Looking for a fine dining restaurant business plan? You're in the right place.
A destination restaurant has to answer questions a casual one never faces. How many covers a night can a kitchen like this feed at a $245 menu? What does the room lose before the doors open? How much does a visitor season swing the year, and what does the cellar tie up in cash? A blank template will not show you what a sensible answer looks like.
This article walks through a complete sample plan for a 50-seat tasting-menu restaurant in Napa Valley, California, from the executive summary and SWOT to the full financials, so you can see how the pieces fit before you write your own.
Here's what you'll take away:
- The executive summary: see how to put a high-check restaurant on one page, with the raise, the room and the first-year loss stated plainly
- The SWOT analysis: learn how a restaurant that depends on a visitor season can name its weak points without losing the reader
- The start-up budget: find out what a build-out, a cellar and five pre-opening months cost, so the reserve is sized before the lease is signed
- The first year, month by month: spot the quiet months and the loss before opening, and plan the cash around them
- The marketing plan: see what a new destination room might spend per cover, and which channels fill a booking book
- Prime cost and break-even: understand how food, wine and payroll add up against revenue, and what a lender will test
- The downside case: have an answer ready for "what if a harvest season runs 20% short?", with the steps the partners take
If you're opening a fine dining room, read this before you write your own. The restaurant is fictional, so keep what fits and change the rest.
In this plan
To turn this example into your own fine dining restaurant business plan, use the fine dining restaurant business plan template.
The Room in Brief
Chartreuse is a 50-seat destination restaurant in Napa Valley, California, serving a tasting menu and a short a la carte list five nights a week, Wednesday to Sunday. Chef Julian Voss runs the kitchen and Amara Okafor, the wine director, runs the floor and the cellar. Both are partners and both are paid from the first month.
The restaurant needs $1,931,000: $300,000 from the two founders, $981,000 from a round of four private investors and a $650,000 bank term loan, which is subject to approval. Of that, $962,000 builds out and equips a second-generation restaurant shell, $140,000 stocks the cellar and pantry, $149,000 is spent before opening on legal work, licenses and launch marketing, and $680,000 is held as operating funds and reserve, most of it spent before the first guest arrives.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,435,305 | $2,687,950 | $2,879,082 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($530,176) | $36,608 | $113,353 |
| Closing cash | $346,328 | $353,609 | $413,263 |
January to May 2027 are pre-opening months: the lease, the build-out and the kitchen and floor hires cost money before a guest is seated. Doors open on June 1. Year 1 therefore holds seven selling months, four of them in the strong August to November stretch, and closes at a loss of $530,176 after start-up costs. Operating profit is positive from July. Year 2 is the first profitable year, at a thin net margin of 1.4%, and Year 4 is the first with a margin above 5%.
A downside case sits in the financial plan. Revenue runs 20% under plan in every year, and from September of the opening year the partners cut their own pay, trim hours, take a point off direct costs and defer distributions. Cash stays positive at each year end. Year 2 is a loss of $35,759 with debt cover of 0.91x against a likely 1.25x test, and the restaurant is profitable from Year 3.
About Chartreuse
Legal name: Chartreuse Hospitality, LLC, a California limited liability company. Partners: Julian Voss (chef) and Amara Okafor (wine director and general manager), who hold 51% between them, with four investors holding 49%. Premises: about 3,300 square feet of leased space near St. Helena, on a ten-year lease with options. Seats: 50 in the dining room, with a 14-seat chef's counter counted within them. Opening: June 1, 2027, after a five-month build-out and hiring period.
What the room is for
A guest who has driven up-valley for the day should leave having eaten food from the growers within a few miles and having drunk wines the cellar can explain.
The menu and the cellar
| Line | How it is sold | Year 1 share of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Tasting menu | Eight courses, $245 a guest | 48.6% |
| A la carte dinner | Three courses averaging $125 in food | 11.7% |
| Wine pairing | $150, taken by about half of tasting-menu guests | 14.9% |
| Wine by the bottle and glass | About $90 per guest not on the pairing | 17.1% |
| Aperitifs, cocktails and digestifs | About $21 a drink, one drink for every two guests | 3.1% |
| Winemaker dinners and private buyouts | $7,500 an event on Monday and Tuesday nights | 4.7% |
Farm to table, in practice
Produce, dairy and eggs come from a short list of growers on seasonal contracts, and the kitchen leases a small garden near the restaurant. The sourcing premium over wholesale market prices is a separate cost line ($8,000 in Year 1), so the direct-cost percentages show the food and the premium apart.
What the license has to cover
A restaurant of this kind typically needs a state on-sale general license. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control's license-types page describes the Type 47 as allowing beer, wine and distilled spirits to be served for on-site drinking at a restaurant with a kitchen and substantial meal sales. Whether a license is available in the county, how it is obtained and what it costs vary and change, so the plan carries $75,000 for the license, county health permit and local licenses as a planning figure to be confirmed with the regulator and counsel before the lease is signed.
What a lender would still ask
- The lease: term, the three months of free rent the plan counts on, any landlord contribution (none is counted) and who guarantees it.
- The county use permit and zoning timeline for a restaurant near St. Helena, and the build-out schedule behind the June 1 opening. A one-month delay leaves the cash low at about $20,000 and two months overdraw it.
- How the liquor license is obtained and what it costs, since the $75,000 is a planning figure.
- Whether the founders' $300,000 includes borrowed home equity, and what its repayments are. They fall on the partners and are not in the debt cover.
- Tax distributions to the LLC's members, since the model taxes the business at corporate rates.
- The investors' return: distributions reach $140,000 in Year 5, $68,600 to the investors' 49% or 7.0% of their $981,000, and the plan forecasts no sale.
- Collateral against the $650,000 loan beyond the equipment, and the securities exemption counsel would rely on for the investor round.
- Evidence for 7,600 to 8,200 covers a year: no-show rates, the share of repeat guests and pre-opening reservations.
- A fixed-price construction bid and the permit status behind the $660,000 build-out, which is about $200 a square foot with a 15% contingency.
The Napa Valley Dining Market
A visitor economy with a harvest peak
Chartreuse sells to people who travel to the valley for wine and stay for dinner. Demand follows the winery calendar. The plan sets August to November at 110% to 125% of an average month, with October the highest, and January and February at about 70%. These are the plan's own seasonal figures, not a published visitor series, and the owners would replace them with reservation data after the first season.
What the valley's tables look like
The plan sorts the valley's dinner options into three groups: destination tasting-menu rooms, winery-adjacent bistros and casual tasting-room kitchens. Chartreuse sits in the first group on price. At 50 seats it is large enough to keep a full kitchen working and small enough that a booked night looks full.
Why the check is high
The blended check, with tasting and a la carte guests together, is about $327 a guest in Year 1 and $346 in Year 3, before gratuity and sales tax. Beverage lines are 35% of Year 1 revenue. The figure is the plan's own price list, not a market average, and it would be tested against the published menus of rooms in the same town.
Who Chartreuse competes with for the same evening
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a guest picks it | How Chartreuse differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established destination rooms | Long track record, wide recognition | Reputation and certainty | A smaller room, a menu written to the week's harvest and a cellar led by one sommelier |
| Winery-hosted dinners | Setting and the winemaker present | Access to a single producer | A list spanning many producers and a table any night of the week |
| Hotel and resort dining | Convenience for guests staying on site | Walk-in access | A destination for people who book the dinner first and the hotel second |
| Casual valley bistros | Lower prices, shorter meals | Price and speed | A full evening built around one table |
Competitors are described by category. Menus, prices and awards change often, and the plan does not quote them.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Chef and wine director with a combined record in valley kitchens and cellars | Both partners are first-time owners, and the room depends on two people |
| Small room with a high check and strong beverage attach | One service pattern: five nights a week, no lunch revenue |
| Grower contracts that no walk-in competitor can copy quickly | A new name in a market of long-established ones |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| Winemaker dinners on closed nights | A weak harvest-season visitor year |
| Reservation holders returning in the same season each year | Wage and rent pressure in a high-cost county |
| A private cellar-table program for collectors | Wine cost inflation outpacing menu price steps |
Who Books a Table
The destination diner
Couples and groups of four to six who plan the trip around the meal, usually two or more weeks ahead. They book the tasting menu, take the pairing about half the time and spend the most per head.
The valley regular
Residents, winery staff and hospitality workers who come on a weeknight for the a la carte list and a bottle. They are fewer in number and give the room its weeknight base on Wednesday and Thursday.
The occasion and the collector
Anniversaries, birthdays and trade dinners, plus collectors who bring bottles and pay corkage under an arrangement the restaurant sets. These guests are the main source of the winemaker dinners and buyouts.
What each of them is checking
That the table is held, that the menu does not change on arrival, and that dietary needs are handled by a person rather than a form field.
Filling the Room
How a booking works
Tables release 60 days ahead through the restaurant's reservation platform. A tasting-menu booking asks for a card and takes a deposit, and the deposit is not modeled as early cash. Wednesday and Thursday are the slow nights, so the weekday allocation favors the a la carte list.
The Year 1 volume
| Covers | Per service night | Per seat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (June to December) | 4,188 | about 28 | 84 |
| Year 3 | 7,850 | about 30 | 157 |
| Year 5 | 8,200 | about 32 | 164 |
Service nights are about 260 a year, and 150 in Year 1. The room seats 50 at once, so the average night fills between 56% and 63% of one seating. Friday and Saturday carry the most, and Wednesday the fewest. Revenue per seat is $57,582 in Year 3 and $63,999 in Year 5, helped by price steps of 3% a year from Year 2 and by the events line. That is a high figure for 50 seats and the first number a lender would test against the plan's check average.
Pricing
The tasting menu is $245 in Year 1 and rises 3% a year. A la carte covers average $125 in food. Prices step once a year in January, and the wine list is repriced with the menu.
Winemaker dinners
Nine events in Year 1, from July, rising to 17 in Year 2 and 20 in Year 3, are sold at $7,500 for about 24 guests with a food and wine minimum. They run on the nights the room is otherwise closed and so add revenue without displacing a regular service.
Spend and Reach
What the budget buys
Year 1 marketing is $72,000: $40,000 of launch costs paid from start-up capital plus $32,000 of running spend. That is 5.0% of Year 1 revenue, and about $17 for each of the year's 4,188 covers. The running budget stays near $32,000 to $36,000 afterwards.
| Channel | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Identity, website and photography (launch) | $14,000 | A site that books directly and shows the menu structure |
| Press and trade tasting dinners (launch) | $16,000 | Introductions to regional writers, sommeliers and concierges |
| Opening-month events (launch) | $10,000 | Winemaker evenings that seed the first reservation list |
| Hotel and concierge program | $8,000 | A named contact at each of the valley's larger hotels |
| Winery partnerships | $6,000 | Hosted dinners with producers, arranged within alcohol-licensing rules that counsel confirms |
| Guide listings and press | $7,000 | Placement in destination guides and regional magazines |
| Email and social content | $5,000 | A harvest-season reservation list that returns each year |
| Paid search | $6,000 | Searches such as "tasting menu Napa Valley" in the weeks before peak |
Marking the year
- June 2027: opening month with 416 covers.
- August 2027: 577 covers, as the season builds.
- October 2027: 743 covers, the peak, and $257,665 of revenue.
- December 2027: 627 covers and the first repeat guests.
How a Service Runs
The building
About 3,300 square feet at roughly $48 a square foot a year, all in, which is $160,000 a year at full rent. The landlord is expected to give the first three months of the build-out rent-free, so Year 1 pays $120,000; rent is then $165,000 in Year 2, 6.1% of revenue, and 5.9% in Year 3. The figure is the plan's own planning rate for wine-country retail space and would be replaced by a landlord's quote. The lease runs ten years with options, and the landlord's consent to the kitchen exhaust work is a condition of signing.
A day in the kitchen
Prep starts mid-morning, family meal is at 3:30 and the first seating is at 5:30. The tasting menu is fixed for a week at a time, which keeps the kitchen to a brigade of seven and three stewards and lets purchasing follow the growers' sheets. The pastry cook also prepares the garden's preserved produce for winter.
The cellar
The cellar opens with $140,000 of stock and holds about $212,000 at the end of Year 1 and $284,000 at the end of Year 3, roughly four months of direct cost. A cellar is stocked ahead of the list because a bottle sells better with a few years of age, so inventory is a larger share of assets than in a typical restaurant.
Technology
A point-of-sale system, a reservation and guest-notes platform and cellar software. Software subscriptions come to $10,000 in Year 1.
Compliance and insurance
- State on-sale general license, plus whatever alcohol-server training the license and local rules require, to be confirmed with the regulator.
- County environmental health permit and food-handler certification.
- General liability, liquor liability and property cover, budgeted at $34,000 in Year 1. Workers' compensation sits in the payroll on-cost.
- California sets its own wage rules, including overtime and exempt-salary thresholds, and the plan treats a tip credit against the minimum wage as unavailable, which counsel confirms. Counsel and a payroll provider confirm current state and local rates before offer letters go out.
Suppliers
Growers on seasonal contracts, a fish purveyor, two wine distributors and the producers the cellar buys direct. No single supplier is more than a fifth of direct costs.
Kitchen and Cellar Leadership
Julian Voss, chef and managing partner
Julian has fifteen years in professional kitchens, nine of them on the line and then as sous chef at valley restaurants. He holds the food-safety certifications the county requires, subject to confirmation, and writes the menu and the purchasing lists himself. His $100,000 salary is in the model from month one.
Amara Okafor, wine director and general manager
Amara has twelve years on restaurant floors and in cellars, the last six as head sommelier in the valley. She runs reservations, floor staffing and the cellar budget. Her $85,000 salary is in the model from month one and she is the second partner.
Where the team is thin
Neither partner has opened a restaurant as an owner. The plan covers that with a restaurant accountant on a monthly retainer, paid from the professional fees line, and a general manager's duties held by Amara until revenue supports a separate hire.
If one partner is out
The sous chef can run a service for a short period, and the floor captain and the assistant sommelier cover the dining room. Key-person cover on both partners is a quote the owners would seek; it is not a separate line in the insurance budget.
Ownership and the lender
Julian and Amara hold 51% of Chartreuse Hospitality, LLC and the four investors hold 49%. The bank takes a personal guarantee from both partners and a lien on the equipment, and asks for quarterly accounts.
Numbers behind the dining room
One model sits behind every table here: monthly through 2027, yearly after that. Because Chartreuse spends its first five months building and hiring, Year 1 shows seven selling months and a loss that comes mostly from the build-out period before the doors open. Counts and prices come first so that each revenue line can be traced to a cover, a pairing or an event.
Opening the room: uses and sources
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Build-out of a second-generation restaurant shell: dining room, open kitchen, cellar room, restrooms, finishes and a 15% contingency (no landlord allowance is modeled) | $660,000 |
| Kitchen: ranges, combi ovens, plancha, walk-ins, hood tie-in, pastry station and dish pit | $190,000 |
| Dining room: tables, chairs, bar, stemware, china, flatware, linens and decanters | $90,000 |
| Point of sale, reservation and cellar software, audio and lighting | $22,000 |
| Opening wine cellar and pantry stock | $140,000 |
| Legal and accounting: lease, entity, investor round, loan and permit applications | $34,000 |
| Alcohol license purchase or transfer, county health permit and local licenses (planning figure; cost and availability vary) | $75,000 |
| Launch: identity, website, photography, press dinners and opening-month events | $40,000 |
| Operating funds and cash reserve: five pre-opening months, the opening ramp and the first quiet winter | $680,000 |
| Total uses | $1,931,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Julian Voss and Amara Okafor: savings and a home-equity contribution | $300,000 |
| Investor round: four local and Bay Area private investors (minority equity) | $981,000 |
| Bank term loan (an SBA guarantee may support it; subject to approval) | $650,000 |
| Total sources | $1,931,000 |
Julian Voss and Amara Okafor put in $300,000 and four private investors add $981,000 for a 49% stake, so equity is $1,281,000, or 66.3% of the $1,931,000 raised. A bank term loan of $650,000 makes up the other 33.7%, over seven years with 12 months interest-only, at a planning rate of 9.5% that the lender will set. An SBA guarantee, if one is used, carries its own fees, which are not modeled. The build-out is $660,000 with a 15% contingency and no landlord allowance counted, though the first three months of rent are free. Kitchen and dining-room equipment and technology are $302,000, opening cellar and pantry stock is $140,000, $149,000 is spent before opening on legal work, license and permit costs and launch marketing, and $680,000 is operating funds and reserve. The build-out runs five months, from January to May 2027, and the room opens on June 1. Most of the $680,000 is spent before a guest arrives: the five pre-opening months lose $503,595 at EBITDA on the monthly view, which spreads each year's costs evenly and is therefore approximate. Month-end cash is lowest in June, at about $126,000, once the opening ramp has been paid for. A delay in opening is the sharpest risk. One month lowers the low point to about $20,000, two months overdraw it by about $86,000 and three by about $192,000, so the partners would seek a deferral from the lender and landlord rather than rely on the reserve alone, and would make a rent deferral for any construction delay a condition of signing the lease. A license that arrives after opening is milder. With no pairing, bottle or cocktail sales for one, two or three months the low point is about $92,000, $59,000 or $38,000, or $84,000, $41,000 or $7,000 if dinner covers also fall 15% while the room waits for wine.
Covers, checks and costs behind each line
- Covers are set from a base of 660 a month at a seasonal index of 1.0. The index runs 1.05 in June, 1.00 in July, 1.12 in August, 1.20 in September, 1.25 in October, 1.10 in November and 0.95 in December, and the opening ramp lifts the room from 60% of that volume in June to full in December. That gives 4,188 covers in Year 1, then 7,600, 7,850, 8,050 and 8,200, or about 29 to 32 a service night against 50 seats. Service runs five nights a week with no closure weeks modeled. January and February would run near 70% of an average month from Year 2. The yearly view spreads them evenly, so the reserve carries that dip rather than the table.
- Of every 100 covers, 68 take the tasting menu at $245 in Year 1 and 32 order a la carte at an average $125 of food. Half of tasting-menu guests add the $150 pairing, which is 34 pairings per 100 covers. The model sets bottles and glasses at an average $90 for 65 guests per 100 covers, and the room sells half an aperitif, cocktail or digestif per cover at $21. That makes a Year 1 check of about $327 a cover before gratuity and sales tax, and $346 in Year 3. These are the plan's own prices and would be tested against the published menus of nearby rooms.
- Winemaker dinners and buyouts sell at $7,500 for about 24 guests on Monday and Tuesday nights: 9 in Year 1 (from July), then 17, 20, 21 and 22, with $7,000 to $21,000 a year of extra cooks and servers charged to a separate line. Prices step 3% a year from Year 2 on every line.
- Direct costs are 32% of tasting-menu sales, 33% of a la carte food, 26% of pairings, 30% of bottle and glass sales, 21% of cocktails and 33% of event sales. That is 30.6% of revenue in every year: about 32.2% on the food lines and 27.5% on the beverage lines in Year 1. The sourcing premium for grower contracts and the kitchen garden is a separate $8,000 to $19,000 line.
- Payroll adds 27% for payroll taxes, health cover, workers' compensation and leave (20% for part-time staff). There are 12 full-time and 8 part-time roles, or 16 full-time equivalents. Server pay of $38,000 is the cash wage; tips belong to the staff and are not a cost in the model. The sous chef at $74,000 is set above the exempt-salary threshold, and counsel and a payroll provider confirm that threshold and the overtime rules; the plan treats a tip credit against the minimum wage as unavailable. A kitchen overtime and relief line, which includes on-costs, is $60,000 in Year 2 for the non-exempt cooks. Pay raises of 3% a year are a separate line from Year 2.
- Rent is $160,000 a year at the planning rate of $48 a square foot for about 3,300 square feet, with the first three months of the build-out rent-free, so Year 1 pays $120,000. It steps to $165,000 in Year 2 and by $5,000 a year after that. Utilities are $22,000 in Year 1 and $32,000 in Year 2, insurance is $34,000 including liquor liability and professional fees are $18,000. Card processing is about 2.5% of revenue in every year, a figure that depends on the processor and on how much of the bill is tips and tax.
- Receivables take three days, since card settlement is quick and event balances are collected on the night. Growers, purveyors and distributors give about 20 days of credit. Cellar and pantry stock is the opening $140,000 plus 5% of sales, about $212,000 at the end of Year 1.
- Profit is taxed at the federal corporate rate of 21% and a California rate of 8.84%, the rates cited in the Sources. A pass-through LLC would move this tax to the partners and investors. The Year 1 loss before start-up costs carries forward, so no income tax is due through Year 4 and Year 5 is partly sheltered. The model does not apply the federal limit on using carried-forward losses and charges a full year of depreciation in Year 1 although the assets enter service in month 5, and the $149,000 of start-up costs is left out of the tax base; a tax adviser would settle all three. Sales tax is collected from guests and passed on, so it is excluded from revenue.
- Owner and investor distributions of $60,000, $100,000 and $140,000 are paid in Years 3 to 5, only from cash the model shows as spare after loan payments. They total $300,000 against $513,729 of net income in Years 2 to 5, which gives the investors' 49% $68,600 in Year 5, 7.0% of their $981,000. The plan forecasts no sale of the business.
- Three further cases run on the same model, each on its own. Food cost two points higher on the tasting and a la carte lines cuts Year 2 net income to $4,201 and Year 3 to $78,641. Wages 10% higher make Year 2 a loss of $76,031 with debt cover of 0.6x and Year 3 a loss of $2,665. Revenue 10% short with no response leaves losses of $149,956 in Year 2, $86,477 in Year 3 and $32,314 in Year 4, debt cover of 0.1x and 0.5x, and cash that turns negative in Year 3, which would send the partners to more equity or a lender deferral. The wages case leaves Year 5 cash at $17,445. Opening and license delays are covered with the reserve in the funding note.
Revenue by line
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tasting menu (food) | $697,721 | $1,304,145 | $1,387,456 | $1,465,489 | $1,537,580 |
| A la carte dinner (food) | $167,520 | $313,120 | $333,123 | $351,858 | $369,167 |
| Wine pairing | $213,588 | $399,228 | $424,731 | $448,619 | $470,688 |
| Wine by the bottle and glass | $245,000 | $457,938 | $487,192 | $514,592 | $539,907 |
| Aperitifs, cocktails and digestifs | $43,976 | $82,194 | $87,445 | $92,363 | $96,906 |
| Winemaker dinners and private buyouts | $67,500 | $131,325 | $159,135 | $172,105 | $185,709 |
| Total revenue | $1,435,305 | $2,687,950 | $2,879,082 | $3,045,026 | $3,199,957 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 87% | 7% | 6% | 5% |
The tasting menu is 48.6% of Year 1 revenue and a la carte dinner 11.7%. Pairings, bottles and glasses and cocktails add 35.1% together, so the cellar earns more than half as much as the kitchen. Events are 4.7% in Year 1 and 5.5% by Year 3, which makes them the line the partners can grow on purpose, because the nights they use are otherwise dark. Year 2 is up 87% because Year 1 holds only seven selling months.
Month by month in 2027
| Month | Tasting menu (food) | A la carte dinner (food) | Wine pairing | Wine by the bottle and glass | Aperitifs, cocktails and digestifs | Winemaker dinners and private buyouts | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($100,719) |
| Feb 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($100,719) |
| Mar 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($100,719) |
| Apr 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($100,719) |
| May 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($100,719) |
| Jun 2027 | $69,306 | $16,640 | $21,216 | $24,336 | $4,368 | $0 | $135,866 | ($6,418) |
| Jul 2027 | $76,969 | $18,480 | $23,562 | $27,027 | $4,851 | $7,500 | $158,389 | $9,215 |
| Aug 2027 | $96,128 | $23,080 | $29,427 | $33,755 | $6,059 | $7,500 | $195,949 | $35,284 |
| Sep 2027 | $112,122 | $26,920 | $34,323 | $39,371 | $7,067 | $15,000 | $234,803 | $62,252 |
| Oct 2027 | $123,784 | $29,720 | $37,893 | $43,466 | $7,802 | $15,000 | $257,665 | $78,120 |
| Nov 2027 | $114,954 | $27,600 | $35,190 | $40,365 | $7,245 | $15,000 | $240,354 | $66,105 |
| Dec 2027 | $104,458 | $25,080 | $31,977 | $36,680 | $6,584 | $7,500 | $212,279 | $46,619 |
January to May carry no revenue and an operating loss of $100,719 a month, because the monthly view spreads each year's rent, payroll, insurance and other fixed costs evenly and the chef, wine director and sous chef are already on payroll. In practice the build-out months would be lighter and the first months of service heavier. Revenue opens at $135,866 in June and peaks at $257,665 in October. EBITDA is positive from July, reaches $78,120 in October and closes December at $46,619. The five pre-opening months lose $503,595 and June to December earn $291,177, which gives the year's EBITDA of ($212,419). The lowest month-end cash balance is in June, at about $126,000, on the same evenly spread basis. That basis is approximate: its December balance sits about $40,000 above the annual closing cash.
Kitchen and floor, with start months
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chef and managing partner (Julian Voss) | $100,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Wine director and general manager, partner (Amara Okafor) | $85,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sous chef | $74,000 | Month 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chef de partie A | $56,000 | Month 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chef de partie B | $54,000 | Month 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Chef de partie C | $54,000 | Month 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pastry and prep cook | $48,000 | Month 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Floor captain | $50,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Assistant sommelier (part time) | $34,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server A | $38,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Server B | $38,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Server C | $38,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Server D (part time) | $24,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Reservations and host (part time) | $24,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Food runner and busser A (part time) | $22,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Food runner and busser B (part time) | $22,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Prep and line cook (part time) | $24,000 | Month 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Steward and dish A (full time) | $39,000 | Month 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Steward and dish C (part time) | $24,000 | Month 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Steward and dish B (part time) | $24,000 | Month 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $864,629 | $1,093,580 | $1,093,580 | $1,093,580 | $1,093,580 |
The chef and wine director start in month 1 and the sous chef in month 2. The three chefs de partie, the pastry and prep cook, the three stewards and the part-time prep cook start in month 4, and the floor team (the captain, three servers and the remaining part-time roles) in month 5, so the full team trains for a month before opening on June 1. Twelve people are full time and eight part time, which makes 16 full-time equivalents. No role is added in Years 2 to 5: the revenue rise after opening comes from the first full year, a modest cover increase and the 3% price steps. Both partners draw the salaries shown here, so profit is what is left after they are paid.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,435,305 | $2,687,950 | $2,879,082 | $3,045,026 | $3,199,957 |
| Direct costs (food, wine, spirits and event supplies) | ($439,095) | ($822,310) | ($880,782) | ($931,548) | ($978,946) |
| Gross profit | $996,210 | $1,865,640 | $1,998,300 | $2,113,478 | $2,221,011 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($864,629) | ($1,093,580) | ($1,093,580) | ($1,093,580) | ($1,093,580) |
| Rent | ($120,000) | ($165,000) | ($170,000) | ($175,000) | ($180,000) |
| Utilities | ($22,000) | ($32,000) | ($33,000) | ($34,000) | ($35,000) |
| Marketing | ($32,000) | ($32,000) | ($33,000) | ($34,000) | ($36,000) |
| Insurance | ($34,000) | ($36,000) | ($37,000) | ($38,000) | ($39,000) |
| Professional fees | ($18,000) | ($18,500) | ($19,000) | ($19,500) | ($20,000) |
| Software subscriptions | ($10,000) | ($10,500) | ($11,000) | ($11,500) | ($12,000) |
| Card processing fees | ($35,000) | ($66,000) | ($71,000) | ($75,000) | ($79,000) |
| Grower contracts and kitchen garden lease (sourcing premium over market) | ($8,000) | ($17,000) | ($18,000) | ($18,500) | ($19,000) |
| Linen service, uniforms, flowers and cleaning | ($13,000) | ($29,000) | ($30,000) | ($31,000) | ($32,000) |
| Repairs, hood cleaning and equipment service | ($4,000) | ($12,000) | ($16,000) | ($19,000) | ($22,000) |
| Glassware, china and smallwares replacement | ($5,000) | ($16,000) | ($18,000) | ($19,000) | ($20,000) |
| Licenses, permits, music licensing and dues | ($6,000) | ($8,500) | ($9,000) | ($9,500) | ($9,800) |
| Waste hauling, grease trap and pest control | ($3,000) | ($6,000) | ($6,500) | ($6,800) | ($7,000) |
| Staff meal, training and sommelier education | ($6,000) | ($11,000) | ($12,000) | ($12,500) | ($13,000) |
| Event staffing (extra cooks and servers for winemaker dinners) | ($7,000) | ($16,000) | ($19,000) | ($20,000) | ($21,000) |
| Kitchen overtime, relief shifts and holiday cover (including on-costs) | ($20,000) | ($60,000) | ($63,000) | ($66,000) | ($69,000) |
| Bad debt and event write-offs | ($1,000) | ($2,000) | ($2,500) | ($2,600) | ($2,700) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($32,807) | ($66,599) | ($101,404) | ($137,254) |
| EBITDA | ($212,419) | $201,753 | $270,121 | $326,594 | $373,677 |
| Depreciation | ($107,007) | ($107,007) | ($107,007) | ($107,007) | ($107,007) |
| Interest | ($61,750) | ($58,138) | ($49,761) | ($40,552) | ($30,430) |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($51,506) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($381,176) | $36,608 | $113,353 | $179,034 | $184,734 |
| Start-up costs expensed before opening (legal, permits and launch marketing) | ($149,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($530,176) | $36,608 | $113,353 | $179,034 | $184,734 |
Year 1 loses $381,176 before start-up costs and $530,176 after the $149,000 spent before opening. EBITDA is ($212,419) in Year 1, then $201,753, $270,121, $326,594 and $373,677, a margin that rises from 7.5% in Year 2 to 9.4% in Year 3 and 11.7% in Year 5. Net income is $36,608 in Year 2, $113,353 in Year 3 and $184,734 in Year 5, a net margin of 1.4%, 3.9% and 5.8%. Income tax is zero through Year 4 because the Year 1 loss carries forward, then $51,506 in Year 5. Pay raises add $137,254 to the Year 5 cost base.
Cash movements
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($622,672) | $91,685 | $212,437 | $279,162 | $285,318 |
| Kitchen, dining room and build-out | ($962,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $1,931,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | $0 | ($84,405) | ($92,782) | ($101,990) | ($112,113) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | ($60,000) | ($100,000) | ($140,000) |
| Net change in cash | $346,328 | $7,280 | $59,655 | $77,172 | $33,206 |
| Closing cash | $346,328 | $353,609 | $413,263 | $490,435 | $523,641 |
Closing cash is $346,328 at the end of Year 1, after $962,000 of build-out and equipment and $622,672 absorbed by operations. No principal is due in Year 1; principal is $84,405 in Year 2 and rises to $112,113 in Year 5. Cash climbs to $413,263 in Year 3, then to $523,641 in Year 5 after distributions of $60,000, $100,000 and $140,000, with $258,710 of the loan outstanding. The partners could use part of that cash to prepay the loan, and a lender would likely hold a minimum balance. The funds are large because a fine-dining room carries a full kitchen and floor team through five pre-opening months, the opening ramp and its first quiet winter.
Balance sheet
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $346,328 | $353,609 | $413,263 | $490,435 | $523,641 |
| Accounts receivable | $11,797 | $22,093 | $23,664 | $25,028 | $26,301 |
| Wine cellar and pantry stock | $211,765 | $274,398 | $283,954 | $292,251 | $299,998 |
| Kitchen, dining room and build-out (net) | $854,993 | $747,986 | $640,979 | $533,971 | $426,964 |
| Total assets | $1,424,884 | $1,398,085 | $1,361,860 | $1,341,685 | $1,276,904 |
| Supplier payables (growers, purveyors and wine distributors) | $24,060 | $45,058 | $48,262 | $51,044 | $53,641 |
| Bank term loan | $650,000 | $565,595 | $472,813 | $370,823 | $258,710 |
| Paid-in capital | $1,281,000 | $1,281,000 | $1,281,000 | $1,281,000 | $1,281,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($530,176) | ($493,568) | ($440,215) | ($361,181) | ($316,447) |
| Total liabilities and equity | $1,424,884 | $1,398,085 | $1,361,860 | $1,341,685 | $1,276,904 |
Prime cost, break-even and debt cover
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -14.8% | 7.5% | 9.4% | 10.7% | 11.7% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -26.6% | 1.4% | 3.9% | 5.9% | 5.8% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 60% | 42% | 40% | 39% | 38% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $89,707 | $167,997 | $179,943 | $190,314 | $199,997 |
| Average monthly revenue | $119,609 | $223,996 | $239,924 | $253,752 | $266,663 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $145,113 | $199,773 | $207,492 | $214,540 | $221,798 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | -3.4x | 1.4x | 1.9x | 2.3x | 2.6x |
Prime cost, meaning direct costs plus payroll and pay raises, is about 91% of revenue in Year 1, when five months carry payroll without sales, then 72.5% in Year 2, 70.9% in Year 3 and 69.1% in Year 5. Both partners are on payroll, and without them prime cost is 63.5% in Year 2 and 60.8% in Year 5. The plan's own working target is about 65% for the staff alone, so it sits inside that target once the partners' pay is set aside and above it with the partners in. Year 2 needs about $199,773 a month to cover operating costs and averages $223,996, a cushion of about 12%, or about $217,000 a month once loan payments are included. Year 3 needs $207,492 against $239,924, a cushion of about 16%. Year 2 break-even works out to about $2.40M a year, roughly $9,200 a service night, or about 26 covers a night against 29 planned. Revenue per full-time equivalent is $179,943 in Year 3, high for a restaurant because a fixed-menu tasting room runs a small team at a $346 check; a lender would test it hardest. Debt service cover, which is measured before distributions, is negative in Year 1, 1.4x in Year 2 and 1.9x in Year 3.
If the harvest season runs a fifth short
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,148,244 | $2,150,360 | $2,303,266 | $2,436,021 | $2,559,966 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($499,516) | ($35,759) | $27,519 | $81,670 | $129,187 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($648,516) | ($35,759) | $27,519 | $81,670 | $129,187 |
| Closing cash | $239,260 | $184,011 | $219,333 | $270,443 | $329,319 |
Every revenue line is 20% lower in every year. The partners react to the shortfall, so most responses start in September, after three months of trading. From then the chef takes a 20% pay cut and the wine director 15%, part-time pay falls 40% as Wednesday service is trimmed, and kitchen and floor pay and hours fall 15%, except for the sous chef and the full-time steward, whose pay stays above the exempt-salary and minimum-wage floors. These cuts run to Year 5, the longest the plan tests. Menu engineering takes one point off every direct-cost line across the whole of Year 1, which slightly flatters the opening months. Marketing, utilities, professional fees, glassware, linen, repairs, grower contracts, event staffing, staff training and the overtime line are cut from Year 2, and distributions are deferred until Year 4, when $30,000 is paid, then $60,000. Year 1 keeps every non-payroll cost at plan, and rent is not renegotiated. Year 1 loses $499,516 before start-up costs and $648,516 after them, and equity ends the year at $632,484. The monthly downside path is not shown because the engine spreads each year's cuts evenly. Year-end cash stays at or above $184,011 and below the base case in every year, but Year 2 is a loss of $35,759 and the restaurant is profitable from Year 3, at $27,519. That recovery leans on the cuts: Year 2 revenue is $537,590 lower than the base case but EBITDA only $72,367 lower, so about $280,000 of savings, three-quarters of it payroll, has to be delivered. Debt service cover is negative in Year 1 because EBITDA is a loss of $330,759, then 0.91x in Year 2, below a likely 1.25x test, 1.3x in Year 3 and 1.6x to 1.9x after that. The partners would ask the bank for a covenant holiday in Year 2 and fund the $13,157 gap between EBITDA and debt service from cash. The yearly view does not test the January and February dip in Years 2 to 5, and a second poor harvest season would send the partners back to the landlord and the bank.
Sources
- California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, License types: describes the Type 47 on-sale general license for restaurants. The page gives no fees or county availability, and the plan quotes none.
- 26 U.S.C. section 11(b), corporate income tax rate: sets the federal rate at 21 percent of taxable income, the rate used in the model.
- California Franchise Tax Board, business tax rates: lists 8.84% for corporations other than banks and financials in its September 2025 update, the state rate used in the model. An LLC that passes profit through to its members would be taxed differently.
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