Goliath Consulting Business Plan Guide 2020 - Restaurant Business Plan Now and Going into 2021

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Aurelia

Restaurant business plan guidance focused on surviving and repositioning over the next 18 months amid Covid-19 constraints. Outlines a practical written plan for stakeholders using a simple one- to two-page strategy with weekly reviews and monthly or quarterly adjustments. Covers revenue generators and business verticals (takeout, delivery, catering, curbside, grab 'n go), staffing, physical plant and capex updates, marketing and PR, menu evolution, and financial cash-flow scenarios for potential slowdowns.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

Planning

Revenue generators or business verticals

Staff

Physical plant

Marketing and PR

Financial

Implementation and review cadence

What’s next? Your Restaurant Business Plan Now and Going into 2021 This is a guide for restauranteurs to help mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and maneuver their concept through the coming months. The next 18 months will be a challenge for every restaurant brand. The outline below will get you started on building a plan to optimize your business to keep your doors open and be prepared to capitalize on opportunities that will present themselves into 2021. PLANNING There is no substitute for a written plan that is communicated to all stakeholders. We are not talking 35-page documents with addendums, so let us start with one or two pages of strategies and tactics. If your team will not read it or do not understand it, it will not work. The plan should include: 1. REVENUE GENERATORS OR BUSINESS VERTICALS Are you going to do or continue: takeout, delivery, catering, family meals, grab ‘n go, etc.? What makes sense for your brand and when is the best time to add additional business lines? 2. STAFF Do you have the right staff and enough people to do the work that needs to get done? Training is always a component that needs to be defined. Wellness and safety of your staff is paramount and will be top of mind going into 2021. 3. PHYSICAL PLANT What changes do you need to make when considering new business, social distancing, and potentially new product? Update your capital expenses (capex) budget based on your current and 2021 forecasted revenue. 4. MARKETING AND PR Social media has grown significantly as a marketing medium in the last few months and will continue to do so. The tools you used to use may need to be scrapped or adjusted to reach people at home or on their mobile devices. 5. MENU The menu you have today most likely is not the same menu you started with at the beginning of 2020. How will your menu evolve with potential new business verticals, menu trends and potential supply chain issues sourcing product? 6. FINANCIAL Have you eliminated all non-essential services and when do you plan to bring some of those back to support operations? Cash-flow projections will be key and you have different scenarios (including a potential slow downs) to consider if Covid-19 cases spike. What revenues can you expect going forward from the different parts of the business?. Consult with your CPA and other advisors to start, and then pull in your key stakeholders to develop the plan. This process should take days, not weeks. Keep it simple. Look at the plan weekly at a minimum. Adjust monthly/quarterly as needed to keep pace with what is going to be a tumultuous business environment over the next 18 months. Your Restaurant Business Plan Now and Going into 2021 REVENUE GENERATORS The current business environment has created revenue generators that would have not been imaginable in January. Selling toilet paper or bags of flours? These were smart ideas that operators came up with to adapt to the times. So, what is going to stick and be profitable in the long-term? Dine-in guest traffic has been on the decline before the pandemic. Now that guests are being allowed back into restaurants at a limited capacity, this issue has been exasperated. Delivery and takeout for casual and fine dining have helped keep doors open. Anyone with a drive-thru had an advantage but now are relying on off-premise sales to help fill the delivery gap. Self-delivery could be a viable option for operators as delivery fees of third-party vendors on the P&L remain unsustainable. Self-delivery is going to expand as more technology becomes available and helps independents and small chains become more competitive and efficient, as well as more drivers being available due to higher unemployment. Takeout will continue to grow as consumer behaviors now include stopping by their favorite restaurants for lunch or dinner. Curbside, a hybrid of takeout, will grow faster as people familiarize themselves with ordering curbsid

FAQs

What financial planning steps does the guide recommend during Covid-19 uncertainty?

Restaurants should eliminate non-essential services, plan when to bring them back, and use cash-flow projections with different scenarios, including potential slowdowns. Key stakeholders and advisors such as a CPA should support the plan development.

Sep 14, 2026

Uploaded by Aurelia