Free Restaurant Business Plan Template (Word + PDF) and Sample Plan (2026)

By The Zarla Team · Updated October 2026

Download the free restaurant business plan template as Word or PDF, read a complete sample plan for Harbor & Vine, and get the numbers first: typical startup costs of $96,261–$968,892, what owners really earn, the licenses you'll need in the US and how to write every section — or make the plan yours in five questions.

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Restaurant business plan at a glance

Starting a restaurant in the US typically costs $96,261–$968,892, with build-out and working capital the biggest lines. Typical monthly costs run $30,874–$103,779 before owner pay and tax. Of sales on food at the median full-service restaurant in 2024, 32.4% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association): 32.0%.

Licenses and permits in the US (7 in all): business registration, EIN and sales tax permit; health permit, plan check and inspection; and food manager certificate and food handler cards — the rules vary by state.
The plan: eleven sections, from the executive summary to what a lender, a landlord or an investor will ask for, written from five questions — free, no sign-up to write it.
The sample plan on this page: Harbor & Vine, Columbus, OH — a fictional restaurant, a 40-seat neighborhood bistro with a short seasonal menu in a second-generation space.
The first 30 days: 8 steps, starting with “Write the menu first, then cost every dish against the Association's food and labor medians”.
Downloads: the fill-in template as Word and PDF, and the sample plan as PDF — free, no email address.

Facts checked October 27, 2026. Every figure is a published US range, not a quote; the sources are listed on this page, which covers how to write a restaurant business plan, the complete sample plan and the free template.

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The numbers first

$96,261–$968,892to start a restaurantTypical US range, required lines

32.0%of sales on food at the median full-service restaurant in 2024, 32.4% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association)

36.5%of sales on wages and benefits at the median full-service restaurant, 31.7% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association, 2024)

$69,390the 2025 US median pay for employed food service managers (O*NET); a restaurant cook earns $37,390

Startup costs

What it costs to start a restaurant

Typical US ranges, whole dollars. Optional lines are marked and left out of the total. The struck-through lines are what a Zarla plan covers, with the reason beside each; the generator turns this table into your own list.

Restaurant startup costs
Item	Low	High
Business registration (LLC), EIN and sales tax permitAn LLC is $40 in Kentucky and $300 in Texas; in California $70 plus a $20 statement of information and an $800 yearly tax. The EIN is free, and the sales tax permit is free in most states — Texas wants the sales tax number before the health permit application. A city business license where your city wants one: Seattle's is $73 a year under $20,000 of revenue in the city and $147 from $20,000 to $499,999 (2026).	$40	$890
Health permit and plan checkThe Texas state permit is $258 under $50,000 of annual food sales, $515 to $149,999 and $773 above (DSHS); Los Angeles County charges $1,309 for a high-risk room of 31 to 60 seats plus $1,865 to check plans for 2,000 to 3,999 square feet (2026–27). Florida's license is $262 to $357 by seats, New York City's permit $280 a year, King County's $441 to $1,386, Chicago's $660 to $1,650 per two years.	$258	$3,174
Certified food manager and food handler cardsA planning range — the manager exam is vendor-priced; California caps a handler course and card at $15, Washington's food worker card is $10, New York City's food protection exam is $24.	$100	$500
Kitchen equipment at a vendor's listed prices — a walk-in at the high endOn one restaurant-supply vendor's pages in October 2026: a six-burner gas range $1,299, a 40-pound fryer $819, a two-door reach-in $1,839, a three-compartment sink $669 with two drainboards ($1,699 fabricated), an eight-foot hood package $4,799 and its fire suppression $4,239 (Kidde) or $5,919 (Ansul) — $13,664; the high end adds a six-by-six walk-in cooler at $10,396. Installation, ductwork and makeup air are not in the prices. In Texas, kitchen equipment used to prepare food for sale is not taxable.	$13,664	$26,770
Tables and chairsThirty metal chairs at $69.99 and eight 30-by-48 laminated table tops at $60.49 on the same vendor's pages, rounded to the dollar — about $2,584 before the table bases; a furniture vendor's guide puts seating for 75 at $6,000 to $15,000.	$2,584	$15,000
POS and payment hardware (first year)Square's food-and-beverage plans are $0, $49 and $149 a month per location with hardware from $59 (2026); a planning range for a full counter with a kitchen display at the high end.	$59	$2,500
Insurance (first year)NEXT says 69% of its restaurant customers pay $74 a month on average for general liability with a workers' comp median of $160 — $2,808 a year (October 2026); Insureon's averages are $337 a month for a business owner's policy, $118 for workers' compensation and $45 for liquor liability — $6,000 a year (September 2026).	$2,808	$6,000
Build-out: kitchen, dining room, plumbing and electricalThe swing item. A second-generation space taken as-is — one San Antonio owner's room “came with the rent” — can be near zero; a contractor's 2026 guide puts full-service construction at $250 to $400 a square foot, so 2,500 square feet at the low end of that range is $625,000, with 12 to 20 percent in soft costs on top. A Dallas contractor's range is $100 to $800 a square foot.	$0	$625,000
Lease deposit and first months' rentA planning range — a Texas tenant-rep brokerage says the deposit is typically one to two months' rent, more for a start-up; rent itself is your market's number, with the Association's occupancy medians of 5.7% (full-service) and 5.2% (limited-service) of sales as the sanity check.	$5,000	$40,000
Opening food and beverage inventoryA planning range.	$5,000	$15,000
Signage, menus and brandingA planning range.	$2,000	$10,000
Hiring and training before openingA planning range — the certificates' clocks (30 days from hire in Texas and Florida, 30 and 60 days in California) run during this period.	$3,000	$15,000
Website with the menu and online orderingIncluded with ZarlaYour Zarla plan includes the website — a call button at the top, your menu and hours, and a booking form — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $1,500 or more to build one.	$0	$1,500
Working capital (two months of rent, food, labor, insurance, software and more)Two months of the monthly lines below that the startup list doesn't pay ahead, on the Association's 2024 medians — food 32.4% and labor 31.7% of $40,000 a month at the low end (limited-service), food 32.0% and labor 36.5% of $120,000 at the high end (full-service). A furniture vendor's survey report puts the usual reserve at three to six months.	$61,748	$207,558
Liquor license (where you serve alcohol) (optional)Optional — typically $3,000–$21,385. Texas: a wine and malt beverage retailer's permit is $1,900 and the food and beverage certificate $1,100 for two years — $3,000; the mixed beverage permit is $5,300. California: a Type 41 beer-and-wine license is a $1,135 application and $565 a year; a new Type 47 full liquor license is $19,840 by priority drawing plus $1,545 a year — $21,385 — or a private purchase from an existing licensee at a price no page prints. New York's on-premises license is up to $2,176 a year, Washington's beer and wine $600, Florida's yearly tax up to $1,820 on a quota license.	$0	$0
Typical total (required lines)	$96,261	$968,892

Permits and certificates: the Texas Department of State Health Services' permit fee page, start-up guide and food manager and handler FAQs, the City of Austin's FY 2025–26 fee schedule, Los Angeles County Public Health's FY 2026–27 fee schedule, California Health and Safety Code §113948 and §113947.1, Florida Statutes §509.241 and §509.039 with Rule 61C-1.008, NYC Business and NYC Health, Public Health – Seattle & King County's 2026 fees, the Washington Department of Health and the City of Chicago — each linked on the how-to-start guide. Ranges are what a small operation typically pays in the US; replace them with real quotes as you get them.

Monthly costs

What it costs to run each month

Typical monthly operating costs for a small operation, before the owner's own pay.

Cost	Typical monthly range
Rent and utilities	$4,000–$15,000
Food and beverage (the Association's 32% medians)	$12,960–$38,400
Staff wages, benefits and payroll taxes (the Association's 31.7% to 36.5% medians)	$12,680–$43,800
Insurance	$234–$500
POS, reservations and ordering software (included with Zarla)	$0–$79
Marketing and delivery-app fees	$500–$4,000
Cleaning, paper goods and repairs	$500–$2,000

Typical total: $30,874–$103,779 a month. Registration: the Kentucky, Texas and California Secretaries of State, the California Franchise Tax Board, the IRS and the City of Seattle's 2026 license tiers. Lines marked as planning ranges (the certificates, the POS at the high end, the deposit and rent, inventory, signage, hiring, marketing, supplies) have no page that prices them; they are stated as ranges, never as a figure. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.

How much a restaurant makes

A restaurant earns what is left after three ratios: in the National Restaurant Association's survey of operators, food and non-alcohol beverage costs were a median 32.0% of sales at full-service restaurants and 32.4% at limited-service in 2024, wages and benefits 36.5% and 31.7%, and occupancy 5.7% and 5.2% — roughly three quarters of every dollar before utilities, insurance, card fees and the loan. The Association's 2026 report says 42 percent of operators were not profitable in 2025. No public survey of independent owners' take-home pay opened for this plan; as an employee, a food service manager earned a 2025 median of $69,390 (O*NET). The owners who last cost every dish against those lines, take a room that was already a kitchen, and read the report every night.

32.0% — of sales on food at the median full-service restaurant in 2024, 32.4% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association)
36.5% — of sales on wages and benefits at the median full-service restaurant, 31.7% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association, 2024)
$69,390 — the 2025 US median pay for employed food service managers (O*NET); a restaurant cook earns $37,390

Liquor: TABC's two-year fee schedule, the Texas Comptroller's mixed beverage tax pages, the California ABC's 2026 application and annual fee schedules, New York Alcoholic Beverage Control Law §66, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board and Florida Statutes §561.20 and §565.02.

Costs: WebstaurantStore product pages (October 2026), Superior Seating's cost guide (2026; a furniture vendor's report of an owners' survey), Square's food-and-beverage pricing (2026), Timeless Construction (August 2026) and EB3 Construction (September 2025), Austin Tenant Advisors (2023), Insureon's restaurant averages (September 28, 2026) and NEXT's (October 2026).

Ratios, pay and the failure rate: the National Restaurant Association's 2025 Restaurant Operations Data Abstract analyses (August–September 2025) and its 2026 State of the Restaurant Industry release (February 12, 2026), O*NET's 2025 medians, and Parsa, Self, Njite and King, "Why Restaurants Fail" (Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly, 2005). Wages: 29 U.S.C. §203, Texas Labor Code §62.052, FloridaCommerce, the New York Department of Labor, the California DIR and Washington L&I.

Licenses and permits

Licenses, permits and insurance for a restaurant

What you need before you can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.

Requirement	What it means
Business registration, EIN and sales tax permit	In the US, an LLC or a DBA with your state — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas, $70 plus a $20 statement and an $800 yearly tax in California — the free EIN from the IRS, and a sales tax permit: meals are taxable in Texas (ready-to-eat food even to go, at 6.25% plus up to 2% local), California (hot prepared food to go; cold food to go is not), New York (anything consumed on the premises), Florida and Washington (prepared food).
Health permit, plan check and inspection	In the US the permit comes from whichever agency has jurisdiction, and the fee is on its page: in Texas the state department ($258 to $773 by food sales) unless your city permits you (Austin $309 to $927); in California the county (Los Angeles $319 to $1,438 by seats and risk, plus a $1,044 to $2,723 plan check); in Florida the Division of Hotels and Restaurants ($262 to $357 by seats); in New York City the health department ($280 a year, operating allowed 22 days after applying); in King County, Washington, $441 to $1,386; in Chicago $660 to $1,650 per two years. Plans are checked before the build and the room inspected before and after opening.
Food manager certificate and food handler cards	In Texas a certified food manager may be required and every food employee completes a handler course within 30 days of employment; in California a handler card within 30 days of hire (a course capped at $15, valid three years) and a certified owner or employee within 60 days, recertified every five years; in Florida managers pass the test within 30 days; in New York City a certified supervisor is on site at all times (free course, $24 exam); in Washington a $10 food worker card within 14 days; in Chicago a sanitation certificate holder on the premises at all times.
Liquor license	In the US only if you serve alcohol, from a separate regulator with the longest clock: the Texas mixed beverage permit is $5,300 and the beer and wine permit $1,900 for two years, with a 6.7% gross receipts tax the permittee pays; California's Type 41 is $1,135 plus $565 a year and a new Type 47 $19,840 by priority drawing or a private purchase; New York's on-premises license is up to $2,176 a year; Washington's beer and wine $600, spirits $1,400 to $2,700; Florida limits quota licenses to one per 7,500 residents unless the restaurant has 2,000 square feet, 120 seats and 51 percent food revenue, with a yearly tax up to $1,820.
Building, fire, sign and accessibility rules	In the US any build-out needs building permits and a fire inspection, the hood needs fire suppression, sign codes vary by city, and restaurants are public accommodations under the ADA — barriers come out of an existing room when it is readily achievable and new construction follows the 2010 Standards.
Wages, tips and workers' compensation	In the US the federal cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13, which Texas adopts; Florida's direct wage is $10.98 from September 30, 2025; New York City's is $11.35 cash plus a $5.65 tip allowance; California ($16.90) and Washington ($17.13) allow no tip credit at all. Workers' compensation is required for employers in most states once you hire — check yours.
Insurance, and the rules outside the US	In the US a business owner's policy (Insureon's restaurant average is $337 a month; general liability alone $192, or $74 on average for most of NEXT's customers), workers' comp ($118 a month on Insureon's average, NEXT's median $160) and liquor liability ($45) where you serve. In the UK, register the food business free at least 28 days before trading and get a premises license (£100 to £1,905) to sell alcohol; in Australia, New South Wales restaurants notify the council and appoint a Food Safety Supervisor, and Victoria's council registers the premises each year.

How to write it

How to write a restaurant business plan

The sections a lender, a landlord or an investor expects to see — and what goes in each one for a restaurant. Harbor & Vine's sample plan below follows this outline exactly.

Executive summary

One page, written last: what the business is, where it trades, who it serves, what it costs to start — typically $96,261–$968,892 for a restaurant — and where that money is coming from. Someone who reads nothing else should still know the whole plan. For Harbor & Vine below, that page says: a 40-seat neighborhood bistro with a short seasonal menu in a second-generation space in Columbus, OH, $531,827 to start.

Products and services

What you offer and how you charge for it. For a restaurant that usually means lunch and dinner service, dine-in; takeout and online ordering for pickup; and private dining and small events. Keep the base offer simple and price the add-ons separately.

Market analysis

Who pays, and why they'd pick you: neighbors within a 10-minute drive who eat out once or twice a week; office workers looking for a reliable lunch spot. Name the two or three local competitors a customer would compare you with and the one thing you do better. Skip the market-size statistics — a lender wants your customers, not the industry's.

Marketing strategy

How those customers find you: Google Business Profile and Google Maps — “restaurants near me” plus your cuisine and neighborhood; word of mouth and regulars who bring friends — and the neighbors who watched the build; and Instagram and Facebook for the menu, specials and events. Put a cost and an expected result beside each channel, and say which one you'll start with.

Operations plan

The week to week, plainly: a short menu — 12 to 20 items — that a small kitchen can execute consistently, costed before the lease is signed; food cost tracked weekly against the Association's 32% median; and a prep list and par levels so every service starts ready. If the plan can't say who does what on an ordinary Tuesday, it isn't finished.

Startup costs

Every line you'll spend before you start, with a running total — typically $96,261–$968,892 for a restaurant, and the two biggest lines (build-out; working capital) move it most. The table above is the starting list; replace each range with a real quote as you get one.

Financial plan

Typical monthly costs ($30,874–$103,779 a month for a small restaurant, before your own pay), the monthly sales you're aiming for (Harbor & Vine plans on $60,000 a month), and how many months it takes to recover the startup budget. Use ranges until you have quotes, and never invent a revenue forecast to make the page look full.

Milestones, risks and the appendix

The first 30 days as a dated to-do list. Harbor & Vine's begins: write the menu first, then cost every dish against the Association's food and labor medians — the menu decides the kitchen, not the other way round. Then the risks, said out loud: most restaurants take months to reach steady sales — the 2005 Cornell-published study that tested the failure folklore found under-capitalization and management, not the food, behind the 26.16% that closed in year one. Then the licenses and permits you'll need, and what a lender will ask for beyond the plan: two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement, for a start.

The sample plan

Harbor & Vine is a fictional restaurant in Columbus, OH — a 40-seat neighborhood bistro with a short seasonal menu in a second-generation space. The plan below is exactly what the free generator writes from five answers, in the outline above, with every number calculated from the figures on this page rather than invented. Read it as a worked example, then make it yours.

Make this plan mine Download the template (Word)Download the template (PDF)Download this sample (PDF)

Business plan

Sample plan · fictional business

A complete restaurant business plan: Harbor & Vine

Columbus, OH · Startup plan · a fictional restaurant, written by the free generator from five answers

Executive summary

Harbor & Vine is a new restaurant in Columbus, OH offering lunch and dinner service, dine-in; takeout and online ordering for pickup; private dining and small events; and catering trays for offices and parties. The model is a small, well-run room with a short menu, food and labor costs held to the industry's medians, and regulars as the base the business grows from.

Startup budget: $531,827 across 14 items, funded from savings. Target: $60,000 in monthly sales.

Twelve months from now, success looks like this: Full on Friday and Saturday nights, 30% of sales from regulars, food cost held near the Association's 32% median, and a second cook hired

Products and services

Harbor & Vine's core offer is lunch and dinner service, dine-in. The menu stays short so the kitchen can execute every dish consistently at speed, every dish is costed against the food and labor lines before it goes on the card, and the specials are where the season and the cook's ideas show up.

Lunch and dinner service, dine-in
Takeout and online ordering for pickup
Private dining and small events
Catering trays for offices and parties

Market analysis

The customers are neighbors who want a reliable place to eat well without a production, office workers at lunch, and the couples and families who make the weekends. Regulars are the goal: a guest who comes twice a month is worth more than a crowd that comes once.

Neighbors within a 10-minute drive who eat out once or twice a week
Office workers looking for a reliable lunch spot
Couples and families for weekend dinners and celebrations
Companies and hosts ordering catering or booking the private room

Marketing strategy

Most first-time guests will find Harbor & Vine on Google Maps and through word of mouth from friends who've eaten there. Reviews on the Google Business Profile, a website with the menu as text and the hours, and the neighbors who watched the build on video do the heavy lifting; delivery apps add reach at the cost of margin.

Google Business Profile and Google Maps — “restaurants near me” plus your cuisine and neighborhood
Word of mouth and regulars who bring friends — and the neighbors who watched the build
Instagram and Facebook for the menu, specials and events
Delivery apps for reach, with your own online ordering for margin
A website with the menu as text, hours, a booking form and online ordering

Operations plan

The kitchen runs from a prep list and par levels so every service starts ready. Food cost is checked weekly against sales, staff are scheduled to expected covers, the nightly report is read every night, and the owner works the floor at peak.

A short menu — 12 to 20 items — that a small kitchen can execute consistently, costed before the lease is signed
Food cost tracked weekly against the Association's 32% median; labor planned at 32% to 36% of sales
A prep list and par levels so every service starts ready
Staff scheduled to covers, with the owner on the floor at peak, and the nightly report read every night
Reservations and waitlist run from one system, never a notebook

Startup costs

What it will take to open the doors, funded from savings.

Startup costs
Item	Amount
Business registration (LLC), EIN and sales tax permit	$465
Health permit and plan check	$1,716
Certified food manager and food handler cards	$300
Kitchen equipment at a vendor's listed prices — a walk-in at the high end	$20,217
Tables and chairs	$8,792
POS and payment hardware (first year)	$1,280
Insurance (first year)	$4,404
Build-out: kitchen, dining room, plumbing and electrical	$312,500
Lease deposit and first months' rent	$22,500
Opening food and beverage inventory	$10,000
Signage, menus and branding	$6,000
Hiring and training before opening	$9,000
Website with the menu and online ordering	$0
Working capital (two months of rent, food, labor, insurance, software and more)	$134,653
Total	$531,827

Typical range to start a restaurant in the US: $96,261–$968,892. Your list is what you decided to spend — replace estimates with real quotes as you get them. Website with the menu and online ordering: Your Zarla plan includes the website — a call button at the top, your menu and hours, and a booking form — and walks you through your Google Business Profile; a designer typically charges $1,500 or more to build one.

Financial plan

The numbers below come from your own startup list and typical monthly costs for a restaurant in the US. Restaurants carry high fixed costs and thin margins, so the cash reserve for the opening months is the line that decides survival.

Typical monthly operating costs for a restaurant: $30,874–$103,779 a month, before the owner's own pay.

At $60,000 in monthly sales, Harbor & Vine would clear up to $29,126 a month before owner pay and tax if costs stay near the low end of the typical range, and recover the $531,827 startup budget in roughly 19 months. At the high end of typical costs ($103,779) that target doesn't cover them — so the cost list, not the sales target, is the number to pin down first.

Typical monthly operating costs
Cost	Typical range
Rent and utilities	$4,000–$15,000
Food and beverage (the Association's 32% medians)	$12,960–$38,400
Staff wages, benefits and payroll taxes (the Association's 31.7% to 36.5% medians)	$12,680–$43,800
Insurance	$234–$500
POS, reservations and ordering software (included with Zarla)	$0–$79
Marketing and delivery-app fees	$500–$4,000
Cleaning, paper goods and repairs	$500–$2,000

US ranges for a small operation; replace with your own figures as you learn them. Lines marked (included with Zarla) are what those tools cost separately — with Zarla they are part of one monthly plan.

Risks and honest downsides

Every restaurant plan should say out loud what can go wrong. For Harbor & Vine, the real risks are:

Most restaurants take months to reach steady sales — the 2005 Cornell-published study that tested the failure folklore found under-capitalization and management, not the food, behind the 26.16% that closed in year one
Food and labor costs move every week; the Association's 2024 medians of 32% and 36.5% leave low single digits after rent, and 42% of operators were not profitable in 2025
The lease is the biggest fixed bet, and a bad location rarely gets rescued by marketing
The permit and liquor clocks run in months — one Austin owner was on day 410 of a 140-day build contract
Staff turnover is constant in hospitality; training never stops
Delivery apps bring customers but take a cut of the ticket

Licenses, permits and insurance

What Harbor & Vine needs before it can legally trade in the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant.

Business registration, EIN and sales tax permit — In the US, an LLC or a DBA with your state — $40 in Kentucky, $300 in Texas, $70 plus a $20 statement and an $800 yearly tax in California — the free EIN from the IRS, and a sales tax permit: meals are taxable in Texas (ready-to-eat food even to go, at 6.25% plus up to 2% local), California (hot prepared food to go; cold food to go is not), New York (anything consumed on the premises), Florida and Washington (prepared food).
Health permit, plan check and inspection — In the US the permit comes from whichever agency has jurisdiction, and the fee is on its page: in Texas the state department ($258 to $773 by food sales) unless your city permits you (Austin $309 to $927); in California the county (Los Angeles $319 to $1,438 by seats and risk, plus a $1,044 to $2,723 plan check); in Florida the Division of Hotels and Restaurants ($262 to $357 by seats); in New York City the health department ($280 a year, operating allowed 22 days after applying); in King County, Washington, $441 to $1,386; in Chicago $660 to $1,650 per two years. Plans are checked before the build and the room inspected before and after opening.
Food manager certificate and food handler cards — In Texas a certified food manager may be required and every food employee completes a handler course within 30 days of employment; in California a handler card within 30 days of hire (a course capped at $15, valid three years) and a certified owner or employee within 60 days, recertified every five years; in Florida managers pass the test within 30 days; in New York City a certified supervisor is on site at all times (free course, $24 exam); in Washington a $10 food worker card within 14 days; in Chicago a sanitation certificate holder on the premises at all times.
Liquor license — In the US only if you serve alcohol, from a separate regulator with the longest clock: the Texas mixed beverage permit is $5,300 and the beer and wine permit $1,900 for two years, with a 6.7% gross receipts tax the permittee pays; California's Type 41 is $1,135 plus $565 a year and a new Type 47 $19,840 by priority drawing or a private purchase; New York's on-premises license is up to $2,176 a year; Washington's beer and wine $600, spirits $1,400 to $2,700; Florida limits quota licenses to one per 7,500 residents unless the restaurant has 2,000 square feet, 120 seats and 51 percent food revenue, with a yearly tax up to $1,820.
Building, fire, sign and accessibility rules — In the US any build-out needs building permits and a fire inspection, the hood needs fire suppression, sign codes vary by city, and restaurants are public accommodations under the ADA — barriers come out of an existing room when it is readily achievable and new construction follows the 2010 Standards.
Wages, tips and workers' compensation — In the US the federal cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13, which Texas adopts; Florida's direct wage is $10.98 from September 30, 2025; New York City's is $11.35 cash plus a $5.65 tip allowance; California ($16.90) and Washington ($17.13) allow no tip credit at all. Workers' compensation is required for employers in most states once you hire — check yours.
Insurance, and the rules outside the US — In the US a business owner's policy (Insureon's restaurant average is $337 a month; general liability alone $192, or $74 on average for most of NEXT's customers), workers' comp ($118 a month on Insureon's average, NEXT's median $160) and liquor liability ($45) where you serve. In the UK, register the food business free at least 28 days before trading and get a premises license (£100 to £1,905) to sell alcohol; in Australia, New South Wales restaurants notify the council and appoint a Food Safety Supervisor, and Victoria's council registers the premises each year.

Milestones: the next 30 days

The first month's to-do list for Harbor & Vine, in order:

Write the menu first, then cost every dish against the Association's food and labor medians — the menu decides the kitchen, not the other way round
Read your health authority's fee schedule and plan-check rule, and your liquor regulator's, before you sign anything
Walk second-generation restaurant spaces before signing a shell, and read the lease for the deposit, the build-out and the exit
Register the business, get an EIN and the sales tax permit, and open a business bank account
Apply for the health permit, the plan check and the liquor license on the same day — they take longest
Get quotes on insurance, the kitchen and the build-out from two or three suppliers
Set up a free Google Business Profile and put a website with the menu as text live before opening day
Plan a soft opening for friends, neighbors and nearby offices, and ask every happy table for a Google review from the first week

Appendix: what a lender will ask for

This plan tells the story and shows the numbers. If you take it to a bank, expect to be asked for these documents as well:

Two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement
A month-by-month 12-month cash-flow projection, including the slow opening months
The signed lease or a letter of intent for the space
Quotes for the build-out and equipment, and the menu with costed dishes
Your hospitality experience, and the experience of whoever runs the kitchen
Your credit report and anything you can offer as collateral

Every figure in Harbor & Vine's plan is a typical US range from the tables above or arithmetic on the sample's own startup list and $60,000 monthly sales target — nothing is a market projection. The template downloads above are the same plan with [bracketed] lines for your own business.

Step two

Turn this plan into a website

Add your name and your city to the line, and Zarla builds the website with your services in place. You edit the rest in chat.

Or download the free template (Word)

Keep going

The plan is the thinking. These are the next pieces for a restaurant:

Restaurant business plan FAQ

How much does it cost to start a restaurant?

Typically $96,261–$968,892 in the US, counting every required line in the table above. The range is wide because the biggest items (build-out; working capital) depend on what you already have and where you are. The free generator turns the table into your own list with your own figures.

How much can a restaurant make?

32.0% of sales on food at the median full-service restaurant in 2024, 32.4% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association); 36.5% of sales on wages and benefits at the median full-service restaurant, 31.7% at limited-service (National Restaurant Association, 2024); $69,390 the 2025 US median pay for employed food service managers (O*NET); a restaurant cook earns $37,390. A restaurant earns what is left after three ratios: in the National Restaurant Association's survey of operators, food and non-alcohol beverage costs were a median 32.0% of sales at full-service restaurants and 32.4% at limited-service in 2024, wages and benefits 36.5% and 31.7%, and occupancy 5.7% and 5.2% — roughly three quarters of every dollar before utilities, insurance, card fees and the loan. The Association's 2026 report says 42 percent of operators were not profitable in 2025. No public survey of independent owners' take-home pay opened for this plan; as an employee, a food service manager earned a 2025 median of $69,390 (O*NET). The owners who last cost every dish against those lines, take a room that was already a kitchen, and read the report every night.

What licenses and permits do I need to start a restaurant in the US?

Business registration, EIN and sales tax permit; health permit, plan check and inspection; food manager certificate and food handler cards; liquor license; building, fire, sign and accessibility rules; wages, tips and workers' compensation; and insurance, and the rules outside the US. Rules vary by state and city — confirm each item with your local licensing office and an accountant before you spend on it.

Do I need a business plan to start a restaurant?

You need the thinking more than the document: what you'll offer, who pays, what it costs to start, what it costs to run each month and how long the budget takes to recover. A lender, a landlord or an investor will ask for the document — and for things beyond it: two years of personal tax returns and a personal financial statement; a month-by-month 12-month cash-flow projection, including the slow opening months. The sample plan above has every section; the generator writes yours from five questions.

Can I turn this business plan into a website?

Yes — that's the point. Your plan's own marketing section says people will find you on Google and through word of mouth; a website is how both happen. Zarla builds your restaurant website from what you've already told us — free to build, pay when you publish.

Is there a free restaurant business plan template?

Yes. The restaurant business plan template on this page downloads free as a Word document or a PDF — no email, no sign-up. It's the complete plan for a placeholder business with [bracketed] lines to fill in, and the typical figures for a restaurant already in the tables. The generator writes the same plan with your own name, city, services and numbers in five questions.

What should a restaurant business plan include?

The sections a lender, a landlord or an investor expects: an executive summary, products and services, market analysis, marketing strategy, an operations plan, startup costs, a financial plan, the risks, licenses and permits, milestones and an appendix. Harbor & Vine's sample plan above has all eleven, and the section-by-section notes explain what goes in each one for a restaurant.