Subject and purpose of work: The subject of the work is the issue related to making investment decisions on the Polish market of café services in Warsaw. The work contains a theoretical and an empirical part. The aim of the work is to evaluate the effectiveness of different ways of running a café in the form of creating your own brand, a network café franchise or cooperation based on an agency agreement. Materials and methods: The work was based on the problem literature, materials made available by companies offering cooperation in the cafeteria industry and reports from a research company regarding the HoReCa market. A prospective ex-ante analysis has been given the form of a business plan for a newly created coffee shop. Results: The basics of creating a new enterprise were discussed and the undertaking was characterized taking into account the location, competition, employment plan, marketing and risk assessment. A SWOT analysis and financial forecasts were prepared, taking into account capital expenditures, demand forecast, revenues, costs and margins, as well as the analysis of other financial parameters. Conclusions: Available business models offer the investor a wide range of investment options. The choice of a business model depends both on the investor’s expectations and its proneness to risk taking as well as on the location of the planned undertaking.