restaurant operating business plan

Restaurant Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Restaurant Business Plan

To start or grow a successful restaurant, you need a solid business plan. This sample restaurant business plan, created by PlanBuildr.com, is a tried-and-true guide, backed by over 20 years of experience. You’ll find expertise woven into every section, honed by a team that has helped countless restaurateurs launch and grow their culinary visions.

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 market, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.  

What are the Main Types of Restaurants?

There are many types of restaurant businesses which vary based on their service style. 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 or independent restaurant investors. Typically you will find a local bank and present your restaurant business plan to them. Most independent restaurant investors are in the restaurant business already and can be a valuable resource for advice and help with your business plan.

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.  

Sample Business Plan for a Restaurant Owner

Below is a business plan example to help you create each section of a comprehensive restaurant business plan.

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 business 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

A sample menu can be found in the Appendix of this business plan.

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 restaurant design, 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 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.

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.

Customer Segmentation

The target audience for Bluehorn Restaurant & Steakhouse will primarily include 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 of our direct competitors is below.

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 restaurant 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:

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 the entire 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 taken 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 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.

  You can download our free restaurant business plan template PDF . This restaurant business plan template can be used to create a finalized business plan for your restaurant concept.

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How to Write an Operations Plan for a Restaurant?

Good food alone does not guarantee success. However, meticulously planned operations and a clear action plan can surely help realize that dream.

The operations plan is your guidebook to create a successful restaurant. It streamlines every aspect of your eatery right from food processes to conflict resolution.

Consider it as a holy bible of your restaurant containing all the relevant information. It will answer every question the team will have while running a restaurant business.

Certainly, you cannot be negligent with this aspect of a business plan.

Well, this blog will help you understand the components of restaurant operations and take you one step closer to finishing your business plan.

So let’s get started.

Why does your Restaurant need an operations plan?

Many restaurants close their gates permanently in less than a year. It’s mostly because they didn’t have an actionable operations plan to run an eatery.

If by any chance you consider operations to be a not-so-important part, reconsider! Here are a few primary reasons why you need an operations plan for your restaurant.

• The cost of running a restaurant is high. Clearly defined operations help reduce the cost, and food wastage and show potential ways of increasing the profits.
• When you have set standards for everything, it becomes easier to deliver consistent services. An operations plan helps in clearly defining the standards for different aspects of an eatery business.
• Emergencies are bound to arrive. An operations plan helps you plan and prepare for various contingencies, thereby making the business sound and secure.
• Communication is the key, right? Operations set a clear tone for individual responsibility and accountability. This will fix all the communication issues that lead to employee dissatisfaction.

Key components of a restaurant operations plan

Starting to write the operations section of your business plan? Don’t forget to add these key components to make your business plan relevant and helpful.

1. Menu Design and Management

Including a sample menu in the business plan of your new restaurant will help investors understand your product offerings.

Besides, what you plan to serve will directly and largely affect the other aspects of your restaurant, mainly its target market, layout, and design.

Restaurants operate on a thin margin. It’s therefore important to identify the menu items that are profitable as well as popular.

Focus on a limited menu, at least in the beginning to regulate the food costs. Include items that can be put together with easily available and locally sourced ingredients.

Work on creating a cost-effective menu design. Implement recipe cost cards to get the exact cost of each menu item.  And, ensure that the prime costs of menu items are not more than 66% of what you are planning to price.

2. Food Procurement & Preparation

A restaurant’s operational plans should clearly define the food procurement and preparation process.

Identify a way to get a consistent supply of raw materials for your eatery. If not planned and accounted for, the inventory expenses will disrupt your budget.

Find a balance between fresh ingredients and ingredients with a stable shelf life in your recipes.  To reduce the costs, find ways to use the same ingredients for multiple dishes.

For consistency in preparation, create recipe cost cards for every item on your menu.

Ensure that the food preparation process promises quality. This will keep your target market loyal to your eatery.

3. Staffing and Training

Employees play a huge role in bringing your restaurant dream to fruition.

However, labor costs account for the largest operational expenses every month. Identifying the exact staffing requirements will help you make informed hiring decisions.

In the operational section of your restaurant business plan, mention your hiring plans for full-time and part-time employees. Also, mention their salaries to give potential investors an idea about the monthly payroll expenses.

Further, highlight the employee training practices for your restaurant. Outline the detailed training program for your front-house and back-house restaurant staff.

The training should be comprehensive and train employees in taking orders, managing special requests, resolving customer complaints, serving protocols, etc.

4. Inventory management

Efficient inventory and supply chain management are the key pillars of running a successful restaurant.

Determine your stock management strategy by conducting market research on competitors. The operations section of a restaurant business plan must include the following details:

• Frequency of restocking an inventory.
• Stock management practices
• Storage costs of an inventory
• Suppliers and vendors that will fulfill the orders
• Inventory tracking methods
• Contingency plan for supply chain disruption

This section of a restaurant business plan helps reduce the potential costs substantially. Besides, efficient inventory management will instill the faith of potential investors in your restaurant business.

5. Technology & Software

The operations section of your restaurant business plan must offer a brief overview of the technologies and tools that you will use in your eatery.

Technologies are extremely important for the restaurant’s success. A market analysis suggests that 91% of restaurant owners in the US consider restaurant technologies to be important for their business.

Study your direct and indirect competitors and identify the technologies they are using in their restaurant business.

Describe reservation tools, inventory management systems, payment systems, marketing tools, and different kinds of technology that will help streamline your operations.

6. Customer Service

We all know that quality customer service will contribute significantly to a restaurant’s success.

The question is- How do you plan to offer consistent quality services to satisfy the customers?

Think of things that can contribute to customer satisfaction and you can frame your strategies accordingly.

To create relevant strategies, try answering questions such as:

• How will you efficiently move the customers in the line of operations without hushing them?
• How will you maintain consistency in food quality?
• How will the restaurant management address customer complaints?
• How do you plan to attract your target market?
• Do you have modern and upgraded technology for digital and contactless payment?
• What will be the average serving time?
• What is your marketing strategy to keep the customer happy and loyal?

No one other than your customers will decide the fate of your restaurant. All the strategies and plans must aim at helping you deliver a satisfactory customer experience.

7. Health and safety compliance

Health and safety is another important factor that requires constant attention in an eatery business. In the operations plan, mention different health practices you will follow for food, customers, and the safety of restaurant workers.

Describe sanitation and disinfection protocols to keep the restaurant and kitchen premises clean and hygienic.

Further, describe the food safety policies in your eatery. This should clarify food handling and storage methods, temperature protocols, and different food check measures in practice.

Mention, emergency and evacuation protocols in case of fire, earthquake, and accidents. Clearly define procedures and tools that will help to combat such situations.

Lastly, mention employee health protocols, regular health checkups, and policies to manage infections.

Overall, a comprehensive restaurant business plan is one that entails all the details of a restaurant’s operations and acts as a guidebook in making a restaurant successful.

Related Restaurant Resources

• Restaurant Business Plan
• Restaurant Marketing Plan
• Restaurant Financial Plan
• Restaurant Industry Trends

How to draft a restaurant operation plan: key questions to ask

Be it a fine dining cafe or a fast-casual restaurant, an eatery is much more than the company description, restaurant design, and service style.

This is your chance to create your unique restaurant by defining its key operations.

Now, are you facing difficulty in writing a clear and actionable operations plan? Answer these questions and you will have all the necessary information to bring clarity to the operations section of your business plan.

What are your operational hours?

Unless you are planning to be a 24*7 highway restaurant, you need to fix the restaurant’s working hours well in advance.

Conduct market analysis and understand when the demand for your eatery will be highest. Study many restaurants and find the ideal operating hours for an eatery like yours.

Apart from product offerings, many factors such as customer base, sales channel, restaurant design, location, and popularity of your restaurant weigh in to form this decision.

Considering these factors, identify the peak working hours and plan a generous window around that to serve your customers.

Who handles the opening and closing of the restaurant?

After deciding the restaurant timings, plan who would open and close the restaurant.

This staff is responsible for activities like maintenance, security, waste disposal, and other crucial daily operations. It can be some trustworthy member of the staff who will ensure that the restaurant starts right on time.

What technologies will you use in your day-to-day operations?

A variety of technologies are required for the long-term success of a restaurant. The technologies ease the complexity and help put an organized operations plan into action.

For instance, an online ordering system is an important technology in 2023. According to market research, more than 25% of restaurant sales are generated through online ordering.

Mention the online ordering system you will use and also outline the agreement made with different delivery partners.

Apart from that, you need a security system, tools for financial analysis, software to implement your marketing plan, kitchen display screens,  payment machines, etc.

Mention all these technologies and how you will create meticulous operations with them.

What is the timeline for pre-launch? Are any preparations pending?

How long will it take to set up a restaurant? The financial projections you have made will make sense only if the restaurant opens on time as you planned.

In this section, lay clear steps that will transform your restaurant mood board into an actual restaurant.

Create a checklist with a timeline for everything that needs to be done. This includes activities like remodeling, acquiring licenses and permits, hiring staff, training employees, and stocking an inventory to get the restaurant ready for launch.

Potential investors hold a keen interest in this section mainly because it reflects your commitment to the business.

And that’s pretty much all you need in an operations plan.

Simple, right? Well, we know it isn’t.

But at least now you have all the relevant information required for your operations business plan.

Download a sample restaurant business plan

All set to write the operations section of your restaurant business plan? Well, we have a perfect resource for you. This restaurant business plan template by Upmetrics is available for free download and is designed specifically for restaurateurs.

It is amongst the most intuitive, modern, and resourceful business plans available out there. It has step-by-step instructions and some perfect examples for you to consider. Free download the template now and start writing.

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Start Preparing Your Restaurant Operational Plan

Customers are at the heart of the restaurant business. Keeping them happy and satisfied requires you to surpass quality expectations every time.

An operational plan helps you achieve that and a lot more. So without any further ado, start the work.

Get the market overview, work your way through figures, and figure out best practices to implement in your business.

A lot of things need your consideration when you are writing the operations section of a business plan. Our restaurant business plan template will come in handy to ensure you leave no important aspect untouched.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of an operation in a restaurant.

Many things are included in the operations of a restaurant, such as food preparation, managing inventory, staff training, food serving, cleaning and maintenance, etc. Operations oversees everything that keeps the eatery running and functioning.

What are the 5 things that an operational plan should include?

The operational plan for any aspect must focus on 5 main components: Planning, marketing, human resources, logistics, and financial limits. Keeping these components in mind you can create actionable and efficient operations for your business.

Do all restaurants need an operational plan?

Yes, every restaurant must have an operational plan to achieve the goals highlighted in its mission statement. Restaurants operate on a thin margin. If the everyday processes aren’t planned and meticulously monitored, high costs and waste of resources will start to eat away at your profits. If you are planning to start a successful eatery, you need a detailed operational plan in action.

How can technology be integrated into a restaurant's operational plan?

Technology can significantly improve the efficiency of a restaurant. There is a technology for everything- right from inventory management to food procurement, online ordering, and payments. A correct technology can help you reduce costs, scale the operations, and find ways to increase profitability. The operational plan highlights the use of different technologies for seamless processes.

What are the financial considerations in building an operational plan for a restaurant?

The operations section must consider varying financial projections to ensure the sustainability and viability of a restaurant plan. It must include considerations of startup costs, operating budget, menu pricing strategy, labor costs, cash flow, and other financial components.

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

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