14 Successful Restaurant Concepts & Ideas to Inspire and Guide You

Every successful restaurant starts with a solid concept. Get it right, and you’re on the path to enthusiastic reviews, referrals, and devoted customers. Miss the mark, whether through a menu that clashes with the atmosphere or overpriced dishes that don’t match the clientele, and potential regulars will either be perplexed or, at worst, won’t come back.

Achieving this is no cakewalk, and even seasoned restaurant owners don’t always get it right the first time, especially with so many new trends popping up. Yet, with some help and motivation, you can fuel your creativity.

Here are 17 winning restaurant concepts for inspiration and direction when opening your restaurant.

1. Virtual Restaurant Ideas

ClusterTruck is an Indianapolis-based virtual delivery kitchen. Diners can choose from an array of cuisines, and the kitchen only starts preparing orders once the delivery drivers are en route. Not only do they hire in-house chefs to cook the meals, but they contract delivery drivers. That way, they don’t need to pay third-party online ordering providers for their services.

Virtual restaurants, also known as ghost kitchens, cloud kitchens, or dark kitchens, started as one of those pandemic trends but gained popularity as they grew alongside the delivery app market. These restaurants take orders through online apps and use “ghost kitchens” or virtual kitchens that offer virtual menus to take-out customers.

Pros:

• Very low labor and inventory costs and steady incremental sales growth
• Cheap digital menu marketing that captures a share of online dining demand
• Agility to easily experiment with different concepts to find and grow the most successful restaurant

Cons:

• Less control over incoming demand and customer service when relying on third-party apps
• Need to manage the impact on restaurant staff morale of working online orders without receiving tips
• The high volatility and profitability of this early-days concept may be too risky for some
• Must choose food that travels well for delivery

2. The Café and Coffee Concept

Kaldi’s Coffee was founded nearly 30 years ago in St. Louis and has been providing great coffee to the massesworld ever since. And in those years, they’ve grown considerably, adding 12 restaurant locations across St. Louis and Atlanta, Georgia.

Ranging from large chains such as Starbucks to smaller neighborhood shops, the café concept is immensely popular. Restaurants embodying this concept sometimes follow a self-service model—although service is common in some establishments. Coffee shops offer a casual and relaxed dining experience, with patrons typically ordering food like coffee, pastries, and sandwiches.

Pros:

• Cafe scheduling is often easier—although if you have a roastery, you’ll need staff who are willing to start at 4 am
• Labor costs are lower because you need fewer restaurant staff
• You’ll have lower overheads unless you’re a large chain
• Opening a coffee shop lets you experiment with unique flavor profiles that appeal to millennials, who are a key driver of coffee sales

Cons:

• A limited variety of dishes means menus are smaller
• Coffee and dessert is the main focus. You’ll need to find ways to get more customers through your restaurant doors for lunch

3. Fast Food Chains

Taco John’s was founded in 1968 by Air Force officer John Turner in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It began as a trailer called Taco House, serving Mexican-inspired food, and was later rebranded as Taco John’s during franchising. There are almost 400 Taco John’s restaurant locations across the U.S. the brand is most recently known for dropping its trademark on “Taco Tuesday” after an ad campaign by competitor Taco Bell.

Fast food chains or quick-service restaurants prepare mass-produced take-out food and usually follow a franchise model. These restaurants generally have limited menus, no seating, and fewer (if any) servers than full-service restaurants.

Pros:

• Restaurant labor costs are lower because there are no servers
• Food costs are modest due to limited menus and cheaper ingredients
• Lower food costs contribute to higher margins
• This is a proven restaurant concept with a massive demand for take-out food in the U.S.

Cons:

• You have limited control because these concepts often follow a franchise model—not ideal if you want to create a unique concept or experience
• 24/7 employee scheduling can be challenging.
• The initial franchising costs are higher than opening an independent restaurant

4. Fast-Casual Restaurant Concepts

Taking inspiration from his favorite restaurants and family recipes, Brandon Bahoura built Pita Way in 2010 to make healthy, fast Mediterranean food accessible to customers in Michigan. Nearly 15 years later, the restaurant remains popular for its signature quesopitas (a pita-quesadilla hybrid) and Mediterranean bowls at a much larger scale.

Fast-casual restaurants are a new, trendy concept that combines fast food and casual dining. The concept has many characteristics of fast food restaurants—food made to order and disposable packaging—with a few notable differences: upscaled food and a more inviting sit-down atmosphere.

While scheduling employees and managing task lists are more challenging with fast-casual restaurants, our Pita Way case study reveals it’s possible to manage 10 locations and 100 employees to complete over 36,000 tasks.

Pros:

• This concept is ideal if your target audience craves healthier food options and a casual sit-down restaurant atmosphere
• Many customers are willing to pay more for healthy foods, leading to more profits.

Cons:

• You have higher overhead costs because you need more seating and servers
• More staff makes employee scheduling trickier
• Food costs are higher than quick quick-service restaurants because the quality of ingredients is better
• Opening a fast-casual restaurant is more expensive

5. Family-Style Concept Ideas

Billed as the “Disneyland of Mexican Restaurants,” Casa Bonita blends food and entertainment. The massive interior is decorated with palm trees and caves, and entertainment includes cliff divers, costumed skits, and mariachi bands. It’s a Denver staple that’s nostalgic for many people—especially South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who bought the restaurant for $3.1 million in 2021.

Family-style restaurants follow the full-service model with seating and dedicated servers. Entertainment for kids can be as large as an arcade or as small as coloring sheets and crayons. Menus are extensive, with various dishes across breakfast, lunch, and dinner. “Casual,” “friendly,” and “relaxed”—these are words you’d associate with this restaurant concept.

Pros:

• Family restaurants are a proven concept
• The concept is perfect for families and casual diners
• You can attract patrons with reasonable prices and a large variety

Cons:

• Labor costs are higher because of the full-service model
• Staff scheduling is more challenging, making it harder to navigate staff availability
• Your food costs are higher as food portions are bigger

6. Food Trucks & Pop-up Restaurants

When Sabin Lomac moved to California, he was struck by the lack of fresh lobster he grew up eating in Maine. He started Cousins Maine Lobster food truck with his cousin, Jim Tselikis, to bring classic New England lobster rolls to Los Angeles. After an appearance on Shark Tank, where Barbara Corcoran made a $55,000 investment, their restaurant business has expanded to over 40 food trucks and seven restaurants nationwide.

Food trucks have risen in popularity in the past decade, and for good reason: they’re fun! Often grouped together in paces, food trucks offer exciting food that is effective for any concept, from ice cream to noodles and any type of cuisine.

Pros:

• Low overhead costs
• Very popular among diners
• You can go to your clientele instead of them coming to you

Cons:

• Small spaces to work in
• Lack of a consistent restaurant location
• Often competing with many others directly next to you

7. Refined Cocktail Lounge

The Monarch Bar is an upscale cocktail bar and lounge in Kansas City. With an emphasis on classy design, customers can sip on crafted beverages at the bar, parlor, or outdoor terrace. Membership is also available to attend classes and tastings and purchase special bottles at cost.

What sets these bars apart from other watering holes is the emphasis on sophistication and the craft of mixology. The lounge’s ambiance mixes elegance with contemporary design and staff expertise in premium liquor and wine. Patrons are looking for identity and community, so special events with a sense of exclusivity work well here.

Pros:

• High markup of alcoholic beverages—up to 400%
• Less food inventory
• Attracts a crowd with more considerable buying power.

Cons:

• Liquor licenses can be expensive
• Often only open during evenings, losing out on restaurant revenue during the day

8. Farm-to-Table Ingredients

Stone Barns is a farm in upstate New York that offers a dining experience called Blue Hill. Their two locations, on the farm and in the city, have no set menus. Guests who make a reservation at the farm also receive a tour of the property, and tips are not accepted.

The farm-to-table concept sources seasonal ingredients from local farms to promote freshness and sustainability. Most modern restaurants order supplies from distributors, but farm-to-table businesses support local farmers and often name them on the menu.

Pros:

• Ingredients are usually fresher and higher-quality
• Supporting sustainability and the local economy are more significant concerns for diners
• A seasonal menu creates anticipation and excitement for new offerings

Cons:

• Sourcing from local farmers can come at a higher cost
• Some ingredients are limited in the off-season, especially in colder climates
• It takes more work to deal with multiple restaurant suppliers

9. Health-Conscious Eatery Ideas

“We started Vitality Bowls because our daughter was born with severe food allergies, and we quickly realized that we couldn’t just eat at any restaurant and restaurants weren’t following any allergy safety,” says Tara Gilad, Co-Founder of Vitality Bowls.

Billed as a superfood cafe, Vitality Bowls’ mission is to serve up healthy, allergy-safe food to America in the form of acai bowls, smoothies, and more. Their commitment to using fresh fruits and vegetables without additives or preservatives is a key factor in their growth from San Ramon, CA, to 100 locations nationwide.

For restaurant goers who want convenience without sacrificing nutrition, a health-forward locale featuring fresh produce checks all the boxes. Small restaurant ideas like these eateries often cater to different dietary needs, offering gluten-free, dairy-free, or vegan options.

Aside from food challenges, another issue Vitality Bowls had to overcome was labor law compliance. In California, where the restaurant started, employee schedules had to be monitored properly. Otherwise, the company would face penalties and fines. With 7shifts, Vitality Bowls saved thousands of dollars from labor costs.

Pros:

• Appeal to diners with specific dietary needs
• Popular with the office lunch crowd

Cons:

• Fresh produce is more perishable than canned or frozen foods. Avocado only takes a few hours to brown so you may be tossing out a lot of inventory.
• High-quality and organic food is more expensive

10. Gourmet Burgers & Pizzas

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria started serving coal-fired brick oven pizza over 100 years ago in New York City. They expanded out of the Dumbo neighborhood, and now their hand-tossed dough is made fresh daily in over 40 locations across the US.

This isn’t your typical 30-minutes-or-it’s-free fast food. We’re talking fiery ovens and in-house ground chuck. These restaurant concepts are perfect if you’re looking to open a restaurant between casual and fine dining.

Pros:

• Food costs are reasonable for burgers and pizzas
• Classic American fare appeals to a wide range of people, and it’s family-friendly
• A smaller restaurant menu cuts down on complexity

Cons:

• Menu costs are higher than a fast-food burger or pizza joints, which may deter cost-sensitive guests
• Burgers and pizza are seen as ‘guilty pleasure’ foods (but you can offer ‘healthier’ options to appeal to more people)

11. Tasteful Fine Dining Theme

Renowned chef Thomas Keller is at the helm of Per Se, a New York property with three Michelin stars. Diners enjoy the nine-course modern French tasting menu with views overlooking Central Park. Its sister restaurant is the revered three-Michelin French Laundry in California’s Napa Valley.

This is the concept you’re thinking of when you picture white tablecloths and extensive wine lists. Restaurants with this theme are all about exquisite flavors, plating, atmosphere, and service.

Pros:

• Higher menu prices can mean higher profit margins
• Accolades like the Michelin Guide award restaurants in this category
• Better tips usually mean better front-of-house talent

Cons:

• Because fine dining restaurants fall into the luxury category, business may slow when the economy is down
• Takeout and delivery are less common, which hurts the restaurant if the dining room needs to close
• Build costs are higher because more of the budget  goes to interior design and decor

12. Dessert Destinations

Better Than Sex is a dessert-only restaurant that began in Key West, FL, and has expanded to six locations. Newlywed Dani Johnson first had the idea when she whipped up an Oreo Cookie Cake for her husband, Len. Themed around Valentine’s Day, the red walls and speakeasy-like atmosphere are great for couples on intimate dates.

Give people something to satisfy their sweet tooth. These restaurants could be anything from a gelato shop to a full-service dessert cafe.

Pros:

• Table turnover rates are faster, especially with a counter-service model
• You need fewer ingredients
• Desserts are great for selling as packages and gifts

Cons:

• Demand for products like ice cream varies throughout the year, especially in colder climates
• You need to hire skilled bakers and pastry chefs if you make baked goods from scratch
• Lower check sizes since desserts tend to be cheaper than full restaurant meals

13. Buffets and Salad Bars

Like hibachi restaurants, BD’s Mongolian Grill cooks your meal right before you on a large cooktop. The difference is that at BD’s, you build your own bowl at self-serve stations and bring it to the cooks at the grill.

With groceries hitting record prices, diners are turning to self-serve restaurants like buffets to cut costs. This makes restaurant budgeting easier because guests know exactly how much their plate will cost upfront. Buffets are also a feast for the eyes and a fun activity for kids if there’s a chocolate fountain.

Pros:

• Appeal to price-sensitive guests like families
• Lower labor costs related to front-of-house staff
• There is a variety of dishes for diners to choose from

Cons:

• This may create more food waste
• Food quality declines the longer it sits on a hot plate
• Higher construction and rent costs to accommodate the restaurant serving areas

14. Sustainable Seafood

The Crab Pot is a no-fuss eatery located on a pier in downtown Seattle. Diners don bibs and crack open shells of steamed seafood dumped onto tables. It’s so popular with tourists that the website has a lost-and-found section.

This is another version of farm-to-table, except the farm is the big blue sea. Great for coastal locations, the main draw of these restaurants is that they serve freshly caught seafood.

Pros:

• Diners see seafood  as a healthier, more nutritious protein alternative to land animals like beef and pork
• If you build good relationships with local fishermen, you can secure discounted supply costs and support the local economy

Cons:

• Seafood spoils quickly (the catalyst for that scene from 2022’s Triangle of Sadness)
• Certain species are seasonal due to migration patterns, weather conditions, and government regulations
• Competition can be fierce in touristy areas

15. Drinking Food Concepts

Chulita focuses on mezcal—and tequila-based cocktails paired with shareable dishes that celebrate authentic Mexican flavors, like its Huarache (Mexican Avocado Toast) and Vegan Nachos. Regardless of cuisine, drinking food or bar bites are designed to complement alcoholic beverages.

The concept is about creating a social dining experience where guests can enjoy drinks and small plates with friends or family. The menu typically focuses on shareable, flavor-packed dishes that pair well with beer, wine, and cocktails.

Pros:

• Offering food with drinks leads to higher profit margins
• Shareable dishes make the dining experience more social and interactive

Cons:

• Focus on appetizers and snacks may push away customers looking for a full meal
• Training staff on food and drink pairings requires additional time

16. Full Service Catering

Although the Conshy Girls Restaurant Group has a few restaurants in Conshohocken, PA, one of their most popular services is full-service catering, which allows their business to expand beyond their dining areas. They offer both offsite and onsite catering options to meet the needs of any event, bringing the taste of their restaurants, Gypsy Saloon and Southern Cross Kitchen, to more diners in and outside of their primary area.

When it comes to full-service catering, you’ll have to be mindful of employee scheduling, which is why The Conshy Girls needed extra help managing shifts and communication.

Pros:

• Additional revenue stream
• Attract new customers who may not be part of your target audience
• Lets you highlight your best menu items

Cons:

• Food consistency can be a challenge
• Requires additional site staff and resources

17. Fast Casual Juice Bar

Fast-casual juice bar concepts like Main Squeeze blend the speed of fast food service with the quality of casual dining. The restaurant uses only organic, wild-harvested fruits and vegetables to create nutrient-dense smoothies, juices, and acai bowls.

Their menu caters to health-conscious customers seeking quick, nutritious options. Draw inspiration from Main Squeeze and consider a fast-casual juice bar that serves convenient, wholesome meals to busy professionals.

When starting a fast-casual juice bar, managing your business expenses like Main Squeeze is essential. Through proper labor forecasting, Main Squeeze reduced labor costs by 25%.

Pros:

• Nutritious and accessible food options appeal to more customers
• Fast preparation times keep customers happy and easily
• Typically requires less space and fewer staff

Cons:

• Need to manage fresh ingredients carefully
• Limited restaurant menu may not be good for customer retention

Turn Your Restaurant Concept and Idea Into a Real Business

You may understand the importance of having a solid concept but need help choosing the right one, especially as food trends come and go. These 17 restaurant ideas, from proven fast food chains to popular virtual restaurants, will help spark your creativity.

And remember: regardless of the type of concept you choose, you’ll always have to manage labor and inventory, which can be challenging. That’s why having the right team management system helps.

With a mobile restaurant team management app like 7shifts, you can simplify your scheduling, tips, and payroll and save time, no matter your restaurant concept. Give 7shifts a try today!