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Restaurant Operations Guide 2026 — Menu Engineering, Food Cost Benchmarks, Staffing Models, Startup Costs, KPIs, Health Inspection Prep
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restaurant-operations-guide-2026.md

Restaurant Operations Intelligence

You are a restaurant operations analyst. When the user describes their restaurant concept, location, or operational challenge, provide data-driven guidance using the reference below.

How to Use

  1. User describes their restaurant (type, size, location, stage)
  2. Analyze using the frameworks below
  3. Provide specific numbers, not vague advice

Menu Engineering Matrix

Category Food Cost % Menu Mix % Action
Stars <30% >15% Promote heavily, prime menu placement
Plowhorses >30% >15% Re-engineer recipe, reduce portions, raise price
Puzzles <30% <15% Reposition, rename, server training
Dogs >30% <15% Remove or replace immediately

Food Cost Benchmarks by Concept

Concept Target Food Cost Target Labor Cost Target Prime Cost
Fine Dining 28-32% 30-35% 60-65%
Casual Dining 28-35% 25-30% 55-65%
Fast Casual 25-30% 22-28% 50-58%
QSR/Fast Food 25-32% 20-25% 48-55%
Pizza 20-28% 22-28% 45-55%
Coffee Shop/Bakery 25-35% 30-40% 58-70%
Bar/Nightclub 18-24% 20-28% 42-50%
Food Truck 28-35% 25-30% 55-65%
Ghost Kitchen 28-35% 15-22% 45-55%

Revenue Per Square Foot Benchmarks

Concept Low Average Top 25%
Fine Dining $250 $400 $600+
Casual Dining $150 $250 $400
Fast Casual $300 $500 $800+
QSR $400 $600 $1,000+
Coffee Shop $200 $350 $500+

Staffing Models

Front of House (per 50 seats)

Role Lunch Dinner Weekend Peak
Servers 3-4 5-6 7-8
Bartender 1 1-2 2-3
Host 1 1-2 2
Busser 1-2 2-3 3-4
Manager 1 1 1-2

Back of House (per $15K daily revenue)

Role Count Hourly Range
Executive Chef 1 Salary $55K-$85K
Sous Chef 1-2 $18-$28
Line Cook 3-5 $15-$22
Prep Cook 2-3 $13-$18
Dishwasher 1-2 $12-$16

Health Department Inspection — Top 10 Violations

  1. Improper holding temperatures — hot food <135°F, cold food >41°F
  2. Inadequate handwashing — no soap, no paper towels, infrequent washing
  3. Cross-contamination — raw proteins stored above ready-to-eat
  4. No certified food manager — required in most jurisdictions
  5. Pest evidence — droppings, nesting, live insects
  6. Expired food items — no date labels on prep items
  7. Improper cooling — must cool from 135°F to 70°F in 2 hours, then to 41°F in 4 more
  8. Chemical storage — cleaning chemicals stored near food
  9. Equipment sanitation — cutting boards, slicers not sanitized between uses
  10. Employee illness policy — no written policy for reporting symptoms

Penalty range: $100-$1,000 per violation. Repeat critical violations = temporary closure.

Startup Cost Ranges

Item Small (<2,000 sqft) Medium (2-4K sqft) Large (4K+ sqft)
Lease deposit $5K-$15K $15K-$40K $40K-$100K
Build-out $50K-$150K $150K-$400K $400K-$1M+
Kitchen equipment $30K-$75K $75K-$200K $200K-$500K
POS system $3K-$10K $10K-$25K $20K-$50K
Initial inventory $5K-$15K $15K-$30K $30K-$60K
Licenses/permits $2K-$10K $5K-$15K $10K-$25K
Liquor license $3K-$50K+ $3K-$50K+ $3K-$50K+
Marketing launch $5K-$15K $15K-$30K $30K-$75K
Working capital (3mo) $30K-$60K $60K-$150K $150K-$300K
Total $133K-$400K $348K-$940K $883K-$2.2M

KPIs Every Restaurant Should Track

  1. Revenue per available seat hour (RevPASH) — revenue ÷ (seats × hours open)
  2. Table turn time — average minutes from seat to check close
  3. Average check size — total revenue ÷ covers
  4. Food cost % — COGS ÷ food revenue
  5. Labor cost % — total labor ÷ total revenue
  6. Prime cost % — (food cost + labor) ÷ total revenue (target: <65%)
  7. Waste % — spoilage + comp + void ÷ food purchases
  8. Employee turnover rate — industry avg 75%/year, top operators <50%
  9. Online review score — Google/Yelp average (target: 4.3+)
  10. Break-even point — fixed costs ÷ (1 - variable cost %)

Delivery & Third-Party Platforms

Platform Commission Pros Cons
DoorDash 15-30% Largest US market share High commission, owns customer data
Uber Eats 15-30% Global reach Same issues as above
Grubhub 15-30% Strong in Northeast Declining market share
Direct (own site) 0-5% Own customer data, lower cost Must drive own traffic
Ghost kitchen model N/A No FOH cost, multi-brand No dine-in revenue, brand building harder

Rule of thumb: If delivery >20% of revenue, negotiate commission or invest in direct ordering.

Seasonal Revenue Patterns (US Average)

Month Index (100 = avg) Notes
January 80-85 Post-holiday slump, New Year diets
February 85-95 Valentine's Day spike
March 95-100 Spring break, St. Patrick's Day
April 100-105 Easter, patio season starts
May 105-115 Mother's Day (busiest restaurant day), graduation
June 105-110 Summer dining, tourism
July 100-105 4th of July, vacation slowdowns
August 95-100 Back to school transition
September 95-100 Labor Day, routine resumes
October 100-105 Fall dining, Halloween
November 105-115 Thanksgiving week huge, otherwise average
December 110-120 Holiday parties, NYE

Need More?

This skill covers operational fundamentals. For full AI-powered business automation — inventory management, staff scheduling optimization, customer retention systems, and multi-location scaling — check out AfrexAI Context Packs: https://afrexai-cto.github.io/context-packs/

Built by AfrexAI — turning operational data into revenue. https://afrexai-cto.github.io/ai-revenue-calculator/

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