Looking for a pizzeria business plan? You're in the right place.
An independent pizzeria with a bar has more moving parts than the menu suggests. How much cash does it take to build a room and light two ovens? What does a slice of the business lose to delivery apps? When does the dining room carry its own rent? What happens if the neighborhood is slow to find the door? A blank template won't show you what a workable answer looks like.
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample business plan for an independent dine-in pizzeria in Atlanta, Georgia, section by section. We'll cover the executive summary, the SWOT analysis and, in particular, all of the financials.
Here's what you'll take away:
- The executive summary: see how to fit a restaurant, a bar and a takeout line onto one page so a reader sees the whole model on one page
- The SWOT analysis: learn how to name a thin first-year margin and a crowded category honestly without losing the reader
- The start-up budget: find out what a leased 4,000 square foot room, two ovens and a reserve add up to, so the build-out does not eat the working capital
- The first year, month by month: spot the months with no sales and the summer dip before they reach you, and plan the reserve around them
- The takeout and app line: see how third-party commissions look as an expense, and what an app order earns next to a direct one
- The five-year profit, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how prime cost, rent and pay raises show up in the numbers
- The downside case: have an answer ready for "what if sales run 20% short?", along with the steps the owners take in response
If you're opening a pizzeria, read this before you write your own. The business is fictional, so take what fits your room and change the rest.
In this plan
To turn this example into your own pizzeria business plan, use the pizzeria business plan template.
Eastdale Cafe at a Glance
Eastdale Cafe is an independent pizzeria with a beer-and-wine bar. It opens on March 1, 2027 in a leased 4,000 square foot space on a neighborhood commercial strip on Atlanta's eastside. Danielle Okafor runs the room and the business. Marcus Delgado runs the ovens and the kitchen. Both draw a salary and both put in savings.
The restaurant needs $905,000: $585,000 of equity, made up of $225,000 from the two founders and $360,000 from six local investors, and a $320,000 bank term loan. Of that, $318,000 pays for the build-out and its contingency, $172,000 for ovens, kitchen, furniture and systems, $95,000 for licenses, legal work, the launch and training, and $320,000 stays as a cash reserve sized to survive a two-month delay in opening.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,279,700 | $1,854,700 | $1,978,900 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($144,789) | $145,894 | $135,356 |
| Closing cash | $301,550 | $406,002 | $473,249 |
Year 1 is a loss. The doors open in March, so two months of rent, payroll and training run with no sales, and the room is still building toward full volume in December. EBITDA is positive in every month from March, though only just in March. Year 2 is the first profitable year, and profit holds through Year 5.
Six lines earn the money: dinner and weekend dining, weekday lunch specials, the bar, kids' parties and team nights, direct takeout, and third-party app orders. The app line is booked at gross order value, with the platform's commission shown as an expense.
The financials include a stress case. If sales run 20% below forecast from the first month and the owners react from July by skipping the later hires, cutting hours, marketing and their own pay, and halving distributions, the restaurant ends every year with cash and turns profitable in Year 2. Year 1 debt cover is negative in that case, so the owners would ask the bank to start covenant testing with Year 2.
Eastdale's pitch is narrow. A stone-deck and wood-fired pie at a mid ticket, a short list of local beer and wine, and a room set up for families and teams on the nights the neighborhood has nowhere to put twenty people.
The Restaurant
Legal name: Eastdale Cafe, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company. Owners: Danielle Okafor and Marcus Delgado hold 55% of the units between them, including sweat equity in the build and opening. Six investors at $60,000 each hold 45%. Premises: 4,000 square feet of leased second-generation restaurant space, 118 seats. Opening date: March 1, 2027, after two months of finishing work, hiring and training. Stage: pre-opening. The lease is in negotiation and the permit drawings are with the city.
What the room is for
Give an eastside neighborhood one place to eat a good pizza, have a beer, hold a kids' party and book a team night without driving to the other side of the city.
Targets for the first two years
- About 90 dinner and weekend covers a day across the ten open months of Year 1, rising to 103 a day in Year 2.
- $1,854,700 of revenue in Year 2, the second year, with a profit after tax.
- Ten or more kids' party and team-night bookings a month by the fall of 2027 and 13 in December.
- Loan repayments on schedule, and the first owner distribution of $70,000 in Year 2.
The six lines of business
| Line | How it earns | Year 1 revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Dinner and weekend dining | Pizza, plates and soft drinks at about $21.20 a cover | $562,100 |
| Weekday lunch specials | A personal pie or slices, salad and a drink at $12.90 | $107,000 |
| Bar | Craft beer and wine, about $9.20 a dinner cover plus bar-only guests | $278,300 |
| Kids' parties and team nights | Room, pizza and drinks, about $590 a booking | $53,000 |
| Takeout, direct orders | Phone and own-website orders, about $26 | $170,300 |
| Third-party app orders | Gross order value, about $32, less platform commission | $109,000 |
Beer, wine and the license
The restaurant applies for beer and wine only, with no spirits. Georgia and the City of Atlanta each license alcohol sales, and class, cost, hours and Sunday-sale rules are theirs to set and to change. The founders confirm the class, the fee and any food-sales or distance requirement with both before the lease is signed, and the $15,000 licensing line is a planning figure, not a quote.
Eating Out on Atlanta's Eastside
What the area looks like to an owner
An eastside neighborhood strip tends to hold a handful of chain pizza shops, one or two independents and a number of bars that serve food as an afterthought. Few places offer a room with a real oven, a beer list and a table big enough for a team. That gap is the reason for the concept. No market-size figure is quoted, because the number that matters is the count of households inside a ten-minute drive of the specific address, which a founder would pull from census data and a site survey for the real address.
What a diner could choose instead
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a guest picks it | How Eastdale differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| National delivery-led pizza chains | Fast delivery, coupons, a large menu | Price and speed | Dine-in room, wood-fired and stone-deck pies, a bar |
| Regional wood-fired fast-casual concepts | Quick-serve pies at a counter | Speed at lunch | Table service, bar and a room for parties |
| Other neighborhood independents | Local reputation, familiar menu | Loyalty and habit | A party room, a beer list and an online order page |
| Sports bars and bar-and-grills | Screens, a long menu, late hours | Game nights | A kitchen that leads with pizza and a family-friendly dining room |
| Taprooms with food trucks | A large beer list | Beer first | A full kitchen, indoor seating and a weekday lunch |
The table describes what each category offers and how this restaurant positions itself. It does not rank them and it names no operator. Prices and menus change often, so none are quoted.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| A real oven and a kitchen manager who has run one | No brand yet; every guest starts from zero |
| Six revenue lines, so no single daypart carries the room | Year 1 loses money and draws on the reserve |
| Party and team-night bookings that fill quiet evenings | Prime cost sits above 65% in the opening year |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| Schools, leagues and employers booking recurring nights | Food and wage inflation outrunning menu prices |
| Direct online ordering that avoids platform commission | App platforms raising commission or fees |
| A second dining-room daypart on weekends | A new chain or taproom opening within a mile |
Who Fills the Tables
Families with children between 4 and 12
The largest group. Parents book for birthdays, post-game meals and weeknight dinners. They choose by price per head, a room where noise is welcome and a short wait. They order pizza, a salad for the table, a pitcher of soda and, for the adults, a beer or a glass of wine.
Teams and clubs
Youth teams, adult recreation leagues and workplace groups of 15 to 30. A coach or organizer books, a shared tab is paid, and the same group returns for the next season.
The weekday lunch crowd
Office and trade workers within a short drive who want a fast, fixed-price lunch, and who do not drink with it.
Game-night regulars
Bar-only guests on screening nights and after work. They are few in number, spend $13.50 in Year 3 and fill the bar at times the dining room is quiet.
The takeout and app household
Orders from home on Friday and Saturday evenings. Direct orders come from guests who have already eaten in the restaurant. App orders come from guests who found it on a platform.
What every group asks for
A fair price. Hot food. A table without a long wait. A beer list that is short and local. An order that arrives as promised.
How Orders Come In
Dine-in
Guests are seated by a host at the door and served by a server. Counter service is available at the bar and for lunch. Payment is at the table by card. Tablets and a point-of-sale system send tickets straight to the kitchen.
Takeout, direct and by app
A guest orders by phone or through the restaurant's own ordering page, and the order goes to the same kitchen queue as dine-in. App orders arrive on a tablet at the pass. Two part-time counter hosts pack takeout, and an expediter joins in month 16 to separate app handoffs from direct pickups.
Kids' parties and team nights
An organizer inquires online or by phone and gets a fixed-price proposal within a day. A deposit holds the date. Year 1 books about 90 events, from 6 in March to 13 in December, with the coordinator joining in month 9.
| Lead source | Year 1 bookings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| School and parent-group referrals | 36 | 40% |
| Youth and adult league coaches | 27 | 30% |
| Local employers and clubs | 15 | 17% |
| Website and search | 12 | 13% |
How prices are set
Pies run from about $12 for a plain 12-inch to about $19 for a loaded one, with salads and starters filling the rest of the check. Menu prices rise 3.5% a year. The lunch special is $12.90 in Year 1 and rises to $13.80 in Year 3. Beer and wine are priced to a 27% direct cost.
Repeat business
A loyalty program collects texts and emails at the point of sale. Season-long team nights are the repeat line: one team that books six Tuesday nights is worth about $3,800 in a season at the Year 3 average.
Getting the Neighborhood Through the Door
Marketing spend and what it buys
Year 1 marketing totals $60,000, made up of $26,000 of launch spend paid from start-up capital and $34,000 of running costs. The running costs are 2.7% of Year 1 revenue, falling to 1.8% by Year 3 and 1.7% by Year 5 as repeat visits and party referrals take over; with the launch spend, Year 1 marketing is 4.7% of revenue. Over about 44,700 Year 1 covers and orders, the budget is roughly $1.34 for each one.
| Channel | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Brand, signage, website and online ordering (launch) | $11,000 | A clear site with a menu, a party booking form and direct ordering |
| Opening promotion and neighbor preview nights (launch) | $9,000 | Fill the first two weeks and seed local word of mouth |
| Launch social media and local print (launch) | $6,000 | Reach households within about ten minutes of the door |
| Local search and social ads | $10,000 | Searches such as "pizza near me" and "kids birthday party"; about 40% of new direct orders |
| School, league and team outreach | $7,500 | Sponsorships, party flyers and coach introductions that feed the party line |
| Platform promotions and listing ads | $6,000 | Visibility on the delivery apps during the first year |
| Text and email loyalty program | $4,500 | Repeat orders and slow-night offers |
| Game nights and neighborhood tastings | $4,000 | Fill the bar on screening nights |
| Photography, menu printing and community partnerships | $2,000 | Photography for the site, printed menus and local partnerships |
Marketing milestones
- March 2027: doors open after the preview nights, $102,000 of revenue.
- June 2027: first league and school party packages booked into the fall.
- September 2027: football weekends and the start of the school year lift revenue to $139,200.
- December 2027: $160,500 of monthly revenue and about 13 party and team bookings.
Behind the Oven
The space
4,000 square feet in a second-generation restaurant space, which keeps the build-out near $285,000 after a landlord allowance still to be negotiated. The room holds 90 dining seats, a 12-seat bar and a 16-seat party room. Rent is about $33 a square foot all-in, on a ten-year lease with 3% annual steps, a deposit of about two months' rent and a personal guarantee. If the license or the build runs late, rent and the core crew's pay keep running with no sales; the stress tests show a two-month slip leaving the reserve at about $27,000 at its lowest.
The ovens
A wood-fired oven makes the signature pies, and a gas stone-deck oven carries the lunch rush, takeout and volume nights. Hardwood for the oven is budgeted at $9,500 in Year 1. A dough mixer and a walk-in cooler allow dough to ferment cold for a day or more before it is stretched.
How the day runs
Marcus and the line start at 8 a.m. with dough and prep. Lunch runs Monday to Friday, and the doors stay open until 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. These hours are an estimate, and the license and the neighborhood's rules would set the real ones.
Suppliers
Flour, cheese and tomatoes come from one or two food-service distributors on weekly terms, with produce from a local wholesaler and beer from licensed distributors. Distributor balances are modeled at 16 days. Changing a distributor takes weeks, not months, and is not a single point of failure.
Licenses, permits and safeguards
- A food-service permit from the local county health authority, with plan review before construction.
- State and city beer-and-wine licenses, with local rules on hours and distance confirmed before signing the lease.
- A certified food-protection manager on staff, with the county's rule on coverage per shift confirmed before opening.
- General liability, liquor liability, property, workers' compensation and cyber insurance, budgeted at $22,000 in Year 1, with key-person cover priced separately.
- Written allergen and food-safety procedures, and a log for the cold chain.
- Safe wood-ash and hood-cleaning contracts for the wood-fired oven.
Who does the work
Five full-time and fourteen part-time people at opening, 5 and 15 by the end of Year 1 once the coordinator joins, 5 and 18 by the end of Year 2 and 6 and 18 from month 30. Each hire follows revenue; the downside case shows which are delayed or dropped.
The Team and Its Gaps
Danielle Okafor, owner and general manager
Danielle has fourteen years in restaurants, from server to general manager of a three-unit casual group, where she ran a front of house of about 40 staff and the purchasing. She holds a food-protection manager certificate. Her share of the $225,000 founder equity is her own savings. She takes a $62,000 salary.
Marcus Delgado, head pizzaiolo and kitchen manager
Marcus has eleven years in kitchens, the last six as lead pizzaiolo at a wood-fired restaurant in the metro area. He designs the menu, trains the line and orders the dough ingredients. He takes a $58,000 salary and holds part of the founder equity.
Where the team is thin
Neither founder has opened a restaurant from a bare lease, built a bar program or managed a delivery-app account. These gaps are covered by a restaurant-experienced contractor for the build-out, a liquor-license attorney on call for the application, and a fixed weekly review of app orders against food cost.
If one founder is out
Danielle and Marcus are each the only person who can do their job at opening. The shift supervisor is hired in month 2 so that either can be away for a week. An assistant manager joins in month 30. Key-person life and disability cover is priced separately and sits outside the $22,000 of insurance.
Outside help
A restaurant accountant reviews the first-year numbers every quarter and an experienced local restaurateur sits on the investor group as an informal adviser.
Ownership and the bank
The six investors hold 45% of the units under an operating agreement that sets distributions, transfer rights and a vote on a sale. The founders hold 55% and manage the business. The founders put in 38% of the equity cash ($225,000 of $585,000) and the investors 62%, so the 55% founder stake is payment for unpaid build and opening work and for running the room; that split is negotiable and is a likely lender question. Distributions are paid quarterly, only when cash stays above about $150,000 afterward, and the bank would be expected to limit them by covenant. The founders give the bank personal guarantees, and the loan carries a covenant to deliver quarterly accounts.
The numbers behind the ovens
One model of five years sits under every table that follows, monthly for the opening year and by year after that. Seats, tickets and orders come first. Each revenue line is a count of guests or orders times a price, and the counts can be tested against the room.
What it takes to light the oven
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Build-out of a 4,000 square foot second-generation restaurant space, net of landlord allowance | $285,000 |
| Wood-fired oven and gas stone-deck oven, dough mixer, hood, walk-in cooler, prep tables, dish machine | $92,000 |
| Dining room and kids' party-room furniture, bar fit-out with taps and glassware | $56,000 |
| Point-of-sale, order-tablet integration, sound, game-night TVs and signage | $24,000 |
| Beer and wine licenses (state and city), food permits, plan review and sign permit | $15,000 |
| Legal: lease, entity, loan documents; architect and permit drawings | $24,000 |
| Launch: brand, website and ordering page, opening-month promotion, neighbor preview nights | $26,000 |
| Training shifts, menu and dough testing and the soft-open week | $30,000 |
| Construction contingency, about 10% of the build-out | $33,000 |
| Cash reserve: lease deposit, opening pantry and keg stock, and cover for a late opening | $320,000 |
| Total uses | $905,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Danielle Okafor and Marcus Delgado, savings | $225,000 |
| Six local investors, $60,000 each | $360,000 |
| Bank term loan (10 years, interest only for the first 6 months; SBA guarantee if the program allows) | $320,000 |
| Total sources | $905,000 |
Danielle and Marcus put in $225,000 of savings and six local investors put in $60,000 each, which makes $585,000 of equity, 65% of the $905,000 raised. The remaining $320,000 comes from a bank term loan over ten years, priced at 10.5% for planning and paying only interest in its first six months. The lender sets the real terms, and an SBA guarantee would depend on the lender and the program. The bank would ask both founders for personal guarantees and a lien on the ovens and kitchen equipment. The $320,000 reserve, 35% of the raise, is sized against two numbers. The base-case low is about $153,000 in March 2027, once the first month of sales has been paid for. A two-month opening slip, run by the method in the stress tests below, leaves about $27,000 at its lowest point. The model spreads annual costs evenly, so each of the two build-out and training months shows a cost of roughly $72,000 at EBITDA.
Seats, tickets and orders: what the forecast uses
- The room is 4,000 square feet with 118 seats: 90 in the dining room, 12 at the bar and 16 in a party room that also seats teams. The doors open March 1, 2027. January and February 2027 are for finishing work, hiring and training, with no sales. Two months from the start of the lease to the first service is short for a build-out with a hood, a bar and a wood-fired oven, which is why a late opening is tested on its own. The restaurant is open daily apart from a few holidays, 354 days a year.
- Dinner and weekend covers average 90 a day over the ten open months of Year 1, which is 26,511 covers, then 103, 106, 109 and 111 a day in Years 2 to 5. A typical Year 3 week is about 87 covers Monday to Thursday, 130 Friday, 150 Saturday and 115 Sunday. Saturday at 150 turns the 118 seats about 1.3 times, and a December Saturday near 165 is the ceiling the model treats as full.
- A dinner cover brings $21.20 of food and soft drinks in Year 1, $22.70 in Year 3 and $24.30 in Year 5. Beer and wine add $9.20, $9.85 and $10.55. Together that is $30.40 in Year 1 and $32.55 in Year 3 before tax and tip. Menu prices go up 3.5% a year, a bit faster than wages at 3%, so food-cost inflation is passed on.
- The first year follows a monthly index of 0.92 in January, 0.93 in July, 1.06 in October when football weekends lift trade, and 1.10 in December. The pattern is a planning figure with no published statistic behind it. On top of it the opening ramp starts at 68% of mature volume in March and reaches 96% by December.
- Weekday lunch runs about 21 days a month. In Year 3 it averages 46 covers at $13.80 for a personal pie or two slices with a salad and a soft drink, and Year 1 books 8,287 covers at $12.90. Beer and wine add little at lunch, about $1.60 a cover.
- Bar sales come from beer and wine with dinner, a few glasses at lunch, and about 7 bar-only guests a day who spend $13.50 in Year 3, mostly on game nights and after work. The restaurant applies for beer and wine only. The state and the city set license classes, Sunday-sale rules and distance rules, and the founders confirm each with both before the lease is signed.
- Kids' parties and team nights reach 12 bookings a month in Year 3, 144 a year, at about $635 each. Year 1 books 90, starting at 6 in March and reaching 13 in December. A party for 16 to 20 children takes the party room for two hours with pizza and drinks. A team night for 20 to 30 adds pitchers and a shared starter.
- Direct takeout is about 26 orders a day in Year 3 at $28.00. App orders are about 16 a day and are booked at gross order value, $34.30 in Year 3. Each app menu is priced about 12% above the in-store menu, and app baskets run larger. Every platform sends its own courier, so the restaurant employs no drivers.
- Platform commission is its own expense line at a blended 24% of gross app orders, $26,200 in Year 1 and $46,600 in Year 3. Tiers differ by platform and change over time, so 24% is a planning figure and each platform's current rate card governs. Refunds and missing-item credits are met from the $1,100 bad-debt line and from food cost. At Year 3 prices an app order leaves about $15.40 after food cost and commission, and a direct order about $18.60. The app line buys volume at roughly $3.10 less per order.
- Food cost is 28.5% of dining-room sales, 29.5% of lunch, 27% of beer and wine, 30% of parties and 31% of takeout and apps, where packaging is included. Blended, that is 28.9% of revenue in every year, because the engine applies the Year 1 mix to all five years and a line's own percentage holds only in Year 1. Owners commonly quote 28% to 35% of food sales as the normal band. A menu of flour, tomatoes and mozzarella sits near the low end, and imported cured meats would lift it. Hardwood for the wood-fired oven is its own line, $9,500 in Year 1.
- Wages with on-costs and pay raises take 38% of revenue in Year 1, a figure that carries two months of payroll against no sales, then 33%, 34%, 34% and 33%. Adding the employer tax on tips and the overtime line brings total labor to 39.6%, 33.9%, 34.9%, 35.2% and 34.2%, and prime cost (direct costs plus labor) to 68.5%, 62.8%, 63.8%, 64.1% and 63.1%. Only Year 1 is above the 65% line, and Year 4 sits close to it. Danielle is paid $62,000 and Marcus $58,000 inside those figures. On-costs are 27% of full-time wages and 15% of part-time wages, planning figures that stand for employer payroll taxes, workers' compensation and benefits.
- Hours are checked against the open times, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, about 4,000 open hours a year. At planning rates of $15 an hour for part-time cooks, $13.50 for dishwashers, $12 for bartenders and hosts and $8 in cash plus tips for servers, Year 3 needs about 10,000 kitchen position-hours and has about 10,700 (Marcus at 50 hours a week, two full-time pizza makers, part of the supervisor, a weekend pizza maker and a prep cook). Servers need about 6,800 hours in Year 1 and about 9,000 from Year 2, and have 6,560 in Year 1 and 9,190 once servers 6 and 7 join in month 14. Bartenders have about 3,750 hours against 4,350 needed (86%), and the two dishwashers about 2,820 against 3,500 (81%). The gaps are covered by Danielle, the supervisor and cooks in the lulls, so coverage is thin at the bar and the dish pit and on Friday and Saturday evenings, and the overtime line is where that shows. Revenue per full-time equivalent is $132,000 in Year 3, high for table service alone. About 23% of sales are takeout and app orders that need no server, which is what lifts it.
- Georgia's own minimum wage is $5.15 an hour, and the federal $7.25 applies to employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (U.S. Department of Labor state table, updated July 1, 2026). Every hourly rate here is above $7.25, including servers at about $8 in cash plus tips, so no tip credit is relied on. The federal salary floor for the executive exemption is reported at $684 a week, or $35,568 a year (Department of Labor Fact Sheet #17A). Danielle and Marcus are above it. The $42,000 shift supervisor and $46,000 assistant manager also clear it but are budgeted as hourly staff with overtime. Whether Marcus, who works the line, qualifies as exempt is a duties question. If he does not, ten overtime hours a week would cost about $22,000 a year, more than the overtime line carries. Tips are taken at 14% of table, bar and party sales, a planning figure, and the employer's 7.65% Social Security and Medicare share on them (IRS Publication 15) is its own expense line: $9,600 in Year 1 and $14,600 in Year 3. Overtime, sick cover and extra shifts add $7,000 in Year 1.
- The lease is 4,000 square feet at about $33 a square foot all-in, which is $132,000 in Year 1, 10.3% of that year's revenue, and 7.1% in Year 3. It is a ten-year term with 3% annual steps, and a deposit of about two months' rent sits in the reserve. No broker has quoted the rate, so it is a planning figure. The $285,000 build-out, $71 a square foot net, is also a planning figure and is net of a landlord allowance still to be negotiated. With the contingency and equipment the room costs about $122 a square foot, which is lean for a hood, a bar and two ovens and depends on second-generation space that already has the hood, grease trap and gas supply. A smaller allowance would draw on the $33,000 contingency and then the reserve, and a build-out 25% over budget is tested below.
- Card processing runs about 2.7% of in-house and direct-order sales. Repairs and glassware grow from $6,500 in Year 1 to $14,500 in Year 3 as warranties end, and an equipment reserve of $7,000 starts in Year 2. Insurance is $22,000 in Year 1 with liquor liability included, which a broker's quote would replace. Key-person cover is priced separately and sits outside it.
- Customers on cards pay within days, and the platforms pay weekly, so receivables average 4 days. Stock is about 18 days of direct costs including kegs and wine, and distributors are paid after 16 days.
- Income tax is charged at the 21% federal corporate rate (26 U.S.C. 11(b)) plus a 5.2% planning rate for Georgia (about 25.1% combined, because the state tax is deductible federally), which the state has been lowering and which may have changed. The Year 1 loss carries forward. The model leaves the $95,000 of start-up costs out of the tax base, a shortcut an adviser would handle differently, and it does not apply the federal limit of 80% of taxable income on loss carry-forwards. That limit would not bind here, because the Year 1 loss of $49,789 is well under 80% of Year 2 taxable income. If the LLC is taxed as a pass-through, it owes no entity-level tax and the members pay on their shares of profit.
- Distributions follow a written policy: paid quarterly, only when cash stays above about $150,000 after the payment, and never above that year's net income or the cash left after loan principal. They run $70,000, $100,000, $120,000 and $150,000 in Years 2 to 5, $440,000 in all, against $617,429 of net income in those years and $472,640 once the Year 1 loss is counted. No year pays out more than it earns, so none is a return of capital. Units are shared 55% to the founders and 45% to the six investors. The investors' 45% of $440,000 is $198,000 over four years against $360,000 invested. A lender would be expected to cap distributions by covenant.
Revenue by line
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dining room: pizza, plates and soft drinks | $562,100 | $798,900 | $851,800 | $903,900 | $957,400 |
| Weekday lunch specials | $107,000 | $151,900 | $161,900 | $171,900 | $182,300 |
| Bar: craft beer and wine | $278,300 | $394,700 | $421,800 | $447,700 | $474,300 |
| Kids' parties and team nights | $53,000 | $85,400 | $91,400 | $96,900 | $103,400 |
| Takeout, direct orders | $170,300 | $241,900 | $257,700 | $273,600 | $289,900 |
| Third-party app orders (gross) | $109,000 | $181,900 | $194,300 | $206,100 | $218,300 |
| Total revenue | $1,279,700 | $1,854,700 | $1,978,900 | $2,100,100 | $2,225,600 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 45% | 7% | 6% | 6% |
Dinner and weekend dining is 44% of Year 1 revenue and 43% of Year 3. Beer and wine are 22% then 21%, takeout 13% in both years, app orders 9% then 10%, lunch 8% in both and parties and team nights 4% then 5%. Year 2 is 45% higher because Year 1 has only ten open months at a ramp, and growth is then 7%, 6% and 6%. Parties have the most room to grow, since they fill Sunday to Thursday early evenings when the dining room is quietest.
Opening year, month by month
| Month | Dining room: pizza, plates and soft drinks | Weekday lunch specials | Bar: craft beer and wine | Kids' parties and team nights | Takeout, direct orders | Third-party app orders (gross) | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($72,415) |
| Feb 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($72,415) |
| Mar 2027 | $45,100 | $8,600 | $22,300 | $3,500 | $13,700 | $8,800 | $102,000 | $143 |
| Apr 2027 | $48,700 | $9,300 | $24,100 | $4,100 | $14,800 | $9,400 | $110,400 | $6,118 |
| May 2027 | $51,900 | $9,900 | $25,700 | $4,700 | $15,700 | $10,100 | $118,000 | $11,524 |
| Jun 2027 | $51,500 | $9,800 | $25,500 | $3,500 | $15,600 | $10,000 | $115,900 | $10,030 |
| Jul 2027 | $50,600 | $9,600 | $25,000 | $3,500 | $15,300 | $9,800 | $113,800 | $8,537 |
| Aug 2027 | $53,500 | $10,200 | $26,500 | $4,100 | $16,200 | $10,300 | $120,800 | $13,516 |
| Sep 2027 | $60,800 | $11,600 | $30,100 | $6,500 | $18,400 | $11,800 | $139,200 | $26,605 |
| Oct 2027 | $64,600 | $12,300 | $32,000 | $7,700 | $19,600 | $12,500 | $148,700 | $33,363 |
| Nov 2027 | $65,400 | $12,400 | $32,400 | $7,700 | $19,800 | $12,700 | $150,400 | $34,572 |
| Dec 2027 | $70,000 | $13,300 | $34,700 | $7,700 | $21,200 | $13,600 | $160,500 | $41,757 |
Nothing is sold in January or February 2027, and the model spreads annual costs evenly, so each of those months shows an EBITDA loss of $72,415. A real pre-opening month would carry less, and the actual build-out and training bills sit in the start-up costs above. March brings $102,000, July $113,800, and from September revenue climbs to $160,500 in December. EBITDA, operating profit before depreciation and interest, is positive in every month from March, barely so in March at $143, and strongest from September to December. Month-end cash is lowest in March 2027, at about $153,000, once the days that cards and platforms take to pay are allowed for. The figure is approximate: the monthly view has no receivables timing beyond that allowance and no seasonal swing in costs.
The crew and the schedule
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner and general manager (Danielle Okafor) | $62,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Head pizzaiolo and kitchen manager (Marcus Delgado) | $58,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Shift supervisor (full time) | $42,000 | Month 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pizza maker 1 (full time) | $36,000 | Month 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Pizza maker 2 (full time) | $36,000 | Month 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Prep and line cook (part time) | $22,000 | Month 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Dishwasher 1 (part time) | $20,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Dishwasher 2 (part time, evenings) | $18,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 1 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 2 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 3 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 4 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 5 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Bartender 1 (part time) | $15,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Bartender 2 (part time) | $15,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Bartender 3 (part time, weekends and game nights) | $15,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Pizza maker 3 (part time, weekends) | $18,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Counter host and takeout packer 1 (part time) | $15,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Counter host and takeout packer 2 (part time) | $15,000 | Month 3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Party and team-night coordinator (part time) | $17,000 | Month 9 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 6 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 14 | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Server 7 (part time, tipped) | $10,500 | Month 14 | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Takeout and app-order expediter (part time) | $15,000 | Month 16 | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Assistant manager (full time) | $46,000 | Month 30 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $490,678 | $588,130 | $628,533 | $652,875 | $652,875 |
The restaurant opens with five full-time people (Danielle, Marcus, a shift supervisor and two pizza makers) and fourteen part-timers: a prep and line cook, two dishwashers, five servers, three bartenders, a weekend pizza maker and two counter hosts who also pack takeout. The kitchen starts in month 2 to test dough and the menu, and front-of-house staff start in month 3. After that come a part-time party and team-night coordinator in month 9, two servers in month 14, an order expediter in month 16 and a full-time assistant manager in month 30, which makes 6 full-time and 18 part-time by Year 3. Payroll in the table is $1 above the profit and loss in Year 1 ($490,678 against $490,677), a rounding difference. The founders' salaries are already inside the costs, so profit means what is left once both are paid.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,279,700 | $1,854,700 | $1,978,900 | $2,100,100 | $2,225,600 |
| Direct costs (food, beer, wine and packaging) | ($369,387) | ($535,362) | ($571,213) | ($606,197) | ($642,423) |
| Gross profit | $910,313 | $1,319,338 | $1,407,687 | $1,493,903 | $1,583,177 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($490,677) | ($588,130) | ($628,533) | ($652,875) | ($652,875) |
| Rent | ($132,000) | ($136,000) | ($140,100) | ($144,300) | ($148,600) |
| Utilities | ($52,000) | ($53,500) | ($55,000) | ($56,500) | ($58,000) |
| Marketing | ($34,000) | ($35,000) | ($36,000) | ($37,000) | ($38,000) |
| Insurance | ($22,000) | ($23,300) | ($24,600) | ($25,800) | ($27,000) |
| Professional fees | ($9,000) | ($9,000) | ($9,500) | ($9,500) | ($10,000) |
| Software subscriptions | ($10,000) | ($10,500) | ($11,000) | ($11,500) | ($12,000) |
| Third-party app commissions (about 24% of gross app orders) | ($26,200) | ($43,700) | ($46,600) | ($49,500) | ($52,400) |
| Card processing (about 2.7% of in-house and direct-order sales) | ($31,600) | ($45,200) | ($48,200) | ($51,100) | ($54,200) |
| Employer Social Security and Medicare tax on tips (7.65%, tips taken at 14% of table, bar and party sales) | ($9,600) | ($13,700) | ($14,600) | ($15,500) | ($16,400) |
| Overtime, sick cover and extra shifts | ($7,000) | ($9,500) | ($10,000) | ($10,500) | ($11,000) |
| Hardwood for the wood-fired oven | ($9,500) | ($12,500) | ($13,500) | ($14,000) | ($14,500) |
| Operating supplies (paper, chemicals, party goods, small items) | ($15,000) | ($19,000) | ($20,500) | ($21,500) | ($22,500) |
| Cleaning, linen, grease trap and pest control | ($10,500) | ($13,000) | ($13,500) | ($14,000) | ($14,500) |
| Repairs, equipment service and smallwares and glassware replacement | ($6,500) | ($11,000) | ($14,500) | ($17,000) | ($19,500) |
| Music licensing, permits, dues and license renewals | ($3,000) | ($3,400) | ($3,600) | ($3,800) | ($4,000) |
| Equipment replacement reserve | $0 | ($7,000) | ($11,000) | ($13,000) | ($15,000) |
| Bad debt allowance (party deposits and team-night invoices) | ($400) | ($900) | ($1,100) | ($1,200) | ($1,300) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($17,644) | ($38,278) | ($60,539) | ($81,942) |
| EBITDA | $41,335 | $267,364 | $267,576 | $284,789 | $329,460 |
| Depreciation | ($57,743) | ($57,743) | ($57,743) | ($57,743) | ($57,743) |
| Interest | ($33,381) | ($31,507) | ($29,098) | ($26,423) | ($23,454) |
| Income tax | $0 | ($32,220) | ($45,379) | ($50,372) | ($62,334) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($49,789) | $145,894 | $135,356 | $150,250 | $185,929 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, licensing, launch marketing) | ($95,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($144,789) | $145,894 | $135,356 | $150,250 | $185,929 |
Year 1 loses $49,789 before start-up costs and $144,789 after the $95,000 of licensing, legal, launch and training spend expensed at opening. Year 2 earns $145,894, 7.9% of revenue, and pays $32,220 of income tax. Year 3 earns $135,356 (6.8%) as the assistant manager arrives and pay raises accumulate, then profits of $150,250 (7.2%) and $185,929 (8.4%) follow in Years 4 and 5. EBITDA margin is 14.4% in Year 2, 13.5% in Year 3 and 14.8% in Year 5, and pay raises reach $81,942 a year by Year 5, offset by menu price rises and slow growth in covers.
Where the cash goes
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($103,347) | $196,312 | $191,517 | $206,449 | $242,073 |
| Dining room build-out, ovens, bar and party-room fit-out | ($490,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $905,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | ($10,103) | ($21,860) | ($24,270) | ($26,944) | ($29,914) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | ($70,000) | ($100,000) | ($120,000) | ($150,000) |
| Net change in cash | $301,550 | $104,452 | $67,247 | $59,505 | $62,160 |
| Closing cash | $301,550 | $406,002 | $473,249 | $532,754 | $594,914 |
Closing cash is $301,550 after Year 1 and rises every year to $594,914 in Year 5, about 3.8 months of operating costs. Operations use $103,347 of cash in Year 1, which includes the $95,000 of start-up costs. Loan principal begins in month 7 and goes from $10,103 in Year 1 to $21,860 in Year 2. Distributions of $440,000 over Years 2 to 5 stay under net income in every year, so retained earnings climb from ($144,789) after Year 1 to $32,641 in Year 5. The cash that builds beyond the $150,000 floor is idle, and the owners could prepay the loan or, if the bank allows, raise distributions toward net income. The Year 2 winter is not modeled month by month: January and February run 8% and 6% under an average month on the seasonal index, roughly $12,000 and $9,000 of revenue each, a small draw beside a $406,000 closing balance.
What the business owns and owes
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $301,550 | $406,002 | $473,249 | $532,754 | $594,914 |
| Accounts receivable | $14,024 | $20,325 | $21,687 | $23,015 | $24,390 |
| Food, keg and wine stock on hand | $18,469 | $26,768 | $28,561 | $30,310 | $32,121 |
| Dining room build-out, ovens, bar and party-room fit-out (net) | $432,257 | $374,514 | $316,771 | $259,029 | $201,286 |
| Total assets | $766,301 | $827,610 | $840,268 | $845,108 | $852,711 |
| Supplier and distributor balances owed | $16,192 | $23,468 | $25,039 | $26,573 | $28,161 |
| Bank loan | $309,897 | $288,037 | $263,767 | $236,823 | $206,910 |
| Paid-in capital | $585,000 | $585,000 | $585,000 | $585,000 | $585,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($144,789) | ($68,895) | ($33,539) | ($3,289) | $32,641 |
| Total liabilities and equity | $766,301 | $827,610 | $840,268 | $845,108 | $852,711 |
Prime cost, break-even and cover ratios
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | 3.2% | 14.4% | 13.5% | 13.6% | 14.8% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -3.9% | 7.9% | 6.8% | 7.2% | 8.4% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 38% | 33% | 34% | 34% | 33% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $102,376 | $132,479 | $131,927 | $140,007 | $148,373 |
| Average monthly revenue | $106,642 | $154,558 | $164,908 | $175,008 | $185,467 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $101,799 | $123,237 | $133,562 | $141,646 | $146,871 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | 1.0x | 5.0x | 5.0x | 5.3x | 6.2x |
The last rows of the ratios table are the test. In Year 1 the restaurant averages $106,642 a month against $101,799 needed to cover operating costs, so the room just pays its running costs, but not depreciation, interest and start-up costs, and the year still loses money. Year 2 averages $154,558 against $123,237 and Year 3 $164,908 against $133,562, 23% over the line. Debt service cover is 0.95x in Year 1 (EBITDA of $41,335 against $43,484 of interest and principal, which the table rounds to 1.0x), then 5.0x in Year 2 and in Year 3. Year 1 is below a likely 1.25x covenant, so the first test would have to start with Year 2 results.
A slow year at the pizzeria: revenue 20% short
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,023,760 | $1,483,760 | $1,583,120 | $1,680,080 | $1,780,480 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($185,230) | $53,334 | $88,494 | $104,674 | $122,411 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($280,230) | $53,334 | $88,494 | $104,674 | $122,411 |
| Closing cash | $169,369 | $217,726 | $288,428 | $362,666 | $436,627 |
This case lowers every revenue line by 20% from the first month, so Year 3 averages about 85 dinner covers a day. The owners see the gap by about month 5 and act from month 7 (July 2027). Danielle and Marcus each take a 20% pay cut, part-time hours drop 12%, and the assistant manager, servers 6 and 7 and the expediter are never hired. App commissions, card fees and tip payroll tax fall 20% with sales, and hardwood and supplies 12%, from the first month. From Year 2 marketing falls 20%, utilities 4%, repairs 10%, the equipment reserve by half and overtime 20%; Year 1 spending on those lines stays as budgeted, and rent does not change. Distributions are halved to $35,000, $50,000, $60,000 and $75,000 in Years 2 to 5, each below that year's net income. Year 1 loses $280,230 after start-up costs and equity ends the year at $304,770. Year-end cash never falls below $169,369, and the lowest month-end balance on the base-case basis is about $121,000 in August 2027. Debt cover is negative in Year 1 (EBITDA of ($94,106)), then 2.7x in Year 2 and 3.3x in Year 3 against 5.0x in the base case, so a likely 1.25x covenant fails in Year 1. The owners would ask the bank to skip the test for Year 1 and measure from Year 2, to add six more interest-only months and to put a $50,000 standby line in place. Net income is $53,334 in Year 2, a 3.6% margin against 7.9% in the base case, and $88,494 in Year 3 (5.6% against 6.8%). Year 2 is the thinnest year, because rent, utilities and the core crew sit on the smallest sales base. Downside cash is below the base case at every year end. Pay cuts and shorter hours that last five years are a hard ask of a team.
Stress Tests and the Opening Slip
Each case changes one input in the base model and leaves the rest alone, with no management response. Costs that move with sales (app commission, card fees, tip payroll tax) move with the shortfall, hardwood and supplies move by 60% of it, and food cost per guest does not change with price, so direct costs fall with the number of guests but not with the menu. Rent, utilities and wages stay fixed. Lowest cash is the lowest month-end balance of Year 1 less four days of receivables, the same basis as the monthly view, and is approximate because annual costs are spread evenly.
| Case | Year 1 net income after start-up costs | Year 3 net income | Year 3 debt cover | Lowest month-end cash |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base case | ($144,789) | $135,356 | 5.0x | $153,000 |
| Revenue 10% lower in every month and year (fewer guests) | ($227,610) | $52,946 | 2.6x | $142,000 |
| Direct costs 3 points higher in every line | ($183,180) | $90,895 | 3.9x | $149,000 |
| Wages 10% higher for every role | ($193,857) | $85,418 | 3.8x | $139,000 |
| Rent 10% higher in every year | ($157,989) | $124,864 | 4.8x | $150,000 |
| App commission 30% instead of 24% | ($151,339) | $126,631 | 4.8x | $152,000 |
| Build-out 25% over budget ($71,250), paid from the reserve | ($151,914) | $130,020 | 5.0x | $82,000 |
| Opening slips two months (method below) | ($307,543) | $149,983 | 5.2x | $27,000 |
The slip case moves the opening from March 1 to May 1, 2027. The Year 1 sales ramp starts two months later and Years 2 to 5 are left as forecast. Every hire planned for month 3 or later starts two months later. Rent and the pay of the six people hired in months 1 and 2 continue through the delay, and launch spending and training costs do not change. Year 1 app commission, card fees, tip tax, hardwood and supplies scale to the lower sales. Year 1 revenue falls to $968,800 and the lowest month-end balance is about $27,000 in May 2027. Year 3 profit in that row is above the base case mainly because the assistant manager starts two months later (about $10,000 of pay saved), with a smaller tax saving from the larger Year 1 loss carried forward. Cash stays positive but thin. A three-month slip by the same method takes the low to about ($29,000) in June 2027, so a delay beyond two months needs deferred rent, a standby line or more equity.
A 10% revenue miss with no response cuts Year 3 profit by 61%. Year-end cash peaks at $237,979 in Year 2 and falls to $141,027 by Year 5 at the planned distributions, which is why the downside case above cuts distributions along with costs. Direct costs, wages and rent each cut Year 3 profit by 8% to 37%; the wage case is the worst of the three.
What a Lender Would Still Ask
- Lease and guarantee. Term, rent steps, landlord allowance, deposit, any percentage rent, and whether the space already has a hood, grease trap and gas supply that suit a wood-fired oven. The lease is in negotiation, not signed, and the founders would guarantee it personally.
- Build-out bids. $285,000 net of allowance, or $318,000 with contingency, works out to about $80 a square foot and is a planning figure. If bids come in 25% high, the lowest balance drops to roughly $82,000.
- Permits and the opening date. Plan review, the beer-and-wine licenses and the fire inspection decide when the doors open. Two months late leaves about $27,000 at the low point; a third month pushes cash below zero.
- Reserve versus the cash low. The $320,000 reserve compares with a normal low of about $153,000 and a late-opening low of about $27,000. A $50,000 standby line would be the second layer.
- Covenants. Year 1 cover is 0.95x in the forecast and negative when sales are 20% short, so a 1.25x test would have to begin with Year 2, when the forecast shows 5.0x and the short-sales case 2.7x.
- Volume. Ten percent fewer guests with no management response takes Year 3 profit from $135,356 to $52,946. The downside case shows what the owners would do about it.
- Owner track record. Neither founder has opened a restaurant from a bare lease. The outside contractor, the liquor-license attorney, the restaurant accountant and the investor adviser fill that gap.
- Equity and investor return. The investors' 45% of $440,000 in distributions over Years 2 to 5 is about $198,000, set against $360,000 put in, so they depend on later years or a sale to be made whole. A lender may also ask why the founders hold 55% of units for 38% of the cash, and whether any founder money is borrowed.
- Labor. Bar hours are covered to 86% of need and dish-pit hours to 81%, and Marcus's exempt status is untested; if it fails, overtime adds about $22,000 a year.
- Competition. The number of pizza and casual restaurants within a ten-minute drive of the site has not been measured.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, state minimum wage laws, updated July 1, 2026: Georgia $5.15 an hour, federal $7.25 an hour.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #17A, executive, administrative and professional exemptions: $684 a week, as reported in the Department's text. Confirm the current level before setting salaries.
- IRS, Publication 15: tips are generally subject to both the employer and employee share of Social Security and Medicare tax when they reach $20 or more a month.
- 26 U.S.C. 11(b): 21% federal corporate income tax rate.
- Georgia Department of Revenue, state corporate income tax. The model uses 5.2% as a planning rate; the state has been lowering its rate, so the current figure is confirmed with the Department or an adviser.
- Georgia and City of Atlanta alcohol licensing, at dor.georgia.gov and atlantaga.gov. The class, fee, hours rules and any food-sales or distance requirement are theirs to set, and the $15,000 licensing line is a planning figure.
- Georgia Department of Public Health, food service and environmental health. The county board of health sets permit fees and inspection rules for the address.
- SBA, 7(a) loan program. The 10.5% rate and 10-year term are planning figures, and each lender sets its own.
- Third-party delivery platforms publish commission tiers on their merchant pages. The 24% blended rate is a planning figure and each platform's current rate card governs.
- Rent, build-out cost per square foot, insurance, payroll on-costs, tipping share and hourly rates are planning figures, not quotes. The 28% to 35% food-cost range and the 65% prime-cost line are trade rules of thumb with no single source.
Create a plan as complete as this one
Pick the amount of help you want.
Do it yourself
$197 Toolkit, 12 months
Build your plan with the AI Wizard and every tool you need, at your own pace.
Start my plan →Done with you
$497 Toolkit Plus, 12 months
Our AI builds the plan with you, section by section, from your answers.
Want a person too? Upgrade to a consultation with an MBA graduate.
See Toolkit Plus →Done for you
From $1,997 written for you
We research and write the whole plan, and you review the finished draft.
See the writing service →Still searching for a pizzeria business plan template? Build yours here.