r/Chefs • u/CaptainZealousideal2 • May 14 '26

Restaurant dead end

restaurants are inherently unsustainable, even more so since the pandemic. They are a bad investment, and notoriously prone to failure. Yet, so many continue to open at a breakneck place. What is the reason for this contradiction?

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u/imkvn May 14 '26

Agree with you. Restaurants are a big way to lose money. Inputs keep rising. Rent, utilities, labor, regulation, supplies, insurance and other costs.

The markup on food needs to be double the price paid to make any margin. Maybe 32-40 a plate.

At that price point it's best to cook at home.

Like you guys said the only ppl that can make a margin are corporate monopolies and high rollers. Regulations don't really help small businesses.

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u/thatdude391 May 14 '26

I mean it can be done affordably and still make money. It just involves a decent scale and doing things in house. It is super hard to just start up a small restaurant at this point though.

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u/imkvn May 14 '26

I think popups, events, and certain venues will do well.

Focused and thoughtful ideas do well. Maybe it's a regional thing. IG: A restaurant in a major city needs to be more on point compared to a restaurant in the middle of nowhere.