Industry Survey: How Much Does it Cost to Open a Restaurant? 2011
Our members are always asking, "How much does if cost to open a restaurant?"
As part of our ongoing effort to answer this question, we responded by asking
each of our members to share their unique experiences with regard to their startup
costs. We received more than 700 responses from a variety of restaurants. Of course
no two restaurants are the same, and the cost per square foot to open a restaurant
varies greatly depending upon a litany of factors such as service style, decor,
size, and location. Nevertheless, we were able to uncover a number of statistics
that can be useful when planning your startup.
In an earlier survey,
"How
Independent Operators Finance Their Restaurants", the focus was on the various
methods that restaurateurs employed to raise money for their startup, irrespective
of service style, theme, size, or location. This segment of our Industry Surveys
reveals more detailed statistics.
The report below shows the collective responses for all respondents. While this
information is beneficial, more meaningful comparisons can be made by reviewing
the results of only those restaurants that more closely resemble your own concept.
To help you, we have filtered the responses and prepared summary reports for the
following areas:
We have other tools to help you determine the cost of opening a restaurant.
They include:
|
Survey Summary - All Respondents |
| Sales-Investment
Results |
Lower Quartile
|
Median
|
Upper Quartile
|
Average
|
# of Respondents |
| Annual sales
|
$425,000
|
$950,000
|
$1,375,000
|
$1,172,629
|
680 |
| Sales per sq. ft.
|
$170
|
$286
|
$433
|
$355
|
679 |
| Sales per seat
|
$5,278
|
$9,106
|
$13,750
|
$10,534
|
673 |
| Annual profit-$
|
$12,813
|
$52,000
|
$130,000
|
$91,103
|
665 |
| Profit-%
|
2.5%
|
8.0%
|
12.0%
|
6.5%
|
665 |
| Sales to Investment
Ratio (no land purchase) |
1.7 to 1
|
2.9 to 1
|
5.0 to 1
|
2.3 to 1
|
489 |
| Sales to Investment
Ratio (with land purchase) |
1.1 to 1
|
1.8 to 1
|
3.6 to 1
|
1.7 to 1
|
138 |
| Annual return on
investment (ROI) |
4.5%
|
17.6%
|
40.0%
|
33.5%
|
611 |
| # of months it took
to become profitable |
1 |
6 |
24 |
18 |
440 |
| Cost Estimates
|
Lower Quartile
|
Median
|
Upper Quartile
|
Average
|
# of Respondents |
| Total startup cost
(no land purchase) |
$125,000
|
$275,000
|
$550,000
|
$494,888
|
489 |
| Total startup cost
(with land purchase) |
$175,000
|
$425,000
|
$925,000
|
$735,326
|
138 |
| Startup cost per
sq. ft. (no land purchase) |
$45 |
$95 |
$173
|
$159
|
488 |
| Startup cost per
sq. ft. (with land purchase) |
$64 |
$131
|
$234
|
$178
|
138 |
| Startup cost per
seat (no land purchase) |
$1,418
|
$3,046
|
$5,571
|
$4,244
|
482 |
| Startup cost per
seat (with land purchase) |
$1,808
|
$3,734
|
$7,315
|
$5,452
|
138 |
| Cost overrun compared
to budget |
0% |
15% |
45% |
33% |
626 |
| Construction cost-$
|
$49,500
|
$140,000
|
$350,750
|
$279,807
|
547 |
| Construction Cost-%
of Overall Startup |
29% |
47% |
64% |
47% |
547 |
| Construction cost
per sq. ft. |
$19 |
$50 |
$91 |
$72 |
532 |
| Construction cost
per seat |
$500
|
$1,452
|
$2,943
|
$2,126
|
539 |
| Kitchen & bar equip.
cost-$ |
$30,000
|
$75,000
|
$150,000
|
$115,655
|
569 |
| Kitchen & bar cost
per sq. ft. |
$43 |
$88 |
$150
|
$136
|
564 |
| Land & building
cost-$ |
$25,000
|
$125,000
|
$400,000
|
$406,657
|
138 |
| Space Requirements
|
Lower Quartile
|
Median
|
Upper Quartile
|
Average
|
# of Respondents |
| Total sq. ft.
|
2000
|
3200
|
5000
|
3945
|
723 |
| Kitchen sq. ft.
|
500 |
900 |
1375
|
1051
|
722 |
| Kitchen % of overall
sq. ft. |
20% |
28% |
38% |
29% |
721 |
| Total # seats
|
62 |
100 |
170 |
140 |
716 |
| Sq. ft. per seat
|
26 |
31 |
39 |
34 |
414 |
|
Who Should Join
