August 14, 2026 · 11 min
The honest answer: between $95,000 and $2 million, and the variable that matters most is the space you inherit. A second-generation restaurant space with a hood, grease trap, and walk-in can cost a quarter of building the same kitchen from a shell. Here's where the money actually goes.
The ranges, by concept
- Food truck: $95k–$180k — the truck and kitchen build are most of it; commissary and permits add more than people expect.
- Coffee shop / café: $150k–$400k — espresso equipment and millwork drive the range.
- Quick-service / counter: $200k–$500k.
- Full-service restaurant: $300k–$800k for a second-generation space; $600k–$2M+ building from a vanilla shell.
- Bar with kitchen: $350k–$900k — the liquor license alone runs $10k in easy states to $400k+ in quota states like Massachusetts.
Where it goes (full-service example, second-gen space)
- Buildout & renovation: 30–40% — even 'move-in ready' spaces need $75k+ of changes
- Kitchen equipment: 15–20% — used equipment cuts this sharply; hoods and refrigeration are where you don't gamble
- Furniture, fixtures & smallwares: 8–10%
- Permits, licenses, professional fees: 5–10% — more where liquor licenses are quota-limited
- Opening inventory & initial payroll/training: 8–10%
- Deposits (landlord, utilities, purveyors): 5%
- Technology — POS, ordering, payroll systems: 2–3%
The line everyone cuts (and shouldn't)
Working capital. The rule that keeps restaurants alive: open the doors with six months of fixed costs in the bank. New restaurants take 6–12 months to find their sales level, and the ones that die in month eight usually died on opening day — they just didn't know it yet, because the buildout ate the runway.
The second most-cut line is marketing, and it shows up as an empty dining room in month two. Budget for a real opening push: photography, a website with ordering built in, a Google Business Profile with reviews seeded from soft open, and an email list that starts collecting before the doors open.
Five ways operators actually cut the number
- Take over a second-generation space — the hood, grease trap, and walk-in you don't build are six figures you don't spend.
- Buy used equipment for everything except refrigeration and the hood.
- Negotiate tenant improvement money and free rent during buildout — landlords with empty restaurant spaces are motivated.
- Open with a small menu — every item you don't serve is inventory, equipment, and training you don't buy.
- Skip the custom app-and-website agency quote — modern restaurant platforms bundle the website, ordering, and app for a flat monthly fee instead of a five-figure build.
Run your own numbers
Before any lease is signed, model the whole thing: startup costs on one side, monthly break-even on the other. Our free restaurant business plan template includes the financial worksheets, and the profit margin calculator will tell you what monthly revenue your cost structure demands. If the break-even requires beating the neighborhood's best restaurant in month three, the plan needs work — better to learn that on paper.
