In most places I've been in the midwest, if you could break out the steak part of the business you'll see that the food cost is ridiculously high but the most profitable. Guys like steak, period! Some people don't see the forest for the trees. Selling 20 steaks at $20 and 50% food cost is better than 20 fried chickens at $10 and 30% food cost. In theory, after food costs but before adding labor costs you have $200 vs. $140.
But it doesn't just end there. It cost less in labor to run a steakhouse. The dollar amount is the same since it's pretty much fixed, but as a percentage, the labor typically runs pretty low. That's for FOH and BOH. That $200 in steaks only costs you $50 in BOH labor and $20 in FOH labor. That chicken also costs the same in labor but you get $70 return on chicken vs. $130 on steak. |