Twenty-five steps across five phases — foundation, location, buildout, team, launch — with realistic timeframes. Check them off as you go, print it for the office wall.
Progress lives in this browser tab — print it or screenshot it to keep a copy. Timeframes assume a second-generation space; building from a shell adds 2–4 months.
The order matters more than the list. Restaurants get in trouble by doing steps out of sequence — signing a lease before funding closes, printing menus before recipes are costed, hiring before the POS exists to train on. Work the phases top to bottom; inside a phase, items can run in parallel.
The two long poles are the liquor license (start the day you sign — 3–6 months in most cities, longer in quota states) and the buildout. Everything else flexes around them.
Three companion tools carry the numbers side: the business plan template for the document lenders read, the food cost calculator for pricing the opening menu, and the profit margin calculator for the break-even every other decision hangs on. And read the full 12-step opening guide for the reasoning behind each phase.
Get the operator margin playbook — food cost targets, pricing moves, and win-back flows that pay for themselves. One or two emails a month, no spam.
Score your site on online ordering, mobile, speed, menu and Google-readable details, with a fix for each.
CostingCost a recipe ingredient by ingredient, get cost per serving and food cost percentage.
PricingTurn plate cost and a target food-cost % into a menu price, with margin and markup.
Talk to our team — we'll map your POS, design your storefront, and ship it in two weeks.