From business plan and design concept to staff recruitment and confirming your menu pricing, here’s a 25 step guide on how to open a cafe or small restaurant.

While we’ve tried to cover most of key areas when starting up a cafe, there are likely to be topics that havn’t been included in this guide.

Please feel free to share ideas, suggestions and requests for us to cover any of the points in more detail or ask about things that are not listed, by making a comment below.

1. Concept: Confirm the Concept
2. Business Plan: Write the Business Plan
3. Financial Projections: Do a detailed Financial Projection
4. Profitability: Make sure the Business can Make Money
5. Funding: Find the Capital Required to Startup the Venture
6. Location: Look for an Ideal Location for your Business Premises
7. Rental: Sign a Lease to Rent a Retail Property or Buy it if you can Afford
8. Renovation: Renovate the Space you’ve rented for the Café to suit your Design Style
9. Equipment: Purchase all food and beverage equipment for the Kitchen, Bar and other areas
10. Decorations: Buy Furniture, Fittings and Fixtures to decorate and furnish the café
11. Coffee Machines: Invest in good coffee making machines that can cater to your café’s size
12. Signboard: Design an attractive Signboard and place it in a prominent place that’s visible
13. Branding: Get custom printed menus, napkins, paper bags and drinks coasters with the café’s logo on them
14. POS: Install a Point of Sale system or some sort of manual way to track and record daily sales
15. Cash Register: Buy a Cash Register to keep all the money received and make sure there’s a daily float available
16. Notice Boards: Put up an internal Special’s board with the main menu items so that it’s easy for takeout customers to order
17. Flyers: Design promotional flyers featuring special offers and an attached discount voucher
18. Team: Hire and Train the Service staff, Baristas, Kitchen helpers and Café Managers
19. Uniforms: Get impressive uniforms, aprons, and other accessories for the staff to wear
20. Supplies: Get all the stocks and supplies necessary to operate the cafe
21. Tasting: Hold a Food and Beverage tasting session with the team to verify your product quality
22. Menu: Refine your menu items, their pricing, recipes, ingredients and costs
23. Licenses: Make sure you have all the required business licenses and health & safety approvals
24. Bank Account: Open a bank account to deposit daily earnings and pay suppliers for goods supplied
25. Open: Open your café and start doing business