As a cafe owner I want to throw this question out…How much profit out of a dollar of sales does an average restaurant make? We asked this of our employees and got some very interesting (and very wrong) answers.
Amara Bennett: No idea other than a huge profit on booze and a mostly cut even on food. I heard that years ago.
Jake Hudson: A guess since i am not in the business. .15 cents on every dollar.
Athena Roberson: 10 cents. Thin profit margins.
Vanessa Williamson: I bet less then that, .08 cents a dollar
Melanie Parker: I agree with Linda…profit is on soda, coffee and booze. Thin profit on everything else, especially for restaurants not owned by corporations.
Joel Craig: Id say its about a quarter? More on beverages, Ive paid 2.50 for soda before which is outrageous. Im sure theres a larger profit margin on beverages.
Vivian Terry: Overall if run well it should be around 25%. 25% or so for labor, 25% or so for the cost of the food, and 25% or so for building cost (rent, mortgage, electric water)
Ariel Johnston: Vanessa Williamson: you are correct.
Alice Schmidt: Utilize a bucket report and show your employees what is made on every dollar, much better comparison vs yr to yr sales. Those large numbers can be very misleading to an untrained eye.Showing, involving, transparency and more help build a better Team and allow for a more focused goal by all.Your profit on the dollar should match your model or close to it, if it doesnt explain where the shortfalls are and work together to overcome. I would imagine you are somewhere between $.05 & $.10. But could be way off.
Vivian Terry: If you drop below 15% you need new management. Like I said you should aim for a goal of 25% split between Food Cost, Labor, and Building/business overhead. You can allow food cost and or labor to fluctuate to 30% MAX, your other costs are more fixed like cleaning supplies, rent, utilities. But there is simply math formulas to use to determine how many employees to have scheduled, and price of your menu items to hit the goals based on projected sales. It may vary some and many places are happy with less, but the goal should be 25%.
Ariel Johnston: Vivian Terry: I posted this as what the average restaurant make. We at Brewed Awakenings are lucky to make more so far.
Vivian Terry: I have worked for a Chilis, TGIFRIDAY, and recently managed a Jimmy Johns. And all of their manager training programs train to set that target.
Matthew Vaughn: I would think 20% plus would be the goal