Restaurant Performance Benchmark

National Restaurant Association data places average restaurant food cost at 28-35% of revenue depending on concept. Top-quartile operators run food cost below 28%, with fast-casual typically landing 28-32% and full-service casual 30-35%. Food cost above 35% in most concepts signals menu pricing issues, waste, or portion-control gaps. Weekly food cost tracking against theoretical cost is the operational standard.

National Restaurant Association benchmarks place average restaurant labor cost at 25-35% of revenue, with the specific target depending on concept (QSR typically runs lower at 25-28%, full-service higher at 30-35%). Labor cost is the most volatile line item because it is affected by scheduling efficiency, overtime, minimum-wage changes, and tip-credit rules. Weekly labor-to-revenue tracking is the operational standard.

Prime cost is the sum of food cost and labor cost as a percentage of revenue. It is the most-tracked single financial metric in restaurant operations. Top-quartile operators target prime cost below 60%, with workable performance under 65%. Prime cost above 65% typically signals operational risk because remaining revenue must cover rent, utilities, insurance, marketing, and profit on a thin margin.

RevPASH (Revenue Per Available Seat Hour) measures how much revenue each seat generates per hour of operation. It is calculated by dividing total revenue by (number of seats multiplied by hours open). High RevPASH indicates efficient use of seating capacity. Restaurants use RevPASH to optimize table mix, seating policies, and reservation strategies by comparing RevPASH across dayparts and days of week.

Table turnover targets depend on concept: QSR and fast-casual target 4-6+ turns per meal period, casual dining targets 2-3, and fine dining targets 1-1.5. Increasing turnover by even 0.5 turns per period without rushing guests can materially lift revenue. Turnover is driven by kitchen speed, table clearing discipline, and reservation or waitlist management.

Weekly tracking of food cost, labor cost, and prime cost is the operational standard. Monthly benchmarking against National Restaurant Association medians provides the industry comparison. Seasonal patterns (holiday surges, summer slowdowns) make quarterly the right comparison cadence for metrics like RevPASH and table turnover.

National Restaurant Association industry research consistently shows the average US restaurant net profit margin at 3-9%, with full-service typically 3-5% and fast-casual 6-9%.

Industry research from National Restaurant Association and major restaurant-marketing platforms consistently identifies Google Business Profile completeness plus active management as the single highest-leverage restaurant marketing move.

Cornell Hospitality Quarterly research consistently shows that guest-experience improvements lift repeat-visit rates, average ticket or room-night spend, and review ratings, with compounding revenue impact over 6-12 months.

Restaurant Technology Network industry research consistently identifies four upgrade signals: sustained operational pain affecting daily service, multi-location or significant single-location growth that current system cannot support, system age over 7-10 years (modern integrations and security features typically lag on older systems), or integration becoming a binding constraint for inventory, accounting, online ordering, or reservations.

Industry research consistently shows that delivery additions pencil best for restaurants with brand-fit cuisine (fast-casual, pizza, comfort food consistently outperform fine dining on delivery), spare off-peak kitchen capacity, healthy core margins to absorb the ramp, and a local market with strong delivery demand.