Business Consultant for Small Restaurant Expansion Strategy

We're a successful farm-to-table restaurant in Austin, Texas with strong local reputation and consistent profitability, and we're ready to expand to 2-3 additional locations over the next 18 months. We need an experienced Business Consultant specializing in restaurant growth to develop a comprehensive expansion strategy covering market analysis, site selection criteria, financial projections, operational systems, staffing plans, and risk mitigation. Your insights will guide our decision-making and help us scale intelligently without losing our quality or brand identity.

You'll conduct thorough market research to identify optimal expansion locations, analyze our current financials to determine realistic investment requirements, create detailed pro forma projections for new locations, develop operational playbooks ensuring consistency across multiple sites, and provide recommendations on funding options and timeline. We need someone who understands the restaurant industry's unique challenges—food cost management, labor issues, real estate considerations, and maintaining culture during growth.

This is a 4-6 week consulting engagement with deliverables including a comprehensive expansion strategy document, financial models, site selection framework, and operational templates. We're looking for a consultant with proven restaurant industry experience, preferably someone who's helped other restaurants successfully expand. You'll have access to our financials, operations data, and team for interviews. If you've guided restaurants through growth and can provide case studies or references, we're ready to invest in expert guidance.

Key Responsibilities

Conduct market research and competitive analysis for target expansion cities

Analyze current restaurant financials and operational metrics

Develop site selection criteria and location evaluation framework

Create detailed financial projections for 2-3 new locations

Calculate investment requirements and ROI timelines

Develop operational playbooks for consistency across locations

Create staffing and training plans for new locations

Identify potential risks and mitigation strategies

Provide recommendations on funding options (loans, investors, etc.)

Develop phased expansion timeline with milestones

Present findings and recommendations to ownership team

Required Skills

Business Consulting

Restaurant Industry Expertise

Strategic Planning

Market Research

Financial Analysis

Business Development

Operations Management

Financial Modeling

Risk Assessment

Competitive Analysis

Growth Strategy

Presentation Skills

Tools

Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets (financial modeling)

PowerPoint or Google Slides (presentations)

QuickBooks or restaurant accounting software

Market research databases

Google Maps (site analysis)

Survey tools (customer research, optional)

Zoom (meetings and presentations)

Google Docs (documentation)

Project management tools (Notion, Asana)

Deliverables

Comprehensive expansion strategy document (30-40 pages)

Market research report for 3-5 target cities

Site selection criteria and evaluation framework

Financial projections for 2-3 new locations (5-year pro forma)

Investment requirements breakdown and funding recommendations

Operational playbooks and standard operating procedures

Staffing plan and organizational structure for expansion

Risk assessment with mitigation strategies

Phased expansion timeline with milestones

Executive summary presentation (PowerPoint)

2 strategy sessions with ownership team (via Zoom)

30 days of follow-up support for implementation questions