SHAWARMA STAND BUSINESS PLAN

I. Executive Summary

Company Description

AlQamar Shawarma (AlQamar means "the moon" in Arabic) is a 2026 launch in the U.S. urban fast-casual food sector, focused on gourmet-quality shawarma and Middle Eastern street food served all day. We sell plated and handheld shawarma, pita bowls, breakfast wraps, mezzes, and late-night snacks using proprietary spice blends, house-made sauces, and premium proteins. Our core activities are front-line service, high-efficiency kitchen operations, daily inventory turns, and data-driven menu optimization. One-liner: premium street food served fast, day to late-night.

We compete by combining chef-led recipes with fast-casual throughput, point-of-sale driven upsells, and a compact footprint for high footfall locations. Target customers are urban professionals, students, and late-night workers aged 18–45 seeking flavorful, affordable meals at 7–12 minute service times. Short-term goals: open first stall and reach $45k monthly revenue within 6 months. Long-term goals: 5-location rollout and 18% unit-level EBITDA by year three. One-liner: scalable, chef-driven street food tuned to urban demand.

Problem

Urban high-density U.S. markets lack a fast, transparent, authentic Middle Eastern street-food option that fits busy schedules. Customers—especially professionals and students—trade meal quality for speed, face menus built on frozen or highly processed ingredients, and find few choices that deliver genuine flavors, clear sourcing, and all-day availability from breakfast through late night.

The gap: quick-service outlets fail to combine genuine shawarma and Middle Eastern recipes with gourmet ingredient standards and the speed demanded by metropolitan lifestyles. Cities need a convenient, high-quality street-food alternative that serves authentic, transparent meals throughout the day. One-liner: Cities lack a fast, transparent, authentic Middle Eastern street-food option that fits busy urban life.

Solution

Urban diners lack flavorful, authentic fast options at breakfast, lunch, and late night. We fill that gap by serving premium marinated meats and fresh vegetarian alternatives in warm pita or bowls, paired with specialty beverages and desserts, delivered in minutes through a streamlined, high-volume service model and modern branding.

One-liner: Gourmet, globally inspired street food—fast, affordable, and available all day.

Mission Statement

Our mission is to elevate the U.S. street food landscape by delivering authentic, gourmet-quality Middle Eastern cuisine with modern convenience and operational efficiency. We serve busy urban professionals and students with fast, flavorful meals made from premium ingredients and traditional recipes. We commit to operational transparency, cultural authenticity, and exceptional value to become the premier destination for authentic shawarma in the metropolitan market.

Key Success Factors

Five concrete drivers will determine whether the shawarma stand hits projected weekly covers and financial targets.

• Prime high-foot-traffic urban location to reach the forecasted 470–960 weekly covers.
• 12% COGS maintained through strategic supplier partnerships to protect margin and pricing.
• Executive Chef at $130,000/year to preserve proprietary flavor profiles and product consistency.
• Breakeven by March 2026 as the financial milestone for long-term stability.
• $6,000/month digital marketing retainer to sustain brand awareness and repeat customers.

Financial Summary

The Financial Summary presents first-year profitability, capital needs, cash minima, and investor returns for the Executive Summary.

The project requires an initial capital expenditure of $800,000, achieves payback in 10 months, reaches minimum cash of $313,000 in Apr-26, and targets the stated IRR 15% and ROE 19.28%.

Financial outlook: profitable from month three with strong mid-term cash returns and scalable EBITDA growth.

Funding Requirements

We require USD 1,113,000 total (USD 800,000 capital/pre‑launch + USD 313,000 working capital); projected EBITDA is USD 1,481,000 in Year 1 and USD 5,545,000 by Year 5, with a 10‑month payback, 15% IRR, minimum cash reached Apr-2026, forecast ROE 19.28%, and average order value USD 120–150.