Restaurant Opening Checklist

With so many details to get right, a single restaurant startup checklist can’t cover everything – that’s why we created a whole library of FREE checklists and tools for opening a restaurant to guide you to your launch.

Here’s a sampling of several helpful checklists to make sure you get everything right before you open, and run a successful restaurant operation long after you serve your first customer.

Perform a Competitor Analysis

Before you open a restaurant, you need to know about your competitors. Who are they? Are they direct or indirect competitors (and how can you tell the difference)? What do they do well? What can they do better? How do they promote themselves? What kind of ratings to they get online? This Competitor Intelligence Template is a step-by-step guide to performing an analysis of competitors in your location.

Design a Restaurant Menu

There’s a science to designing a restaurant menu that’s also a money-maker. Want to engineer your menu for higher sales? Use the Restaurant Menu Checklist – a how-to guide to creating a menu that drives profits. You’ll learn psychological design tips for menu pricing, item placement, and proper layout, to get the most from your menu.

Stock Your Restaurant

Think of our Restaurant Supplies Checklist as Restaurant Inventory Management 101. Learn how to source food and beverage suppliers, organize your restaurant shopping list, and get the best prices from restaurant vendors.

Install Technology

Restaurant Tech should be at the top of your restaurant planning checklist, and may be the single most important investment you make to stay competitive. A powerful tool like a restaurant point-of-sale system (POS) streamlines operations and increases revenues. Our Restaurant Technology Checklist teaches you how to evaluate payment systems, use credit card processors to your advantage, and choose the best restaurant POS for your business.