The industry numbers every operator should measure against — revenue, margins, costs, and the ratios that decide whether a restaurant makes money.
Full-service restaurants in the US average roughly $900,000 to $1.3 million in annual revenue, with wide variance by market, seat count, and dayparts served. Quick-service concepts skew higher per labor hour; food trucks and kiosks run $250k–$500k. Revenue alone says little — a $1.5M restaurant at a 2% margin earns less than an $800k restaurant at 8%.
Prime cost— food plus total labor — is the operator's scoreboard: healthy restaurants hold it under 60–65% of sales. Break it down as food at 28–35% and labor at 28–33%, then add occupancy under 10% and you've accounted for the big three. What's left after everything — the net margin — averages 3–9% for full service. On these spreads, a few points of commission leakage to delivery marketplaces (15–30% per order) is frequently the difference between the top and bottom of the margin range.
Benchmark yourself monthly, not annually: cost a signature recipe with the food cost calculator, run the month through the profit margin calculator, and check what commissions took with the commission savings calculator. Operators who can quote these numbers run restaurants that earn them.
Talk to our team — we'll map your POS, design your storefront, and ship it in two weeks.