Restaurant Opening Checklist: From Lease to Opening Day

October 6, 2026

Restaurant Opening Planner checklist with due dates

Opening a restaurant or café is hundreds of small jobs, and most delays come from the boring ones: a permit applied for too late, equipment that arrives after the opening date, a team hired the week before. The fix is simple: work backwards from your opening day and give every task a deadline.

Below is the checklist I'd use, grouped by phase, with roughly how many weeks before opening each group should start. Adjust the timings to your project, and always confirm licences and inspections with your local authority, since they differ from place to place.

26–20 weeks before: concept, admin and premises

Define the concept, your target guests and your price level
Register the business and get tax numbers
Find out exactly which licences, permits and inspections your area requires
Open a business bank account
Sign the lease and agree the fit-out period
Choose the name, logo and visual style; secure social media handles and a website address
Draft the opening menu and finalise the floor plan

18–12 weeks before: build and equip

Apply for all required licences and permits
Get fit-out quotes and appoint a contractor
Write the full equipment list and order large kitchen equipment
Electrical, plumbing, gas, ventilation and extraction work
Shortlist suppliers for each category; set up bookkeeping
Decide the team structure and write job descriptions

10–6 weeks before: suppliers, team and systems

Test recipes and lock the final menu
Taste supplier samples, compare prices, and agree terms and delivery days
Advertise roles, interview and hire
Arrange business insurance and prepare staff contracts
Choose the till or POS system, card payments and reservations
Cost every dish and set prices
Create your Google Business profile and start sharing behind-the-scenes content
Book any required inspections

5–2 weeks before: finish and train

Decoration, lighting and signage
Order smallwares, tableware, glassware and cutlery
Deep clean, then install and test all equipment
Design and print menus; photograph the space and dishes
Plan and run staff training and menu tastings
Plan the opening announcement and invite neighbours and local businesses
Final snagging walk-through

The last 2 weeks: soft launch and opening

Place the opening stock order
Run friends-and-family soft launch services
Collect feedback and fix what didn't work
Set up the daily cash-up routine and the first rota
Opening day

Budget: plan for what you can't see yet

List every cost you expect, from the lease deposit and fit-out to uniforms and opening stock, and track the actual cost against each line as you pay. Then add a contingency of 10–15% on top. Almost every opening runs over somewhere, and running out of money the month before opening is far worse than having some left over.

Don't forget working capital: cash to cover rent, wages and stock for the first months, before the restaurant pays for itself.

Three habits that keep openings on time

Give every task one owner and one date. "We" never finishes anything.
Review the list every week. Mark what's overdue and what's due in the next two weeks.
Protect the soft launch. It's the first thing people cut when they're late, and the thing that saves you most on opening night.

The whole checklist, ready to use

The Restaurant Opening Planner includes all 57 tasks with due dates calculated from your opening date, automatic Done, Due soon and Overdue flags, a startup budget with variance, and an overview showing progress and your total with contingency.