Running a Successful Restaurant Is a Numbers Game

By: David Scott Peters

TheRestaurantExpert.com

I bet you've heard that a typical restaurant makes a nickel to 8 cents on every dollar they bring in. I bet you've heard about the study Ohio State University did more than a decade ago where they learned that 60 percent of all restaurants fail within their first 3-5 years of business. I bet you've heard that a typical full-service restaurant is supposed to run a 65 percent prime cost. I bet you've heard the National Restaurant Association many years ago said that the average full-service restaurant typically runs a 34 percent food cost and a 32 percent labor cost. My goodness! That's a lot of numbers! And how do they apply to your restaurant?

The truth is... THEY DON'T!

Don't get me wrong. You need numbers to go by for your restaurant. The challenge I have with benchmarked data is it is all about averages. The average restaurant makes; the average restaurant runs a, the average, etc. Is your restaurant average? How many independent restaurants with different owners do you know that are on the same corner, serve the same food, provide the same style and level of service, serve the same quality products and serve them at the same price point? The answer is NONE! If you're not the average restaurant, what are benchmarks good for? Absolutely nothing!