Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA

Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Restaurant and Food Business Templates

Restaurant and Food Business Plan Templates: Do You Need a Business Plan to Get a Restaurant Loan?

You have the menu. You may even have the space. Then the bank asks for a business plan, and the opening date starts to slide.

In most cases, yes, you need one. The good news: you do not have to write it from scratch. Pick your concept and start from a plan built for food.

Pick Your Concept →

Not sure which concept fits? Call or text (321) 948-9588.

Last Updated: 11/07/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA

Which Food Concept Is Yours?

A food truck and a full-service dining room share an oven and almost nothing else. Pick the template built for how you serve.

Restaurant

Full-service dining. Sales built from entrées, sides, and drinks. $50. Advanced Edition $100.

Quick Service

Pizzeria, Deli, Sandwich Shop, Breakfast Restaurant. $50 each.

Food Truck, Food Hall, Meal Kit

Food Truck counts the truck, menu design, and website. Food Hall and Meal Kit too. $50 each.

Bars and Lounges

Bar and Lounge $100 (Advanced $100). Hookah, Tapas, Wine Bar, and Brewery $50 each.

Coffee and Cafes

Coffee Shop, Cafe, Boba Tea, Bagel, Donut. $50 each.

Bakery and Meat Market

Bakery $100 and Meat Market $50. Built for product sales and kitchen equipment.

Different kind of business? See all business plan templates by industry.

What Opens the Lender’s Door

Kitchens are expensive, and lenders see a lot of restaurant plans. They want proof you know your numbers before they fund the build-out.

  1. A plan built on quotes. Build-out, kitchen and front of house equipment, first inventory. Real quotes, not round guesses.
  2. A break-even you can say out loud. How many customers a day it takes to cover rent, payroll, and food.
  3. Cash for the slow start. Working capital for the months before word of mouth kicks in.

Your credit and your money in the deal still count. The plan shows the lender everything else.

Showing all 22 results

Example: How Many Customers Cover the Rent?

Illustration only, with round numbers. Use your own numbers. In the template, the model turns your customers and ticket into a monthly profit and loss.

LineExample
Monthly fixed costs (rent, payroll, utilities)$30,000
Average ticket$20
Food and supply cost per ticket$7
What each customer leaves you$13
Customers a month to break even ($30,000 / $13)About 2,300
Customers a day, open 26 daysAbout 89

Can your seats, hours, and location do 89 a day in a normal month? That is the question the lender is really asking.

How Do You Want the Food Plan Built?

Write it yourself in the evenings, or hand it off and focus on the menu.

FEATURED

Business Plan Templates

The food plan in Word and the Excel model, built for tickets, covers, and kitchen costs. From $50.

Find your template →

Business Consulting

Packed dining room, chaos in the kitchen and the books? Dr. Paul's Organize-Plan-Grow™ Strategy gets the business side under control.

See consulting options →

Business Plan Writing

Too busy testing recipes? Dr. Paul writes the full plan and projections for your lender.

Start your plan →

Small Business Education

Free lessons and the Fabled Forest Business School books on food cost, cash flow, and the money side.

Start learning →

Questions Restaurant Lenders Ask

Food loans get extra questions. Be ready for these.

  1. What will it cost to open, line by line? Quotes behind every number.
  2. What is your food cost? What you spend on ingredients for every dollar of sales.
  3. Who are you up against? The places within a few miles that serve the same customer.
  4. Have you run a kitchen before? If not, who on your team has?

What Is Already Built Into the Food Models

You bring the menu and the quotes. The model handles the math.

  1. Customers times the average ticket. That is where sales start. The full-service restaurant splits it into entrée, side, and beverage.
  2. A startup list made for food. Build-out, front and back of house equipment, kitchen equipment, inventory, supplies, and working capital. Food Truck adds the truck, menu design, and website.
  3. Statements that build themselves. Monthly profit and loss (P&L), a 5-year income statement, and a summary with charts.
  4. A Word plan written for food service. Executive summary through funding request. Swap in your concept, location, and menu.

Why Food Plans Get Sent Back

Dr. Paul has reviewed 1,000+ plans. Restaurant plans stall for the same reasons.

  1. No working capital. Opening with no cushion is the fastest way to close.
  2. A full house on day one. Sales build over months. So should your projections.
  3. A build-out guess. Kitchens run over budget. Get a contractor quote.
  4. Ignoring food cost. A busy room can still lose money on every plate.
  5. Borrowing another concept's numbers. A bar, a bakery, and a food truck have different costs.

Food and Beverage Template FAQ

Standard or Advanced Edition?

Restaurant and Bar and Lounge come in both. Advanced adds detail for bigger loans and investors.

Is the truck in the food truck template?

Yes. It is a startup line, along with equipment, menu design, and the website.

My concept is not listed.

A juice bar fits Coffee Shop or Cafe. A taco shop fits Quick Service. Or call Dr. Paul.

Want the background first?

Read How to Write a Bar or Lounge Business Plan. Or have Dr. Paul write yours.

Do I need Microsoft Office?

Yes. The files are Word (.docx) and Excel (.xlsx). They do not work in Google Docs or Apple Numbers.

Walk Through a Food Template With Dr. Paul

How to use a Business Plan Template▶

How to use a Business Plan Template

How to use a Financial Projection Template in Excel for a Business Plan▶

How to use a Financial Projection Template in Excel for a Business Plan

Start with these two. Each food product page adds its own walkthroughs.

Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA

Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA

Every food template here started as a real plan Dr. Paul wrote for a restaurant, food truck, bar, or cafe owner. Dr. Paul holds a DBA from National University and an MBA with a focus on Finance from Webster University. He has written business plans for 1,000+ small business clients over 14+ years, and he wrote Dr. Paul's Fabled Forest Business School series.

Questions? Call or text (321) 948-9588.

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