But the devil is in the details. When that stress response is turned on 24/7âthe way it is for a lot of usânothing good happens. Itâs like speeding down the 405 freeway in first gear. That first gear can be a lifesaver if youâre trying to get up a steep hill, but itâs death to your transmission if youâre driving 75.
You will generally find that the total cost per square foot of your restaurant will run about $150-$200, excluding land costs. This means that if you plan on opening a restaurant with a square footage of 3,000, your total costs will be approximately $450,000-$600,000. Keep in mind that this is a general range only.
The average cost to open a restaurant in a RestaurantOwner.com survey was $498,888 (based on 700 respondents; the Census data included over 700,000 businesses in this category). That said, there are many less expensive ways to get a start in food service. A food truck will set you back between $30,000 and $200,000, depending on whether you buy a new or used truck and how many bells and whistles you add.