Cost to Open a Restaurant

There are many factors to consider when one decides to open his or her own restaurant and these factors vary according to what the would-be restaurant owner would want to accomplish.

The cost to open a restaurant will depend on the location of the restaurant, overall size and capacity, the food or cuisine to be served and its corresponding equipment requirements, the regular fees and maintenance of that type of restaurant and of course the customizations one wishes to imply upon it to name a few.

To come up with a rough estimate, you must first be able to identify the specific factors your business will need. Make a list of the services you want to provide, the food, the meals, everything. Come up with a theme that your restaurant will follow and be able to identify even the specifics to make your monetary estimate more effective. Then again you do not always have to start from scratch as you can always consider franchising food chains.

Next, you will need to decide on a location for the restaurant. There are many different types of locations to choose from including free standing, strip center, in an office building, etc. Again, costs vary according to the location. You will need to canvass a wide variety of locations until you come up with one that you feel best fits your budget.

Another very important factor will of course be the budget. Now it would be wise to have some initial capital set aside for your business even if you are not sure of how much you will need exactly to get it off the ground. It is not until you have come up with an estimate of what you want that you will be able to calculate and make adjustments to your budget and finances. If you feel very comfortable with the choices you have set for your restaurant then by all means consider taking in a loan. Just remember that the loan should be realistic and within your payable capacity as you would not want to end up in debt so early into the business.

The location will dictate the capacity of your restaurant, in terms of seating capacity and room for preparations and operations. Decide on the equipment you will need for your restaurant. Different types of themes and cuisines will require different types of equipment and it is important to see that the necessary materials fit into your restaurant space. Canvass several suppliers to get the best deals for your equipment. This also goes for the ingredients for the food you will be serving. Create partnerships and contracts with suppliers to get the best deals for your day to day expenditures. You may also want to consider buying second hand equipment, especially if you are still learning the ropes and it is your first time starting a restaurant business.

It is very important to consider the legalities of your business such as permits and certifications in drafting your overall cost estimate for opening up your restaurant. You may require the services of a lawyer and an accountant to get the best input for your business. Also bear in to mind the cost of hiring employees for your restaurant.

Finally, once you have settled all the above information, you may now consider the theme, style and design of your business. It is important though to make sure that the important matters are settled before designing your space. Also, since this is merely an estimate it would be best not to go too extravafgant on this area before you get to materialize the other factors.

23 Comments

  • Vikas Phansalkar said on September 27, 2010
    I want to start Indian Restaurant in South Brunswick NJ.
  • prashant radadiya said on February 22, 2011
    i want to start new restaurant in surat,gujarat,india. please send me detail calculated estimation for 5000sq.ft area with sea theme.
  • Rajesah Katariya said on May 17, 2011
    Hi, i want to open new restaurant in ghakopar or near by ghatkopar around capacity of 40 guest . i have planned to open healthy and nutritional food menu .The prices of all dishes are little bit high compare to other local restaurant . i dont have large amount of investment so Could you pls help advise me related to investment and what factor important to open a new restaurant in mumbai.I will be waiting for your reply
  • RADHAKRISHNA SANGLE said on September 24, 2012
    Respected sir, I want to start own restaurant in nasik . Please advice me about this business, i have medium budget . My theme is resort cum oneday picnic spot , I have highway roadfront 3.5acre land in nasik
  • noorali vanzara said on October 20, 2012
    Hi, i want to open new restaurant in rajkot . i have planned to open healthy and nutritional food menu .The prices of all dishes are little bit high compare to other local restaurant . i dont have large amount of investment so Could you pls help advise me related to investment and what factor important to open a new restaurant in mumbai. I will be waiting for your reply . (fast food restaurant)
  • noorali vanzara said on October 20, 2012
    ideal capacity budget + item list please give me total idea for rajkot gujarat india . how much cost? average capacity ? average income?
  • Tushar Marathe said on November 22, 2012
    Hi, I want to open pure veg restaurant in dist-Parbhani(M.S). I have @2000Sq.Ft land on top location. so pls help me out in fixing my budget for good restaurant & also some information about availability of good cook if possible. Thanking You
  • Tushar Marathe said on November 22, 2012
    I am running my own construction business in Dist Parbhani State Maharashtra country India. And on same place i want to open veg restaurant .My budget is average, so pls help me out
  • kunal said on March 3, 2013
    i am kunal manolkar looking for restaurant business partner in nasik kunal
  • Chandradeep Singh said on April 14, 2013
    hi I would like to start a restaurant in Jamshedpur ,jharkhand. It will be in a college campus the location is good there are 3000 students in the college n no other major restaurant near the college to compete. the size if the restaurant will be 850sq ft roughly. It will be a fast-food restaurant. I would like to know the cost to start it. thanks.
  • Aneesh Jain said on October 17, 2013
    I am planning on starting a lounge/cafe in Ludhiana, Punjab. I want the guest capacity to be around 40 people and will be serving different sorts of dishes and drinks. All vegetarian and non-alcoholic. Can you give me an idea of the start up cost? Thank you
  • naveen said on October 19, 2013
    hi sir i am naveen i want to open a restaurant of my own. my place called bodhan in the area of 5000sqft so can u please help me out. thanking you
  • Gaurav said on December 4, 2013
    Mr Navin.. first of all you should note few things regarding your business!!
    1. is there enough crowd in that area & what kind of public there?
    2. what kind of menu u want to include??
    3. what kind of facilities u want to provide there??
    4. do you have sufficient funds or you want any investor.
    5. to find some external investor you need to make a project report of your business.
    6. how many food points are nearby your location & what kind of facilities they are providing.
  • gulrez said on July 13, 2014
    HI Sir, i would like to open a small restaurant . around 40-50 covers in joegshwari / malad -Mumbai with the tradional menu Mughlai and chinese theme. i will take ernted space. what could be the estimated cost to open and run for a six month. thanks regards, Gulrez
  • Devendran Mudaliar said on July 26, 2014
    Hi, I read your article and it is interesting. It give a few tips and also forces us to think on our own. However, you've mentioned a thing about purchasing second hand kitchen equipment. I'd love to know how one can gets leads to the best sources of such equipment. It obviously makes more sense to begin small and then grow as they business flourishes.

    I am in talks to get things started and moving towards opening a fast food restaurant in Navi Mumbai. The cuisine is going to include Italian and Indian fast food items. The idea is to keep it like a sandwich shop where people come in chose the item they wanna eat. They may eat it at the restaurant (obviously) or take it home. the restaurant will not be one where guest come and sit and order. But it will have Kiosks where one or more people can stand and place their plates while they eat. Any suggestions you could provide would be appreciated. Especially on areas that might help us curb excess wastage and what do we need to keep a watch on so as to keep the entire procedure lean.
  • Sathya Narayanan said on January 19, 2015
    Hello Sir, I want to start a restaurant business in south india. I'm from Tamil nadu - Chennai. I'm very much impressed with these theme restaurants than normal restaurants here. I feel theme restaurants can pull people's mind for having their food in a different atmosphere. Even Children would love to turn up again to this kind of restaurants. So, i wanted to start up a non-veg theme restaurant here in Chennai with 2400 to 3000 sq ft. Please help me with the approximate budget details to start. Thank you.
  • Ankur Shah said on February 28, 2015
    Hi Sir, We are restaurant designing company. We have executed Restaurants and Longues successfully and the hotelier clients are very satisfied as the get a good review for the Interiors. Sir, Please guide us out to expand in this stream as we have a pool of talented designers in my company who wants to give beautiful things to this industry. Thank you.
  • sanjay pradhan said on March 8, 2015
    Dear Sir, I am planning to open a restaurant in between Andheri to Malad mumbai. The space would be on rent, around 2000sq/feet, estimated a seating of 40 people.I would like to know the complete goverment procedure and other legalities. Also how to execute the plan with minimum capital. I have very limited money and i am not taking any loan. Thank You
  • Sunny Mirchandani said on April 25, 2015
    Dear Sir, i am looking at appointing/hiring a consultant who can assist me in setting up my restaurant in Mumbai (western suburb), and in active discussion and finalisation with an international brand. kindly advise a good person who will be willing to do so also who can assist me in approx budgeting for the same. my email id is mentioned pls feel free to mail along with your contact coordinates so i can also share my mobile number.
  • shank said on May 15, 2015
    hello , i want to start a restaurant in andheri mumbai , what will be the aprox. costing for all the things including interior and all
  • Amit said on May 21, 2015
    Hi, I would like to open restaurant in Airoli, Navi Mumbai. build up area is of 650 sqft. Could you please give me approx cost considering every thing.
  • Hetal Hunnurkar said on May 30, 2016
    Hi,I want to start up my restaurant in the area between bandra to andheri.I am taking loan...place will be on rent.kindly guide me for the procedure , govt.leagalities, amount required.Hetal
  • Ruchi Agarwal said on October 17, 2016
    Hi sir, I am a homemaker & wanna to start restaurant in Mumbai. I had no experience , so clueless I need some contact or some experience person who in this field whom I take suggestion & start plotting my restaurant.. would u can help me for such? Reply from ur side is valuable to me....

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