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Subject

What is the name of your business (or working title)?

Understanding your working name gives us insight into your brand’s identity and market position. If you haven’t finalized one, we can help with brand naming and development.

What type of concept are you launching (e.g. café, bar, quick-service, catering, hybrid)?

This helps define the operational structure, staffing needs, and customer flow your business will require. It also helps us match your needs to similar case studies.

What is your projected opening date and target timeline for development?

This allows us to assess how far along you are in the process and where we can step in to support—whether in the planning phase, during construction, or at the pre-launch stage.

What location have you secured or are considering (city, neighborhood, square footage)?

We want to understand your market context and space constraints to tailor layout, service model, and staffing strategies accordingly.

Is the property of your establishment leased or owned? (What is the monthly rent/mortgage payment?)

This is to help us determine budget, pricing ratios, and property/neighborhood guidelines.

Will this be your first venture in the food service industry?

Knowing your background enables us to determine the level of foundational guidance to offer and which tools or templates might be most valuable to you.

What inspired this concept and what makes it unique?

This helps us understand your story, brand personality, and competitive edge. It also reveals potential marketing angles and brand voice strategy.

Who is your target customer or audience?

Identifying your ideal customer informs everything from pricing and menu design to décor and service style. We can help segment and prioritize audiences.

What kind of guest experience do you want to create (e.g. fast, elevated, community-driven)?

This frames your front-of-house strategy and training program. Are you offering grab-and-go speed, full-service sophistication, or experiential hospitality?

Have you started developing your branding, logo, or visual identity?

If not, this is a key opportunity to create consistent branding with The Dining Room Group’s design partners. If yes, we can assess brand cohesion across channels.

What will your operating hours be, and how many days a week will you be open?

This will help calculate labor, utilities, inventory planning, and scheduling needs—crucial for forecasting and profitability.

What kind of service model are you planning (e.g. counter-service, table service, mobile)?

Each model has implications for staffing, design, guest flow, and ticket volume. Clarifying this early will guide your SOP development.

Have you created an initial menu or product list?

A draft menu—even a loose one—lets us identify cost and pricing opportunities, vendor needs, and kitchen equipment plans.

Who is handling your sourcing, costing, and vendor outreach?

If you don’t have someone dedicated to this yet, it’s a critical area where we can help, mainly to prevent overspending or misaligned inventory.

What is your estimated total startup budget?

Clarifies the scale of your project and helps us tailor strategies that prioritize essentials and maximize your resources.

How are you funding the project (e.g. personal funds, loans, investors, grants)?

Funding structure affects timelines, risk appetite, and decision-making. We can help prepare you for investor conversations or SBA loan readiness

Do you have a working budget for key categories (buildout, equipment, staffing, marketing)?

We can help allocate funds effectively, ensuring operational areas are not under-resourced in favor of cosmetic ones.

Have you created financial projections or a break-even analysis?

If not, this is a vital service we can provide—forecasting revenue, identifying key drivers, and building a path to profitability.

Are there any existing conditions or buildout considerations?

Knowing what systems, permits, or layout features already exist can dramatically affect your timeline and cost structure.

Have you consulted with any architects, designers, or contractors yet?

If you haven’t begun working with professionals, we can connect you with vetted partners or provide design review services.

Are there layout or flow elements you’re concerned about (e.g. visibility, seating, kitchen size)?

This allows us to assess the space’s potential and prevent costly rework down the road. Efficient flow equals a better customer and staff experience.

What is your plan for staffing (roles, team size, hiring timeline)?

This helps us build a staffing model that aligns with your volume and service type. We can also advise on realistic labor budgets.

Will you be involved in daily operations or hiring a manager/operator?

Understanding your leadership structure allows us to determine whether to focus more on owner training or management system design.

What is your philosophy on training, culture, and team development?

We want to align your systems and manuals with your values—whether you’re building a high-touch hospitality culture or a lean execution-focused team.

Have you considered wage structure, onboarding, or scheduling systems?

If not, we can provide plug-and-play templates and scalable systems that prevent early burnout and inefficiencies.

What are your launch goals (e.g. soft opening, grand opening, press)?

Clear goals allow us to develop a launch timeline, checklist, and promotional campaign tied to key milestones.

Who is managing your marketing, social media, and promotions?

If you don’t have internal resources, we can fill this gap with marketing packages or trusted partners.

How do you plan to build awareness before launch (e.g. events, email list, influencer outreach)?

We can help map a pre-launch buzz strategy that matches your budget and target audience.

Do you have a website, menu mockups, or marketing assets in development?

If not, these should be built concurrently with your opening timeline. We can provide branded templates and menu design services.

Have you reviewed local health department and food safety requirements?

If not, we can help you interpret guidelines, prepare for inspections, and avoid costly delays.

Are there any permits or licenses you’re unsure about (e.g. liquor license, zoning, occupancy)?

We will work with you to create a checklist and timeline for acquiring permits and ensuring compliance alignment.

Do you plan to sell alcohol, cannabis, or CBD-infused products?

This affects licensing, menu strategy, and legal requirements. We can help navigate the process or connect you with legal support.

Have you begun assembling vendor applications, insurance, or legal documents?

We can offer templates and guidance on various insurance types, lease negotiation support, and vendor agreements to protect your business from the outset.

What does success look like 12 months after opening?

This allows us to reverse-engineer systems and benchmarks that align with your desired growth, profitability, and impact.

Are you planning to grow this concept into multiple locations or franchises?

If so, we can help you build foundational systems now that will support scalability later, such as SOPs, brand guidelines, and leadership pipelines.

What challenges are you most concerned about right now?

This helps prioritize consulting focus—whether financial, operational, brand-related, or team-based.

How involved would you like your consultant or advisory partner to be?

Do you want strategic check-ins, hands-on implementation, or a retained advisor? We can match our scope to your comfort level and budget.

Purpose

This questionnaire is designed to help The Dining Room Group understand the details of your vision and bring it to life efficiently and sustainably. By answering these questions, we can establish the standard for your goals and create an overall plan from the outset. Please answer honestly—there are no right or wrong responses. Please add any information you think we should be aware of that we didn't ask about.

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