The Cost of Opening a Restaurant

What is the cost of opening a restaurant is one of the most often asked questions, but it is the hardest to answer, because it very much depends on what you want to open. Here are just a few of the variables that will make the number go up or down by a huge amount:

• What kind of food
• What type of atmosphere
• What size restaurant
• What part of the country
• What style of service
• What volume of business
• What seasonal variations
• What marketing is required
• What location is selected
• Will alcohol be served
• Will you buy an existing business, a franchise, or start from scratch

And that list is only for starters! Actually, the last question may be the biggest variable.

It is possible in some places to buy an existing restaurant that is closed down or barely surviving for a song, and with proper management turn it around and prosper handsomely.

On the other hand, the cost of opening a restaurant that is currently only a gleam in your eye is much, much higher. If you want to start with an empty lot and build from there, you can rarely get it done for less than several hundred thousand dollars.

There are also some common sense differences: fast food places generally cost less than family style or upscale establishments; self serve costs less than having a wait staff; high traffic locations are more than rural locations, and so on.

The only accurate way to judge is to start with a fairly firm idea in mind of what kind of place you want and where it will be located.

Then, you can begin comparing that with the competition that is in place to see what kind of business they do, what rent they are paying, and what other basic costs they have.

Using the Restaurant Success Kit spreadsheet software, you can then begin to very accurately forecast the cost of opening, running and growing the business, as well as figuring what your profits will be for all your hard work.

To read more about our kit, our guarantee, and the best restaurant business plan software you will find, click the link and read on!