How do I create a restaurant pitch deck for investors?

Lead with proof from the sites you already run: sales, repeat guests, ratings and margins. Then show what a new site costs, how fast its sales build and when it pays back. A vegan fast-food chain raised a $1.7M seed with a deck we rebuilt around return customers and Deliveroo ratings. Read the case or see our pitch deck design service.

Do venture capital firms invest in restaurants?

A few do, mostly in chains built to grow fast rather than one-off sites. Bigger cheques come from restaurant groups and private equity. Kroll found financial buyers behind 39% of US restaurant deals in 2025; strategic buyers made the rest. Specialists still raise new funds: Savory Fund closed $201.5M for emerging brands in October 2026. With one site, partners, angels and loans fit better.

How do you get funding to open a restaurant?

Most first restaurants combine the owner's savings, partners or angels, and a loan. In the US, SBA-backed 7(a) loans can pay for equipment, fixtures and working capital. SBA 504 loans cover buildings and long-life kitchen equipment over 10 to 25 years. Once you're trading, loans repaid from daily card sales can fund a refit: Toast Capital lends $1,000 to $300,000.

How do private equity firms value a restaurant business?

Most start from EBITDA, the yearly profit before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and apply a multiple. Kroll put the median for US-listed restaurant companies at 8.5 times EBITDA in January 2026. Buyers pay more for franchise-heavy brands with growing unit counts, and less for small independents. Our valuation service sets a range you can defend in talks.

How much does help with a restaurant raise cost?

Fees are flat and agreed before we start. An investor deck starts from $6,000. A financial model starts from $3,000. A valuation starts from $5,000. There's no success fee on advisory work. For selected clients we make warm introductions from our 200+ VC relationships. Introductions are never guaranteed, and we are not brokers. See our pricing page for details.

Home / Food & Beverage / Restaurants

Industry: Restaurants

Restaurant investors

Restaurants raise money in layers: loans for kitchens and fit-outs, equity for concepts that can open again and again. We help chains, franchisees and coffee brands show investors what each new site earns and how fast it pays back.

Investor types for single sites, multi-unit groups, franchisees and dark kitchens
Decks and models that show build-out cost, sales per site and payback
Waveup prepares investor materials for restaurant companies: $3B+ raised for 600+ startups since 2014

Talk to us about your raise See related cases

In short

What are restaurant investors?

Restaurant investors are the people and firms that put money into restaurants. Partners and angels fund a first site, lenders pay for kitchens and franchise units, and private equity buys chains. In 2025, financial buyers such as private equity firms were behind 39% of US restaurant deals, Kroll found. They favour brands already proven at many sites.

Who it's for: Independent restaurants, multi-unit groups, franchisees, coffee chains and dark kitchens
What we build: Investor deck, financial model, valuation, extended CIM, investor list
Prices: Deck from $6,000, model from $3,000. Flat fees
Track record: $3B+ raised for 600+ startups since 2014

Market data checked on 8 November 2026. Sources are under each section.

Are restaurants struggling in 2026, and who still funds them?

Sales keep rising, mostly on higher prices, while many restaurants serve fewer guests. Money still flows, but mainly to chains and franchise systems whose sites earn back their cost.

The opportunity

Restaurant spending keeps growing, and buyers pay well for brands that can multiply.

Private equity took a bigger share of restaurant deals in 2025
Coffee chains are going public again
Large franchisees now buy brands and back new ones

The problem

Nearly two-thirds of restaurants saw fewer customers in 2025, Kroll reports. Buyers have grown pickier, and small independents face tougher valuations.

Sources: Kroll, Restaurant Industry Insights–2025 Year in Review, 28 Jan 2026, pp. 2, 13 and 15 (traffic, buyers, valuations, the 2025 coffee IPO); IFA and FRANdata, 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook, p. 17 (franchisees as buyers); US Census Bureau via FRED (yearly sales).

Market size

How much do Americans spend at restaurants, and where is it growing?

Americans spent $1.03 trillion at restaurants and bars in 2025, a record in Census data. Four trends shape which concepts raise money now:

Franchise scale: multi-unit owners run 58.8% of US franchised locations, FRANdata found in 2025
Fast casual: its same-store traffic rose 3.1% in October 2025, while family and fine dining lost guests
Bigger checks: menu prices at large chains have risen about 30% since 2019
Coffee chains: Black Rock Coffee Bar raised $338.2M in what Kroll calls 2025's first restaurant IPO

US restaurant and bar sales: $610.7B in 2015, $740.1B in 2019, $614.7B in 2020 and a record $1.03 trillion in 2025.

Sources: US Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade, food services and drinking places, via FRED, updated 15 Oct 2026 (the 2025 total and the chart are FRED's yearly sums of the monthly series, shown in US$ billions); IFA and FRANdata, 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook, p. 17 (all US franchising, 2025); Kroll, Restaurant Industry Insights–2025 Year in Review, 28 Jan 2026, pp. 8, 9 and 15 (fast casual traffic from Black Box Intelligence; menu prices; the IPO, including the over-allotment).

Restaurants in 2026, in six numbers

$92.9B

US restaurant and bar sales in September 2026, up 7.0% in a year

727,892

restaurants, bars and other food-service locations in the US in Q1 2026, a preliminary count

$22.13

average hourly pay in US restaurants and bars in September 2026

279,553

quick-service franchise units in the US in 2025, by FRANdata's estimate

26,728

franchised full-service restaurants in the US in 2025, estimated

8.5x

median value of US-listed restaurant companies as a multiple of yearly EBITDA, January 2026

Sources: US Census Bureau, Advance Monthly Retail Trade, food services and drinking places, via FRED, updated 15 Oct 2026 (seasonally adjusted; the 7.0% is our arithmetic on September 2026 against September 2025); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Industries at a Glance: food services and drinking places, data extracted 6 Nov 2026 (QCEW private establishments; hourly earnings of all employees; both preliminary); IFA and FRANdata, 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook, p. 19; Kroll, Restaurant Industry Insights–2025 Year in Review, 28 Jan 2026, p. 2.

Private equity and M&A

How many restaurant chains change hands now, and who buys them?

Kroll counted 34 majority sales of US multi-unit restaurant concepts in 2025, to 30 November, against 55 in 2024. Financial buyers took a bigger share, and franchise-heavy brands such as Dave's Hot Chicken fetched premium prices.

US restaurant chains sold, by Kroll's count: 45 (2022), 51 (2023), 55 (2024) and 34 (2025, to 30 November).

39%

of 2025's restaurant deals went to private equity and other financial buyers; the five-year average is 25%

53%

of 2025's restaurant deals were for limited-service concepts rather than full-service ones

$201.5M

raised by Savory Fund for its third restaurant fund, closed in October 2026

Sources: Kroll, Restaurant Industry Insights–2025 Year in Review, 28 Jan 2026, pp. 2, 13 and 14 (deal counts, buyer types and concepts, from S&P Global Market Intelligence and press releases; 2025 is to 30 November; Dave's Hot Chicken); Savory Fund, 13 Oct 2026.

Who invests in restaurants?

Franchise private equity, restaurant growth funds, a founder-led investor, a lender paid from daily sales and a government-backed loan. For food and drink VCs by name, see our guide to food and beverage VCs.

Roark Capital

Private equity for franchise and franchise-like brands; Atlanta

Dave's Hot Chicken, Subway, Dunkin'

Not stated

Savory Fund

Private equity for emerging restaurant brands; Draper, Utah

Swig, Mo' Bettahs, Hawkers Asian Street Food

Profitable, founder-led concepts; Fund III of $201.5M

KarpReilly

Private equity growth investor; Greenwich, Connecticut

Café Zupas, California Fish Grill, Salt and Straw

Not stated

Act III Holdings

Evergreen investor in restaurant and entertainment concepts, run by Ron Shaich

CAVA, Tatte, Honest Greens

Founder-friendly capital that also meets follow-on needs

Toast Capital

Loans for restaurants that take card payments through Toast

Fat City Brew & BBQ, The Crossing Steakhouse, Jaybee's Tenders

$1,000 to $300,000, repaid from daily card sales; no equity

SBA 504 loans

US government-backed loans through Certified Development Companies

Restaurant buildings, land and long-life kitchen equipment

10-, 20- or 25-year terms; not for working capital or stock

Sources: each investor's own website, opened 8 Nov 2026: Roark Capital, Savory Fund, KarpReilly, Act III Holdings, Toast Capital; SBA 504 loans and SBA 7(a) loans, sba.gov. Companies named are examples, not full portfolios. Search investors by sector in our investor database.

Investor database

Food and beverage investors in our database

The funds with the most food investments. Pick a stage, or open a fund for its cheque sizes.

Top 5 by food investments

Investments by industry
Food & Beverage68%
Consumer Goods & Electronics12%
E-commerce & Retail8%
Rounds
SeedSeries ASeries B
Average cheque
$500K–$1M$1M–$3M$3M–$10M
Based in
San Francisco, United States
Invests in
USA
96 investments in total, 17 tagged Food & Beverage.Open the full fund profile
Investments by industry
Food & Beverage30%
E-commerce & Retail14%
Software & Apps12%
Rounds
Pre-seedSeedSeries ASeries B
Average cheque
Not listed
Based in
Germany
Invests in
Europe
74 investments in total, 17 tagged Food & Beverage.Open the full fund profile
Investments by industry
Food & Beverage25%
Biotech19%
Software & Apps11%
Rounds
Pre-seedSeed
Average cheque
$0–$100K$100K–$500K$500K–$1M$1M–$3M$3M–$10M
Based in
New York, United States
Invests in
Israel, MENA, LatAm +6
140 investments in total, 16 tagged Food & Beverage.Open the full fund profile
Investments by industry
Food & Beverage28%
CleanTech & Sustainability13%
Energy & Utilities11%
Rounds
Pre-seedSeedSeries A
Average cheque
$10M–$50M$3M–$10M
Based in
Berlin, Germany
23 investments in total, 13 tagged Food & Beverage.Open the full fund profile
Investments by industry
Food & Beverage22%
Consumer Goods & Electronics11%
Fintech & Financial services11%
Rounds
SeedSeries ASeries B
Average cheque
$10M–$50M$100K–$500K
Based in
Chicago, United States
27 investments in total, 8 tagged Food & Beverage.Open the full fund profile

See all food investors Read our guide: Top food and beverage venture capital firms

From our investor database.

Why do investors turn down restaurant deals?

Our Fundraising 2025 study asked 56 VCs why they say no. Revenue growth, unit economics, burn and missed milestones led, then defensibility and crowded categories. The study also found restaurants out of favour with VCs because of high churn. Private equity and lenders add four questions of their own.

Fewer guests per site

Same-store traffic fell 3.0% in November 2025, by Black Box Intelligence's count. Sales still edged up, so bigger checks made up for fewer guests.

What investors ask

How much of your growth comes from more guests, not higher prices?

What your deck shows

Same-store sales split into traffic and average check
Repeat-visit rates from your loyalty or delivery data

Prime costs that keep rising

Food and labour costs at the average restaurant rose 35% over five years, Kroll estimates. Many operators plan to raise menu prices again, which risks losing more guests.

What investors ask

What is your prime cost per site, and what happens if wages rise again?

What your deck shows

Food and labour as a share of sales at every site
Labour hours set against orders per hour

Rent, debt and closures

Kroll lists 16 restaurant businesses that filed for bankruptcy from October 2024 to December 2025. Hooters, with 305 units, was the largest.

What investors ask

Can every site pay its rent and loans in a weak year?

What your deck shows

Rent and debt payments as a share of each site's sales
A downside case with fewer guests and higher wages

Slower franchise growth

FRANdata expects quick-service franchise units to grow just 0.4% in 2026. Franchisors now lean on existing multi-unit owners to open new sites.

What investors ask

Who will open your next units, and how fast will they earn back the cost?

What your deck shows

Signed development deals and a pipeline of sites
Sales and margins your franchisees report

Sources: Black Box Intelligence via Kroll, Restaurant Industry Insights–2025 Year in Review, 28 Jan 2026, p. 5 (traffic and same-store sales), with pp. 7 and 14 (costs, price plans and bankruptcy filings; the count of 16 is ours, from Kroll's list); IFA and FRANdata, 2026 Franchising Economic Outlook, pp. 17 and 19 (2026 is a forecast); our Fundraising 2025 study.

How we help you raise

Flat fees agreed before we start. No success fee on advisory work.

Your concept, your guests and the case for the next sites.

Build-out cost, sales ramp, prime cost and payback for every new site.

A range grounded in recent restaurant and franchise deals.

Restaurant private equity, growth funds, franchise investors and lenders for your stage.

Leases, site P&Ls, permits and franchise agreements, ready for diligence.

An extended CIM for investors, or the pack for selling your group.

Who we are

Waveup is a London-based fundraising and growth advisory, working in 60+ countries and 90+ industries. Since 2014 we have built the decks, models, CIMs and valuations behind $3B+ raised for 600+ startups. Waveup prepared the investor materials for a vegan restaurant chain's $1.7M seed round.

About us

Track record

$3B+

raised for 600+ startups

Decks

1,000+

decks since 2014

M&A

50+

M&A transactions supported, including 20+ exits

Consumer

27%

of our projects on record are B2C