Restaurant business plan your lender and landlord will take seriously
Landlords, banks and partners all ask for a restaurant business plan, and they look for the same things: a clear concept, a menu that makes money and a realistic idea of covers per night. This prompt has your todo.is agent study restaurants near your site, price your menu against food cost, and build the forecast around seats, turns and prime cost.
The prompt
- Create a restaurant business plan for [RESTAURANT CONCEPT] at [ADDRESS OR AREA]. Readers: [WHO WILL READ IT]. Details: [SEATS, HOURS, LEASE AND BUDGET]. Look up restaurants within a 1-mile radius with links: cuisine, price level, opening hours and review themes. Write: executive summary, concept and service style, sample menu with prices, target guests, competition, location and layout, staffing for front and back of house, marketing and opening plan, licenses to check (including [ALCOHOL PLAN]), risks, and financials. Price each menu item so the plate cost is about 30% using [MY RECIPES OR TYPICAL COSTS]. Build an Excel forecast with covers per day, average check, seat turns, prime cost, rent, monthly profit for year 1, and 3 years total, with every assumption marked. Deliver a Word plan of about 15 pages and the Excel file, then email both to me.
What to change
- [RESTAURANT CONCEPT]: E.g. "a 60-seat modern Mexican restaurant with a bar" or "a fast-casual ramen counter".
- [ADDRESS OR AREA]: The site or neighborhood, e.g. "412 Elm St, Asheville" or "downtown Leeds". Your agent researches nearby restaurants.
- [WHO WILL READ IT]: E.g. "a bank and a landlord", "two investor friends" or "an SBA loan application".
- [SEATS, HOURS, LEASE AND BUDGET]: Number of seats, days and hours open, rent and lease terms, build-out estimate and how much money you have. Attach floor plans or quotes if you have them.
- [ALCOHOL PLAN]: E.g. "full liquor license", "beer and wine only" or "no alcohol, BYOB".
- [MY RECIPES OR TYPICAL COSTS]: Attach recipes with quantities, or write "use typical costs" and your agent estimates from supplier prices.
Example result
- Executive summary
- Mesa Alta is a 60-seat modern Mexican restaurant with a 10-seat bar in downtown Asheville. Dinner six nights a week, weekend brunch. We are raising $380,000 through an SBA-backed loan and owner equity to fit out a former retail space.
- Concept and service
- • Full service, shareable plates, house-made tortillas pressed to order
- • Average dinner check target: $46 per guest including drinks (assumption)
- • Bar program with agave spirits and a short non-alcoholic menu
- Sample menu economics (illustrative)
- • Mushroom tlayuda, price $17, plate cost $4.90 (29%)
- • Short rib barbacoa tacos, price $22, plate cost $7.10 (32%)
- • Churros with chocolate, price $10, plate cost $1.80 (18%)
- • Margarita, price $14, pour cost 20%
- Competition (from the research)
- • 14 restaurants within a mile, 3 Mexican, none full service with a bar focus
- • Review themes nearby: long waits on weekends, few vegetarian options
- Staffing
- • Back of house: chef, sous chef, 3 line cooks, 2 dishwashers
- • Front of house: GM, 2 bartenders, 5 servers, 2 hosts, 2 bussers
- • Labor target: 30% to 33% of sales
- Forecast logic (all numbers are illustrative assumptions)
- • Weeknight: 90 covers (1.5 turns), Friday and Saturday: 160 covers
- • Brunch: 110 covers each day
- • Year 1 sales: $1.52M, Year 2: $1.71M, Year 3: $1.80M
- • Prime cost (food, drink and labor): 62% of sales in the base case
- • Rent: 7.5% of year-1 sales
- • Break-even: month 9 in the base case, month 16 in the slow case
- Opening plan
- • Weeks 1 to 12: build-out, kitchen equipment, licenses
- • Weeks 10 to 14: hire, train, two soft-opening nights for friends and neighbors
- • Week 15: public opening, local press and food writers invited
- Risks
- • Build-out overruns: 15% contingency in the budget
- • Slow first winter: lower staffing grid ready from November
- • Delivery apps: only on two apps, with a smaller menu that travels well
How to do it with todo.is
- Copy the prompt and replace the [brackets] with your concept, site, budget and readers.
- Paste it into todo.is or message it to your agent on WhatsApp, Slack or Telegram, attaching recipes, floor plans or quotes.
- Your agent researches nearby restaurants, prices the menu and emails you a Word plan and an Excel forecast.
- Ask for a slow, base and strong scenario, or a 10-slide investor deck made from the plan.
Tips for a better result
- Plan around prime cost, not just food cost. Food, drink and labor together decide whether a restaurant survives.
- Model weeknights honestly. Many new restaurants are busy on Saturday and half-empty on Tuesday.
- Ask your agent to read recent reviews of nearby places and list what guests complain about. That is your positioning.
- Keep a build-out contingency of at least 10% to 15%. Old buildings hide plumbing, grease trap and ventilation surprises.
restaurant business plan: FAQ
- What should a restaurant business plan include? A concept, sample menu with prices, location, competitors, staffing, marketing and opening plan, licenses and a forecast built on covers, average check and prime cost.
- What is prime cost in a restaurant? Prime cost is the cost of food and drink plus all labor. Many operators aim to keep it around 60% to 65% of sales, depending on the style of restaurant.
- How do I estimate restaurant sales? Multiply seats by expected turns per service and by the average check, then adjust by day of the week and season. The forecast lets you change each number.
- Can I use this plan for an SBA loan? You can use it as a strong draft. Lenders often have their own forms and ask for personal financial statements too, so check with your lender and an accountant.
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