Now personally I don't want own a franchise as of now but what Im looking for and can't seem to find is a cost spread sheet of what your item costs (lets say its a big mac meal) labor and other associated costs

Ive always been interested

Now I know not everyone is a McDs owner but your top seller and your highest profit item would be great info

(I did a google search and nothing came up if there is a website that has a good in-depth insight please refer)

That is a trade secret. Not sure how much info you will get. Revealing too much could jeopardize the franchisee.

It's my understanding from conversations with owners / people in the industry that McDonalds / Burger King restaurants want to keep food costs around 28% of sales.

Highest profit items would probably be french fries and drinks.  I think chicken sandwiches have the lowest margin.

Labor / rent / utilities vary by area.  I don't know what net would be, but I'd guess around 5-10% after all is said and done which would still be decent based on the sheer volume of sales these places do.  I have never met a BK/McDonalds franchisee who owned only one location.  I think the smallest operator I've met had 4 locations, the largest around 250.

Other than what little I've provided, I doubt you'll get the numbers you are asking for.  It's not exactly something people want to divulge.

That helps a lot but holy cow that's not a whole lot of margin. Specially if minimum wage rises

ETA: franchise fees are usually 3-5% of profit correct or is the 28% including their fee?

It's actually pretty good.  Smaller restaurants have trouble getting cost of food that low.  It leaves 72% of each dollar to spend on labor, overhead and profit.

oh duh I read it wrong I was reading profit was only ~30% that not bad but what you reckon around another 30-40% on labor?

Those numbers I'm not privy to, but labor % will vary depending on revenues and how well the store is run.  A McDonalds that brings in $3 million in revenue a year won't have labor that's 50% higher than a $2 million store.  Labor will be higher, but the employees will be busier and probably better trained and more efficient.

You'll have a general manager at the top, pulling in $50-100k/year probably, with multiple shift/assistant managers making $25-45k, then an entire gaggle of worker bees making $8 or $9/hour.

I can't imagine labor exceeding 50% and the place still staying in business, yet I doubt you could get labor under 25%, so yeah, 30, 40% would probably be a decent estimate, give or take 10%.

Why do you want this information?  

I was an assistant manager at BK while in college 10+ years ago. I don't recall specifics, but chicken was the most expensive.  And supersize anything?  About 90% profit over the base price.  The fries and drinks were the money makers.

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For an argument against liberals. A couple of them of course believe that Minimum wage should be raised and prices wont be affected by that. I wanted some rough numbers to show "ok how is this establishment suppose to survive on ___%"

By our rough numbers with out raising prices but raising minimum  a typical franchise would be profiting only ~10% per order and in some cases less

IN addition it gives me a little insight if I ever want to get into the food business myself (well wife wants to own a restaurant of her own).

when you where in your position about how many people (percentage wise) up the size of their order?

Half-ish?   I seem to remember needing to stock a pretty even number of cups and fry boxes, but that was a long time ago.

Total sales would be $2-4 k a day depending on day of the week, time of the year and local events. Mostly minimum wage. Max was about $7/hr. Peak Friday lunch was 8 people for a few hours. 5 for Sunday lunch. 3 for breakfast and 4-5 for most dinners including a manager. About 12 - 15 people on the schedule. Some close to 40 hrs. Most 12-20 a week.

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That's what I was thinking.  Anyone who's run a restaurant in the past would have these numbers already.  I will refer to you Arfcom's resident chef (douglasmorris99 I think is the moniker) who has a foolproof method for those who want to start a restaurant.  

As for arguing with liberals, that's a lost cause.  If they can't figure out that doubling (or even increasing whatever amount they want) the largest single cost of a restaurant will guarantee an increase in prices, then they are too stupid to be trusted with even marginally sharp tools.  If you find someone who thinks food costs are 5%, labor another 5% and overhead 10%, leaving 80% in pure profit for the owner, then take their picture and post it up here so we can laugh at them.

years ago in the last century I remember a part of a business class lecture doing the breakdown on a fast food cup of soda.

The cup and straw were the most expensive parts, the syrup and water were quite low and the profit quite high as in like 85-90%

Ancient Restaurateurs secret...


McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Franchises' make very little on a Big Mac, or cheese burger or fish sammichs. A penny here, a nickel there..
once you count in labor, taxes, lights, Licensing, legal fees, insurance, maintenance costs and Franchise fees..very poor business plan...



but they make a METRIC TON OF CASH on


Coffee, Coke, apple pies, French Fries and FREAKIN MILK SHAKES.

remember 2 things

the originators of the McDonalds is your kind of place business plan sold MILK SHAKE MACHINES $$$$$
secondly McDonalds Corp is a Real estate bidness first and a burger joint second.

NOT that I know much about food service

Chef..

sit down restaurants look at about a 30-38% for labor plus unemployment taxes, liability insurance and something I can't remember..
Food costs for them run from 25% to 35% based on business plan IE appetizers used to be lost leaders not so much anymore.
then comes Dishwashing, paper products, china, glassware, silverware, Lights, insurance, rent, gas, advertising, THEFT, licensing and constant city, state and federal government intrusions. And TAXES you give them for said intrusions. All this leaving 20% to 5% on the table for "profit" most of these profits go into menu development,physical improvements to the business, new equipment, new service ware, new floors, updating décor etc...

want to open a restaurant? Give me 1/2 what you want to spend, I kick you in the nuts and go home..
1.costs you 1/2 as much
2 doesn't hurt as much and the pain clears up faster
3 you get to go home to your family that day before the kids are in bed or your wife is sleeping with the neighborhood..

Chef.

My partner had a restaurant/bar back when I was a just a manager, not an owner. We had 3 good months in the 18 we were open. We broken even or made a grand. On the bad months we lost 5-6k. I have no doubt now, that if someone good was managing it, that we might have made it work.

Theft was our biggest problem. I manage 30 guys in multiple states doing industrial mechanical work. We are a very high overhead and low profit margin industry. The type of business that has to make 40k a month just to pay the bank payments. I know numbers and I know how to make things work.

If I had a background in that business I could run one but it's a lot of work for little money. You have to be a good manager, good with numbers and have a lot of experience. You can't get by with just 1 or 2 of those things.

Only wildly successful places make enough for it to even be worth it.