up market size.
- ProductDinner, weekend brunch, bar, takeout and a private room, with menu prices and target food cost per course.
- Business strategyPrime cost as the key lever, the metrics a full-service restaurant runs on, and a SWOT.
- CompetitorsFast casual chains, upscale downtown restaurants, a sports bar and delivery apps.
- CustomersFour guest groups and three personas: the weeknight regulars, the family and the events booker.
- MarketingWaitlist, friends-and-family nights, local search, reservations, neighborhood partnerships and private dining sales.
- FinancialsStartup cost table, running costs as a share of sales, 3-year sales and cash flow, and the funding plan.
- Roadmap, risks, team, tractionMilestones from lease to opening, risks with mitigations, the team and six sold-out pop-up dinners.
Budget highlights
The 3-year budget behind the plan, built in Cuttles. Sales build up over the first year, then grow with prices and regulars.
| Line | 2027 (9 months) | 2028 | 2029 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | $519,488 | $863,421 | $895,710 |
| Gross profit | $365,670 | $607,766 | $630,494 |
| Staff incl. management | $254,079 | $323,245 | $334,558 |
| Rent, CAM and utilities | $81,600 | $91,248 | $93,985 |
| Operating profit (before loan and startup costs) | -$45,648 | $88,404 | $95,112 |
| Cash flow after loan repayments (excl. startup costs) | -$102,321 | $31,732 | $38,439 |
Startup costs: $439,000
- Renovation & leasehold improvements$130,000
- Kitchen equipment$85,000
- Dining room furniture, fixtures & lighting$45,000
- Contingency (10%)$40,000
- Pre-opening payroll & training$30,000
- Architect, design & permits$20,000
Funded with $250,000 owners' equity and a $350,000 SBA 7(a) loan.
Illustrative figures. In Cuttles every line is editable, and runway, break-even and the charts update as you change them.
How much does it cost to open a restaurant?
The most-cited survey of independent restaurants, from RestaurantOwner.com (2018, 350+ owners), found a median startup cost of $375,000, or about $3,586 per seat. The type of space mattered most: remodeling an existing restaurant cost a median $275,500, remodeling a space that was never a restaurant $425,500, and new construction about $650,000 before real estate. Costs have risen since 2018, so treat those as a floor. Toast works through a leased casual restaurant at about $480,000 all-in, including working capital and a contingency.
Our sample plan lands at $439,000 for a 70-seat, 3,000 sq ft bistro in a former restaurant with the hood and walk-in in place. The largest items:
| Item | Sample plan | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Renovation and leasehold improvements | $130,000 | Far more if you need a new hood, grease trap or restrooms |
| Kitchen equipment | $85,000 | Menu and volume; part used equipment in the sample |
| Dining room furniture, fixtures and lighting | $45,000 | Seat count and finish level |
| Pre-opening payroll and training | $30,000 | Chef and key staff four to six weeks before opening |
| Architect, design and permits | $20,000 | City permit fees alone average over $5,300 across 20 US cities (Institute for Justice) |
| Contingency | $40,000 | Renovations and inspections rarely run to plan |
Add working capital on top: in the sample $161,000, which covers rent during the renovation and the months while covers build up. Build your own list in the startup cost calculator.
How a restaurant makes money
The product a full-service restaurant sells is covers, calculated as seats x table turns x average check. Toast recommends basing first-year plans on roughly 75% of capacity. According to the 2018 RestaurantOwner.com survey, median annual sales came to $1.125 million, or around $10,567 per seat, although the restaurants surveyed were generally bigger (median 120 seats) than those in our sample.
- Food is most of the sales and carries a food cost of around a third of the price.
- Beer, wine and cocktails have a lower cost and lift the average check, so the drinks program matters for margin.
- Takeout, catering and private events use the kitchen outside the dinner peak.
In the sample, established monthly sales of $73,000 come from dine-in food ($48,000), beer, wine and drinks ($14,000), takeout and delivery ($7,500) and private events ($3,500). See how many covers you need in the break-even calculator.
The numbers to watch
| Metric | Benchmark | Sample plan (first full year) |
|---|---|---|
| Food and beverage cost | Full-service median food cost 32.0% of sales (National Restaurant Association) | 30% (food and drinks combined) |
| Labor | Median 36.5%; profitable operators 34.2%, unprofitable 42.9% (NRA) | 37% incl. owners’ salaries |
| Occupancy (rent, CAM, utilities) | Median 5.7% of sales for rent and occupancy (NRA) | 11% incl. utilities |
| Prime cost (goods + labor) | About 60 to 65% for full service (Restaurant365) | 67% |
| Net margin | Pre-tax median 2.8% (NRA) | 4% after loan repayments |
Most restaurants review prime cost weekly, together with covers per night, average check and table turns on Friday and Saturday. The industry’s own data shows how thin the line is: in the NRA’s 2026 outlook, 42% of operators said they were unprofitable in the previous year (NRA).
Seasonality and peak days
Demand for eating out is steady: the National Restaurant Association forecasts about $1.55 trillion in US restaurant sales in 2026. Within the year, Toast describes April to September as peak season in most of the country and November to January as the slowest months (Toast), apart from holiday parties and New Year’s Eve.
A few days carry outsized weight. On Mother’s Day 2025, full-service restaurants on Toast saw sales 57% above an average Sunday, checks 32% higher and about three times as many reservations (Toast). Plan staffing, prep and menu for those days, and use the slow months for private events, menu development and training. The sample budget uses monthly averages; your cash plan should allow for a weaker winter.
Licenses and permits (overview)
Requirements vary by state, county and city, and some take months, so start early. Most full-service restaurants need (SBA):
- Business registration and a general business license.
- An EIN from the IRS (free to apply).
- A food service establishment permit from the health department, with plan review and inspection before opening. Most states base their rules on the FDA Food Code.
- A certified food protection manager (for example ServSafe Manager) and food handler cards where required.
- Building permits, fire inspection and a certificate of occupancy, plus sign and sometimes outdoor seating permits.
- A liquor license for beer, wine or spirits. Types, waiting times and costs differ widely by state and city.
- A sales tax permit from your state.
The Institute for Justice counted an average of 13 fees and more than $5,300 in permit and license costs to open a restaurant across 20 cities, from $1,346 to $22,648.
Common mistakes when opening a restaurant
- Choosing a raw space. A former restaurant with a hood, grease trap and walk-in can halve the renovation compared with a space that was never a restaurant.
- Too little working capital. Rent and pre-opening payroll start before the first cover. The sample keeps $161,000 for the renovation months and the ramp-up.
- A menu that is too long. More dishes mean more inventory, waste and training. Cost every recipe.
- Labor creep. Schedule to forecast covers and check labor % every week.
- Applying for the liquor license late. Start as soon as the lease is signed.
Restaurants fail less often than the “90% in the first year” myth says. The classic Ohio State study found about 26% closed in their first year (Ohio State University), and US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows 88% of new accommodation and food service establishments surviving year one and about 59% still open after five years (BLS).
Make it your own plan in Cuttles
Copy the plan into your account
"Use this template" creates a new startup with the complete restaurant plan: pitch, all 13 chapters, SWOT, personas, competitors, roadmap and the budget. Rename it and start changing what doesn't fit.
Rewrite each section with guidance
Every section has an explanation and an example next to the text, so you know what a bank or investor expects to read. Your progress is tracked as you go.
Put in your own numbers
Change rent, wages, prices and sales in the budget, and runway, break-even and the charts update instantly. Then share a link or download the PDF.
Check your own numbers
Startup cost calculator
List your renovation, equipment and pre-opening costs.
Open the calculator →Break-even calculator
How many covers a night cover your costs.
Open the calculator →Burn rate & runway calculator
How long your cash lasts while covers build up.
Open the calculator →TAM SAM SOM calculator
Size your neighborhood market bottom-up.
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See the sample plan →Sources
- National Restaurant Association, 2026 State of the Industry (Feb 2026)
- National Restaurant Association, food cost ratios 2024
- National Restaurant Association, labor costs and profitability 2024
- National Restaurant Association, occupancy costs 2024
- National Restaurant Association, Restaurant Operations Data Abstract (2025)
- RestaurantOwner.com startup cost survey (2018)
- Toast, How much does it cost to open a restaurant
- Toast, Restaurant seasonality
- Institute for Justice, Barriers to Business
- Ohio State University, restaurant failure rate study
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, establishment survival, accommodation & food services
- SBA, Apply for licenses and permits
- Toast, Mother's Day restaurant trends (2026)
- Restaurant365, prime cost
- FDA Food Code
- IRS, Get an EIN
- ServSafe Manager certification
The sample plan describes a fictional business. Figures are illustrative ranges based on the sources above, not financial, legal or tax advice. Licensing rules vary by state and city.