Why Restaurants Struggle to Make Money — Even When They’re Packed

A restaurant can be packed on Friday and Saturday night and still struggle to survive. So where does all that money actually go?

This week on The Off The Menu Podcast, Wal and Joel sit down with restaurant consultant Mark Moeller, founder of The Recipe of Success, to break down the surprisingly difficult economics of running a restaurant.

With more than four decades in the restaurant and hospitality industry and experience working with more than 400 restaurant concepts, Mark explains why great food alone isn’t enough to make a restaurant successful. We dig into food and labor costs, rent, supply chain pressures, menu pricing, staffing, and the countless operational details that can make or break a restaurant.

Mark also explains why restaurant prices have climbed so dramatically, how a busy restaurant can still lose money, what owners actually take home, and why—despite all the challenges—people still dream of opening restaurants of their own.

Plus, Joel gets a quiz designed especially for him, and the guys settle one of the great dining debates: are buffets wonderful, terrible… or somehow both?