Restaurant Food Cost Calculator
Calculate food cost percentage and gross profit for restaurant dishes.
Returns ideal menu price at 28-35% food cost and flags items that hurt profitability.
Restaurant startup and operating cost estimation is critical for business planning. The food service industry has notoriously thin margins (3–9% net profit for full-service restaurants), making accurate cost forecasting essential before investing.
Startup cost components: Total Startup = Lease Deposit + Renovation/Build-Out + Equipment + Licenses + Initial Inventory + Working Capital Reserve
Typical startup cost ranges (US, 2024):
- Lease deposit (2–3 months): $5,000–$30,000
- Renovation/build-out: $50–$250/sq ft (varies enormously by condition)
- Commercial kitchen equipment: $30,000–$150,000
- Furniture and fixtures (FOH): $15,000–$80,000
- POS system and technology: $3,000–$20,000
- Licenses and permits (health, liquor, fire): $1,000–$15,000
- Initial food/beverage inventory: $5,000–$30,000
- Working capital (3 months operating costs): $30,000–$100,000
Total typical range: Small café: $80,000–$200,000. Full-service restaurant: $200,000–$600,000+.
Prime Cost (most important operational metric): Prime Cost = Food Cost + Beverage Cost + Labor Cost
Prime Cost % = Prime Cost ÷ Total Revenue × 100
Target: Prime Cost should be below 60–65% of revenue for a viable restaurant.
Food cost percentage: Food Cost % = Cost of Goods Sold ÷ Food Revenue × 100
Targets: fast casual 25–30% | full service 28–35% | fine dining 28–38%
Labor cost percentage: Labor Cost % = Total Labor Cost ÷ Total Revenue × 100
Targets: fast casual 25–35% | full service 30–40% (including management)
Break-even revenue: Break-Even = Fixed Monthly Costs ÷ (1 − Variable Cost %)
Worked example: 400-seat Italian restaurant. Average check: $35/person. Average daily covers: 150.
- Daily revenue: 150 × $35 = $5,250
- Monthly revenue: $5,250 × 30 = $157,500
- Food cost (32%): $157,500 × 0.32 = $50,400
- Labor (35%): $157,500 × 0.35 = $55,125
- Prime cost: $105,525 = 67% (slightly above target — tighten labor or raise prices)
- Rent + utilities + other fixed: $28,000/month
- Net profit: $157,500 − $105,525 − $28,000 = $23,975/month (15.2%) — excellent if achievable; most restaurants fall short of projected covers.