There is no honest single number. The cost to open a restaurant depends on the site, its condition, size, concept and city. Build your own budget from real quotes: lease and deposit, fit-out, kitchen equipment, licences, stock, pre-opening wages, marketing, a contingency, and several months of working capital. Use the template below.
Quick answer
- Ignore averages you read online; your site and concept decide the number.
- Get written quotes for the big lines first: lease, fit-out, kitchen and ventilation.
- Budget pre-opening wages, training and a soft opening, not just the build.
- Add a contingency on top of the total and keep working capital for the first months.
- Use the free template and calculator below to add it all up.
Michael Clarke is a trained chef and runs Markedine, a restaurant marketing company in Bangkok. This article does not contain affiliate links.
Why is there no standard cost to open a restaurant?
Because two restaurants with the same number of seats can cost wildly different amounts. A takeover of a working restaurant with a kitchen, extraction and grease trap already in place is a different project from a bare shell on the ground floor of a new building. A 30-seat noodle bar and a 30-seat tasting-menu room share nothing but the seat count.
So I am not going to give you an average. I do not have a reliable one for your city and concept, and a wrong number is worse than none. What I can give you is the list of lines that make up the budget, how to get a real number for each, and a calculator to add them up.
The opening work I do covers concept, chef, menu, construction, licensing, staff, suppliers and a sample P&L. The phrase I use is that openings “do not fail from lack of passion. They fail from lack of sequence.” The budget is where the sequence starts.
What are the main costs of opening a restaurant?
Most opening budgets fall into five groups:
- The site: deposit, advance rent, any key money or takeover fee, and legal costs on the lease.
- The build: design, construction, kitchen equipment, ventilation, plumbing, electrics, furniture, lighting and décor.
- Licences and set-up: company registration, permits, licences, accountant and lawyer fees, insurance.
- Pre-opening operations: opening stock, smallwares, uniforms, POS, staff wages during hiring and training, a test service and soft opening.
- Launch and runway: branding, menus, photography, website, Google profile, opening marketing, and working capital for the first months while sales build.
The last group is the one first-time owners cut, and it is often the one that decides whether they survive the first quiet month.
Restaurant opening budget template
Here is the template as a checklist. The calculator below uses the same lines and adds them up as you type.
| Cost line | How to get a real number | Your quote |
|---|---|---|
| Lease deposit and advance rent | Landlord quote; months of deposit and advance | |
| Key money or takeover fee (if any) | Agent or landlord | |
| Design, architect and permits drawings | Designer quote | |
| Construction and fit-out | Contractor quote, itemised | |
| Kitchen equipment | Supplier quotes for each item | |
| Ventilation, hood and gas | Specialist contractor | |
| Furniture, lighting and décor | Supplier quotes | |
| Smallwares: plates, glasses, cutlery, pans | Itemised list from the menu | |
| POS, hardware and software setup | Vendor quote | |
| Company registration, licences and professional fees | Accountant and lawyer quotes | |
| Initial food and beverage stock | Opening order from your par levels | |
| Pre-opening staff wages and training | Rota for training weeks × wage rates | |
| Uniforms | Supplier quote | |
| Branding, signage, menus and photography | Designer and photographer quotes | |
| Website, Google profile and pre-opening marketing | Agency quote or your own time | |
| Soft opening and launch costs | Comped meals, event costs | |
| Insurance | Broker quote | |
| Working capital: first months of running costs | Monthly fixed costs × months of runway |
Opening budget calculator
Type your quotes into the boxes. The total updates as you type. Any currency, as long as you use the same one throughout. Nothing leaves your browser.
| Cost line | Where the number comes from | Your amount |
|---|---|---|
| Lease deposit and advance rent | Landlord quote; months of deposit and advance | |
| Key money or takeover fee (if any) | Agent or landlord | |
| Design, architect and permits drawings | Designer quote | |
| Construction and fit-out | Contractor quote, itemised | |
| Kitchen equipment | Supplier quotes for each item | |
| Ventilation, hood and gas | Specialist contractor | |
| Furniture, lighting and décor | Supplier quotes | |
| Smallwares: plates, glasses, cutlery, pans | Itemised list from the menu | |
| POS, hardware and software setup | Vendor quote | |
| Company registration, licences and professional fees | Accountant and lawyer quotes | |
| Initial food and beverage stock | Opening order from your par levels | |
| Pre-opening staff wages and training | Rota for training weeks × wage rates | |
| Uniforms | Supplier quote | |
| Branding, signage, menus and photography | Designer and photographer quotes | |
| Website, Google profile and pre-opening marketing | Agency quote or your own time | |
| Soft opening and launch costs | Comped meals, event costs | |
| Insurance | Broker quote | |
| Working capital: first months of running costs | Monthly fixed costs × months of runway |
How do you get a real number for each line?
Site
Get the lease terms in writing before you budget anything else: deposit, advance rent, rent-free fit-out period if any, and who pays for what in the shell. A rent-free period during fit-out can change your cash needs a lot.
Build and equipment
Ask at least two contractors for itemised quotes from the same drawings. Get kitchen equipment priced item by item from your menu, not as a package. Ventilation, gas and grease management are where surprises live, so get a specialist to look at the site before you sign the lease.
Licences and professional fees
These vary by country and city. In Thailand, for example, a food selling place over 200 square metres needs a licence from the local authority under the Public Health Act, while smaller places notify the local official. Ask a local accountant and lawyer for a written fee quote. If you are a foreigner opening in Thailand, read how to open a restaurant in Thailand as a foreigner.
Pre-opening wages
List every role, the date each person starts, and their wage. Kitchen and floor teams need time to train before the first guest, and a simulated service before opening is part of the build path I use. Multiply it out week by week.
Launch marketing
Budget for photography of the real dishes, menus, signage, a website, and a Google Business Profile set up before the doors open. See how to set up your Google Business Profile and the 90-day opening checklist.
Working capital
Add up your monthly fixed costs: rent, salaried staff, utilities, software, loan repayments. Then decide how many months of those you want in the bank on opening day. This is a judgement call, but zero is the wrong answer.
How much contingency should you add?
Something always costs more than the quote, and openings slip. The calculator defaults to 15% as a starting point, not a rule; change it to match how firm your quotes are. If the lease, build and equipment are fixed-price contracts, you can go lower. If you are converting a bare shell or an old building, go higher.
How can you lower the cost of opening?
- Take over a site that already has a working kitchen and extraction, if the layout suits your menu.
- Buy good second-hand for heavy equipment and new for anything with a short life or hygiene risk.
- Open with a shorter menu. Fewer dishes means less equipment, less stock and faster training.
- Phase non-essential décor and add it once sales come in.
- Negotiate a rent-free fit-out period into the lease.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost to open a restaurant?
There is no reliable average that would apply to your site and concept. The cost depends on the location, the condition of the space, the size and the type of restaurant. Build your number from written quotes using the template above.
What is the biggest cost when opening a restaurant?
It is usually the build: fit-out, kitchen equipment and ventilation, especially in a bare shell. The lease deposit and working capital are also large and often underestimated.
How much working capital do I need?
Decide how many months of fixed costs you want in the bank on opening day, then multiply your monthly fixed costs by that number. Many owners plan for several months because sales take time to build.
Should I include a contingency in my restaurant budget?
Yes. Add a percentage on top of the total for overruns and delays. The less fixed your quotes are, the higher the contingency should be.
Can I open a restaurant with a small budget?
Yes, if you choose the site carefully. Taking over a working kitchen, opening with a short menu and phasing décor can reduce the cost considerably.
