Coffee shop business plan template (full example with numbers)
Coffee shops fail on two numbers: rent as a share of sales, and tickets per hour at the morning peak. This example plan for a fictional 1,100-square-foot shop puts both in the open, which is what a lender or landlord will ask for first.
Example business: Ridgeline Coffee, a 1,100 sq ft corner unit near a commuter rail station in a mid-sized US city. Fictional; the numbers are illustrative and consistent with each other.
Executive summary
Ridgeline Coffee is a 28-seat specialty coffee shop opening in a 1,100-square-foot corner unit two blocks from the Maple Street commuter station, where 4,200 riders board on a weekday morning and the nearest specialty coffee is an eleven-minute walk. The founders, a former café manager with nine years in the trade and a bookkeeper, are investing $85,000 of their own money and requesting a $120,000 term loan to cover build-out, equipment, and four months of operating reserve. The plan projects $412,000 in first-year sales at an average ticket of $7.40 and 152 tickets per day, reaching monthly break-even in month seven and a 9% net margin in year two.
Key numbers
| Concept | 28 seats, espresso bar, pastries from a local bakery, retail beans |
| Average ticket | $7.40 |
| Tickets per day (year 1 average) | 152 |
| Year 1 revenue | $412,000 |
| Rent | $4,600/month (13% of sales at plan) |
| Startup costs | $205,000 (build-out $92,000, equipment $58,000, deposits and permits $15,000, opening inventory $9,000, reserve $31,000) |
| Funding | $85,000 owner equity + $120,000 SBA 7(a) term loan, 10 years |
| Break-even | Month 7 at 138 tickets/day |
| Staff | 2 owners + 3 baristas (2.3 FTE) |
Menu and pricing
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Batch-brew coffee | $2.75 | The answer to home brewing; tenth cup free on the loyalty card |
| Espresso drinks (latte, cappuccino, flat white) | $4.75 to $5.75 | About 55% of tickets |
| Cold brew and iced drinks | $5.00 to $6.25 | Rises to 40% of drinks in summer |
| Pastries (local bakery, on consignment) | $3.50 to $4.75 | On about one ticket in three |
| Retail beans, 12 oz | $18.00 | About $5,000 in year one |
Average ticket $7.40: a drink on every ticket, a pastry on one in three.
How much it costs to start a coffee shop: startup budget
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Build-out (plumbing, electrical, counter, seating) | $92,000 |
| Espresso machine, two groups | $18,000 |
| Two grinders | $6,000 |
| Batch brewer | $3,500 |
| Refrigeration | $7,500 |
| Pastry case | $4,500 |
| Ice machine | $3,800 |
| POS hardware | $2,200 |
| Furniture and fixtures | $12,500 |
| Deposits, permits, licences | $15,000 |
| Opening inventory | $9,000 |
| Operating reserve | $31,000 |
| Total startup costs | $205,000 |
Funded by $85,000 of owner equity and a $120,000 SBA 7(a) loan over 10 years (about $1,620 a month at an assumed 10.5%).
Monthly operating costs and break-even
| Cost | Per month |
|---|---|
| Barista wages and payroll taxes (2.3 FTE at $18/hour) | $7,880 |
| Rent | $4,600 |
| Owner draws (two owners) | $3,600 |
| Loan payment | $1,620 |
| Utilities | $1,100 |
| Marketing ($9,000 a year) | $750 |
| Repairs and maintenance | $400 |
| Insurance | $350 |
| Bookkeeping and accounting | $300 |
| POS, loyalty app, software | $250 |
| Total fixed costs a month | $20,850 |
Coffee, milk, cups, and pastries run 30% of sales and card fees 2.8%, so each dollar of sales leaves about 67 cents to cover the fixed costs.
Break-even: $20,850 ÷ 0.672 = about $31,000 of sales a month. At $7.40 a ticket and 30.4 days a month, that is about 138 tickets a day, reached in month seven.
Revenue projection
Year one: 152 tickets a day (the year average, lower in the first months) × $7.40 × 362 open days = $407,000 from drinks and food, plus about $5,000 of retail beans, for $412,000. The morning peak from 6:30 to 9:30 carries 60% of tickets, which is why the plan budgets a second POS and a batch-brew line for cash customers.
Market
The catchment is the eight blocks around Maple Street station: roughly 6,100 residents, 4,200 daily boardings, and 38 street-level businesses. The two nearest coffee options are a drive-through chain 0.4 miles away and a bakery that closes at 1 pm. Specialty coffee consumption in the metro area has grown about 4% a year since 2021 (regional coffee association data), and the station's morning boardings recovered to 96% of 2019 levels in 2025.
Competition
Brew & Go (chain, drive-through): fast, cheap, no seating; wins on price and speed. Maple Bakery: excellent pastries, weak coffee, closes early; will become a supplier rather than a rival. Home brewing: the real competitor for the 9-to-5 crowd; Ridgeline's answer is a $2.75 batch-brew cup and a loyalty card that makes the tenth free.
Marketing and sales
Soft opening with free drip coffee for two mornings on the station platform (cost: $600). Loyalty card from day one. Partnership with the station's bike-share rack for a discount code. Instagram run by the founder with one post a day for the first 90 days. Target customer acquisition cost under $3, funded from a $9,000 first-year marketing budget.
Operations
Hours 6 am to 4 pm weekdays, 7 am to 3 pm weekends. Two-group espresso machine, two grinders, batch brewer, under-counter fridge, pastry case, POS with loyalty. Beans from a regional roaster on net-30 terms; pastries delivered 5:30 am on consignment. Health permit, food handler certificates, and a signage variance are in progress; the lease has a 90-day fixturing period.
Risks and what the plan does about them
- Morning peak throughput: if the line exceeds six minutes, riders skip. Mitigation: a second POS for cash-only drip, and pre-order via the loyalty app from month four.
- Rent escalation of 3% a year is built into the lease; sales must grow at least that fast.
- Founder dependency: the café manager is the only trained lead. A second lead barista is hired in month three.
Your coffee shop business plan, from your numbers
Answer twelve questions about your own business and get all ten sections written with the arithmetic shown, plus a one-page summary. Nothing invented; every figure to verify is listed. $29, once. Write my business plan
Want the blank structure first? See the ten-section business plan template.
Coffee shop business plan questions
How much does it cost to open a coffee shop?
This example totals $205,000 for a 28-seat shop that needs a full build-out. A kiosk, or a space that was already a café, can cost a fraction of that; a large roastery café costs far more. Build-out and equipment are usually two thirds of the total, so get a contractor quote before you finish the plan.
How much profit does a coffee shop make?
In this plan, about 9% net margin in year two after owner draws and loan payments. The two numbers that decide it are rent as a share of sales (13% here) and tickets per hour at the morning peak.
How many customers a day does a coffee shop need to break even?
Divide monthly fixed costs by the margin per ticket. Here: $20,850 ÷ ($7.40 × 0.672) ÷ 30.4 days = about 138 tickets a day.
Can I use this coffee shop business plan for a bank loan?
The structure is what SBA lenders expect. Replace every number with your own quotes, lease terms, and local data; a lender will ask where each figure comes from.