QFO: How long after opening will a restaurant begin turning a profit?

I wish this level of thinking would die a slow miserable death. It’s caused more confusion and uncertainty than just about any other myth in the business. Restaurants that are successful today are profitable from Guest one. It’s by design. And it doesn’t matter what parameters you want to talk about. Anyone who says otherwise has never built a successful restaurant in a competitive market.

Startup costs can’t be recovered in a day and investors understand this. This distinction is inane. But if you’re not generating profit from day one, they never get repaid, let alone profit. The amateur comments on this issue are just that – amateurish and made mostly by people who have never owned, built or operated a successful restaurant. nor have they achieved profitability as soon as smarter, modern operators do today. Which means they are mostly media “gurus” who only “talk” to successful operators about this issue.

Lastly, there’s a big difference between operating profit and startup costs recovery. This conversation is about the former not the latter.