{"id":2553,"date":"2026-01-23T15:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-23T21:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?p=2553"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:35:34","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T14:35:34","slug":"restaurant-expenses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/","title":{"rendered":"Restaurant Expenses: 7 Common Costs to Running a New Location"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many, opening a restaurant is a dream come true. If you\u2019re passionate about food and want to turn that passion into a small business<\/a>, there are few paths more rewarding than running your own restaurant.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s also a significant financial commitment, with high \u2014 and often challenging \u2014 startup costs.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re considering becoming a culinary entrepreneur, it\u2019s essential to understand the expenses involved. This knowledge will help you plan your budget and determine what it takes to get your business off the ground.<\/p>\n

Some costs are obvious, while others are easy to overlook. By the end of this guide, you\u2019ll be better prepared to build a financial plan and bring your restaurant idea to life in 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Occupancy<\/span><\/h2>\n

The first expense you\u2019ll need to account for is perhaps the most obvious: the cost of the building and land that you\u2019ll be running your restaurant out of.<\/p>\n

This category of expenses includes the rent, property taxes, and the cost of utilities for the property. If you plan to buy an existing property straight out or build a new one on vacant land, those costs will fall into this category as well.<\/p>\n

Occupancy costs deserve a lot of your attention as these can often be the biggest roadblocks to getting your business started<\/a>. They will also typically be your highest monthly cost, so you\u2019ll need to make sure you have enough cash flow to cover them.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>Labor<\/span><\/h2>\n

Very few \u2013 if any \u2013 restaurants can manage without hiring some help. Virtually every restaurant will need to hire someone to fill the roles of manager, waiter, busser, cleaning staff, cook, and chef. In most cases, you\u2019ll need to hire at least several waiters and cooks.<\/p>\n

After occupancy costs, labor is likely to be one of your biggest expenses. You\u2019ll need to do some careful planning and make a labor forecast<\/a> to make sure that you don\u2019t over or under hire.<\/p>\n

Finding the right balance can take some experimentation. Since the amount of business a restaurant receives often fluctuates by season, you may be able to employ seasonal workers in some cases.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Food and Goods Sold<\/span><\/h2>\n

Without paying for ingredients for the food you\u2019re selling, you wouldn\u2019t be running a restaurant at all. Depending on what type of restaurant you\u2019re starting, these costs can vary significantly.<\/p>\n

If it\u2019s a high-end restaurant, you can expect to spend quite a bit on top-shelf ingredients. However, if you\u2019re planning to run a diner, your expenses in this department will likely be a bit lower.<\/p>\n

Along with ingredients, you may also need to pay for some pre-made items, like pastries from a local bakery, that you won\u2019t make on-site.<\/p>\n

No matter what type of restaurant you\u2019re running, it\u2019s generally a good idea to keep these expenses under one third of your total revenue.<\/p>\n

To save money in this area, make sure you have good food waste management, don\u2019t overstock, and consistently look through your menu to eliminate low-performing items.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/span>Paper Supplies<\/span><\/h2>\n

Paper supplies are an expense that\u2019s easily overlooked. After all, when you go to a restaurant, you don\u2019t typically consider the cost of the receipts, menus, placemats, and napkins that you\u2019re using. However, the cost of paper supplies can add up quickly, so it\u2019s important to budget for them.<\/p>\n

Some items, like menus, will typically be a one-time investment, with some occasional replacements and updates. Others, like napkins and receipt paper, will be repeat expenses as you\u2019ll need to replenish your supply on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Marketing<\/span><\/h2>\n

Restaurant marketing<\/a> is another necessary expense that is easy to forget. Since it operates fairly behind the scenes, most restaurant goers don\u2019t pay much attention to it.<\/p>\n

Depending on your restaurant\u2019s location and your market, you may not need to spend any money on marketing at all \u2013 if you have social media experience, you may be able to do it all yourself. Plus, once your restaurant has established itself a bit, most marketing will take place via word of mouth.<\/p>\n

That said, at some point, you\u2019ll likely need to invest in ads or perhaps hire a marketing or social media manager. It\u2019s good to budget for this so that you have some funds available if business is slower than you expected.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Software and Technology<\/span><\/h2>\n

Running a restaurant in today\u2019s digital age requires more than just an old-fashioned cash register with a bell \u2013 although adding one of those could make for some great decor!<\/p>\n

Most restaurants will need to invest in a kitchen display system (KDS) to route orders to the kitchen, a point of sale (POS) platform to accept money, a guest management platform to organize seating, and employee scheduling software<\/a> to manage employee shifts.<\/p>\n

In some cases, these can actually reduce expenditures in other areas. For example, a KDS can reduce the amount of money you\u2019ll spend on paper goods since you\u2019ll no longer need to buy paper pads for waiters.<\/p>\n

You may also want to look into other services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, Opentable, and more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/span>Repairs and Maintenance<\/span><\/h2>\n

This is one of the hardest categories to plan for as these expenses can take you by surprise \u2013 no one is expecting the new dishwasher to break down suddenly, but it can happen. If you don\u2019t have enough cash on hand to cover those sudden emergency expenses, you can find yourself in a very tough position.<\/p>\n

To avoid this, make sure you set aside some money each month to build up a fund that can cover repairs.<\/p>\n

Maintenance expenses will generally be a bit more regular, so you\u2019ll be able to get a feel for how much you need to put aside for those once you\u2019ve been running your businesses for a little while.<\/p>\n

\"Restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n

Running a restaurant is a rewarding but expensive endeavor. If you want your new culinary business to succeed, you need to ensure that you understand all the expenses that you\u2019ll incur and make sure all your bases are covered.<\/p>\n

This guide should serve you well as a jumping off point. However, you\u2019ll need to go further in depth with each of these categories to accurately estimate your costs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many, opening a restaurant is a dream come true. If you\u2019re passionate about food and want to turn that passion into a small business, there are few paths more rewarding than running your own restaurant. However, it\u2019s also a significant financial commitment, with high \u2014 and often challenging \u2014 startup costs. If you\u2019re considering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":2554,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnderstanding Restaurant Expenses<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dive into the essential restaurant expenses that culinary entrepreneurs need to consider when starting a restaurant business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding Restaurant Expenses\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dive into the essential restaurant expenses that culinary entrepreneurs need to consider when starting a restaurant business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zoomshift\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-23T21:48:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-31T14:35:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Restaurant-Expenses-Common-Costs-to-Running-a-New-Location.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1138\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"493\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JD Spinoza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"JD Spinoza\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/\",\"name\":\"Understanding Restaurant Expenses\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-23T21:48:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-31T14:35:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e23c4b55eead5e752c5f361c9d670e63\"},\"description\":\"Dive into the essential restaurant expenses that culinary entrepreneurs need to consider when starting a restaurant business.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurant-expenses\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Restaurant Expenses: 7 Common Costs to Running a New Location\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zoomshift\",\"description\":\"SMB Management Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e23c4b55eead5e752c5f361c9d670e63\",\"name\":\"JD Spinoza\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a95e64e4714f0d96cfab797f042000d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a95e64e4714f0d96cfab797f042000d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"JD Spinoza\"},\"description\":\"JD enjoys teaching people how to use ZoomShift to save time spent on scheduling. 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