What is the Average Restaurant Profit Margin?

Running a restaurant is about more than just creating an inviting environment, delighting guests and serving memorable meals. A restaurant is a business, and businesses need to generate revenue to be sustainable. Knowing your restaurant’s profit margin can help you make informed business decisions that will keep your venue open for years to come.

Restaurant profit margin is how much money your restaurant makes after it pays for its total expenses. In other words, it reveals how effectively a restaurant can turn sales into profit. Profit margin is typically measured in two ways: gross profit margin and net profit margin.

Gross profit margin measures profitability by comparing the revenue generated from food and beverages sales minus the direct costs associated with those sales (COGS). COGS include the cost of raw materials, ingredients, and any direct expenses associated with food and beverage preparation. Your gross profit margin helps you understand the efficiency of your core food and beverage operations.

Unlike gross profit margin, which only considers the direct costs of goods sold, net profit margin takes into account all expenses, including COGS, operating expenses, taxes, interest, labor and any other costs. Net profit margin measures your business’ profitability ratio: how much revenue you earn compared to how much it costs you to earn that revenue. Net profit margins gives you a more holistic view of your restaurant’s profitability and is vital for assessing the overall financial health and long-term sustainability of your restaurant.

In essence, both metrics are valuable and complementary. A strong gross profit margin signifies efficient core operations, but a restaurant with a high gross profit margin may still struggle if it has excessive operating expenses that erode the net profit. On the other hand, a restaurant with a healthy net profit margin indicates that it’s effectively managing all costs and achieving profitability across all aspects of the business.

Ultimately, both gross profit margin and net profit margin should be regularly monitored and analyzed together to gain a holistic understanding of the restaurant’s performance.

Let’s say you manage a hotel restaurant and want to calculate both the gross and net profit margins for the last year. According to POS reports, the restaurant generated $2 million in sales during that time and spent $700,00 in food costs. According to the accounting spreadsheets, your operating costs were $1,900,000.

Gross profit margin = [(Revenue – costs of goods sold)/revenue]*100

[($2,000,000 – $700,000)/$2,000,000)] *100 = 65%

Net profit margin = [(revenue – all expenses)/revenue]*100

[($2,000,000 – $1,900,000)/$2,000,000)] *100 = 5%

So, what’s the average restaurant profit margin? Use these figures as benchmarks against which to measure the financial health of your business.

Average restaurant profit margins (net)

Sources: *Restaurant365, **Binwise, ***azcentral

Whether you run a bar or a full-service restaurant (FSR), here are some strategies you can use to increase sales and reduce costs to boost profit margins.

Third-party tech tools like reservations software and online ordering software can consume a significant chunk of your profits. Third-party delivery apps charge up to 40% commission, while reservations platforms charge a fee for every cover.

Opt for direct reservations solutions and direct ordering software to retain the revenue you make on each order or booking – and maximize profit margins.

In some scenarios, it may make sense to maintain third-party technology to expose your restaurant to the platform’s customers. However, if you maintain these tools, it’s essential to convert these third-party diners into direct customers to increase your restaurant’s profit margins.

Send third-party reservation diners a link to your direct reservations platform to use for their next visit. Do the same with diners who place a pick-up or delivery order. Help them make the switch by explaining how direct ordering and reservations helps keep you in business, and by offering an incentive, like a freebie or discount on their first direct order.

Menu engineering involves designing your menu to emphasize items with high profit margins and take the focus away from dishes that generate smaller profits. Having a limited menu is one menu engineering tactic.

This simple, low-cost strategy can drive sales of your most profitable dishes, thereby increasing your net profit margins.  

Consuming 30% of all overhead costs, labor is one of the highest operating expenses restaurants have. Reduce labor costs and you increase profit margins. Fortunately, you don’t have to fire your staff and compromise service quality to save money. 

Instead, use technology that optimizes your labor needs. Use reservation data and historical sales data to accurately forecast your staffing needs so you don’t overschedule shifts or incur overtime costs.

Introducing self-service ordering technology can help you lower labor costs while increasing your capacity for sales, thereby improving your restaurant’s profit margins. 

Implement mobile order and pay functionalities throughout your entire venue, or just in certain areas. For example, you may decide to turn your lounge or sidewalk cafe into self-service zones, while maintaining full-service dining in the main dining room.

Place QR codes throughout the self-service zones to let guests order and pay on their own time.

Give guests the ability to pay the check by scanning a QR code and paying by card from their smartphones. Guests don’t have to wait for their server to pick up the bill presenter, go to the POS to process the payment and bring the bill presenter back. 

Instead, diners can pay when they’re ready and leave more quickly. By doing so, you’re enabling faster table turnover and maximizing how many parties you can serve. The more covers your restaurant serves, the more revenue it generates and the greater its potential for higher profit margins.

Reservation no-shows hurt restaurants. If you save a table for a party that won’t show up, you may have to turn away guests who are present and willing to pay for goods and services. 

By introducing a no-show fee, you incentivize customers to cancel a reservation if they can’t make it so you have enough time to find a new party to take that place. And, if they don’t cancel and don’t show up, you can charge a fee, which helps cushion the lost sales and protects your restaurant’s profit margins.

Increasing customer loyalty with great service and a loyalty program will help your restaurant generate more revenue, and thus increase profit margins. What’s the secret to keeping guests coming back for more? Creating memorable dining experiences. 

Use a restaurant CRM that collects customer data in the form of guest profiles. These profiles serve as cheat sheets to diners’ preferences that your team can use to wow guests.

The restaurant industry has always been notorious for having high staff turnover. Before the pandemic, the annual staff turnover rate stood at a staggering 73%. It’s even worse now due to the COVID-19-induced labor shortage.

Replacing staff isn’t just a headache; it’s also a costly problem. In fact, turnover costs businesses $6,000 per employee in lost productivity, hiring costs and more. 

By reducing turnover, you’ll also reduce overhead expenses and give your profit margins a boost. Aside from paying staff competitively, creating a great workplace culture is one of the best ways to keep staff happy. 

Another way to lower operating costs and improve your restaurant’s profit margins is to lower food costs. 

TouchBistro’s State of Full-Service Restaurants report found that two in three suppliers raise their prices at least semi-yearly. If you’ve been working with the same suppliers for a while, shop around for ones who can give you a better deal. Or, join a restaurant buying group to gain access to wholesale prices.

And, if you can’t switch vendors, try negotiating lower prices. Only four in 10 full-service restaurants use this cost-saving strategy. 

Or, you could do what one in two FSRs does to reduce costs: decrease portion sizes while maintaining menu prices.

One in two restaurateurs struggles with over-ordering inventory. When this happens, food is bound to spoil, which is equivalent to throwing your money into the garbage. Improve your inventory management practices to minimize food waste and maximize your restaurant’s profit margins.

Use inventory management software that leverages historic data and reservations data to forecast your inventory needs.

When you know your restaurant’s profit margins, you gain a more holistic understanding of its financial health than when you look at sales alone. Your profitability ratio informs business decisions that can help you stay in business for years to come.

SevenRooms is a restaurant guest experience platform that gives you the tools and data you need to maximize profit margins. Request a demo to learn more about our restaurant CRM capabilities today.