Restaurant Business Plan: The Complete Guide

Food is one of the basic human needs, but people don’t want to eat just any food – sometimes they want their meal to be an exciting experience. This is why more and more businessmen decide to open restaurants in Nigeria. Find out how to do a business plan for a restaurant and start your own successful restaurant business!


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1. Choose your restaurant type and idea

The first step in any restaurant business plan sample is deciding what kind of a restaurant you really want. Today in Nigeria you can choose from the following types of restaurants:

  • Roadside restaurants;
  • Fast food joints;
  • Self-service restaurants;
  • Cafeterias;
  • Food trucks;
  • Fine dining establishments;
  • Pizza places;
  • Coffee shops.

The process of writing a business plan for a restaurant heavily depends on the type of restaurant you decide to go for. For example, a fast food restaurant business plan sample is relatively easy to create, but it may take you a while to learn how to write a restaurant business plan for a fine dining location.

Restaurant business plan

2. Do a market research

When learning how to make a restaurant business plan, one of the most crucial steps is a market research. This section of a restaurant business plan template will contain information on everything from a study of competitors to a sales and marketing projections.

A market research is an important part of a big or small restaurant business plan not just because it helps you calculate your financial risks and develop a more effective marketing strategy, but also because it can be used in case you want to seek investors for your venture.

Restaurant business plan

3. Consider the big 3

Wondering how to start a restaurant business with no prior experience in the food industry? Use the concept of the restaurant big 3 to help you launch a successful joint:

  1. A great concept. What is the one unique thing your restaurant can offer to its visitors? Is it the trendy design, the exotic cuisine, or the overall exquisite dining experience? You will need to include this information on the restaurant proposal template.
  2. A great location. A restaurant is worth nothing if there are no visitors. Until people start talking about your restaurant and visiting it from remote locations, your audience is the people who live, study, or work nearby. Make sure your restaurant is situated in a popular place with plenty of foot and car traffic.
  3. A great chef. Not every restaurant business plan mentions it, but your chef is the heart and soul of your restaurant. In most cases, the chef is the one who is responsible for desining a menu, training the kitchen staff, and putting out amazing food, so you need to choose your chef wisely.
Restaurant business plan

4. Design a menu

If you want to learn how to develop a business plan that will successfully launch your restaurant business, creating a restaurant menu is a step that you need to take very seriously.

After all, the menu is what will ultimately turn one-time visitors into patrons of your joint if they are happy with the food. Pay special attention to the prices – normally, a lot of work goes into determining a reasonable price for each menu entry.

Restaurant business plan

5. Hire and train your staff

By now, you should already have a talented chef. However, the rest of the staff is often what makes or breaks a restaurant’s success. Rude, incompetent, lazy, and dishonest staff won’t get your business anywhere. For a medium-sized restaurant, you will need the following workers:

  • Cooks
  • Cleaners
  • Waiters
  • Manager
  • Accountant
  • Security guard
  • Purchasing manager
Restaurant business plan

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My name is Inna. I am a content writer with an English and literature background. As a mother of a 4-year old son, I love learning about children’s health and development, as well as finding new interesting toys and activities for my little one. I am also in love with all things tech and always keep my finger on the pulse of new smartphone and gadget releases. Another big passion of mine is beauty and makeup – every day I read about new trends in skin care and makeup and always look forward to trying them. Plus, I love pop culture, travelling, crafts, and anything that can make our daily life more thrilling!