Café & restaurant loan plans: the numbers bankers scrutinize
Food-service plans get read with a particular skepticism. The failure rate is no secret. Here are the numbers a banker checks first.
Lenders know food service is hard, so they scrutinize a few figures harder than in most industries. Nail these and you're already ahead of most applicants.
The numbers they zero in on
- Food/beverage cost %, is it realistic for your concept (often ~28–35% for food)?
- Labour as a share of sales, the other big variable cost.
- Average ticket × covers, the backbone of your revenue math.
- Working capital, enough to survive the slow opening months.
Where plans slip
Overstated covers, understated labour, and a working-capital cushion that's too thin for the ramp. Model conservatively, show the daily math, and name your suppliers and agreements, signed supplier deals genuinely strengthen the file.
See where your financing file stands
Fifteen questions, four minutes, no documents and no email. You get a readiness stage, the gaps a lender would raise, and the document list for your request.
Check my readiness, freeLenderReady is an educational service, not a lender, broker, or financial advisor. Lending criteria vary by institution and change over time; treat this as a starting point, not a guarantee.