A Guide to Conducting Precise Restaurant Sales Forecasts

Sales forecasting is always tricky in the restaurant world. Partly, this is because the industry is inherently unpredictable. Under normal circumstances, you could use previous years’ sales figures to forecast the upcoming year - but, as we emerge from two years of COVID closures, staffing shortages, and general turmoil, previous sales’ figures definitely can’t be trusted. 

For many restaurants, forecasting upcoming sales in a post-pandemic world is just as hard as forecasting sales for an entirely new venture.

So, perhaps it’s worth going over exactly how you’d forecast sales for a new venture.

Let’s follow the case of a fictional restaurateur. Her name is Chloe, and her dream is to open a bistro by the sea. She’s picked what could be the perfect spot - a recently vacated cafe on the seafront. She hopes to renovate it and turn it into the fish bistro of her dreams, catering to happy beachgoers all year round. 

However, before she can do this, she has…