How well off are restaurateurs?

Like most things, The guys that started by saying "I want to make great food in a great atmosphere", whether that means $100 per entree or $15 per entree are undoubtedly better off than those who started by saying " I wonder how much money I can make off of this."

Practically speaking, the owners who are also head chefs are going to be the most successful. These days though you need a group or individual owning multiple outlets/brands to make real coin.

Again though, it should start with a passion for the industry.

It's a really tough way to make a buck, and that's the truth. Here in New Orleans we have an amazing restaurant culture, and with the possible exceptions of the Brennan family, Paul Prudhomme, and maybe Emeril Lagasse, it's a grind to make a living. Even John Besh, who is something of a celebrity down here, has trouble getting asses in seats at some of his properties.

I owned a bar for awhile, and that was a great business. Once you throw food service into the mix everything seems to go to hell and get 10 times harder for some reason.

It reminds me of an old joke, actually, that illustrates some of the inherent difficulties in running a restaurant. A scientist decided to experiment with three dogs. He injected the first dog with the DNA of an architect, the second dog with the DNA of a mathematician, and the third dog with the DNA of a waitress. He gave all three dogs their own pile of bones and then turned things over to his lab assistant to observe.

When he came in the next day, the lab assistant was astounded. He explained to the scientist that the first dog had taken his pile of bones and built an amazing dog house with them. The scientist was floored. The lab assistant then explained that the second dog had arranged his pile of bones into a complex math proof. The scientist couldn't believe it. He couldn't wait to hear what the third dog had done. But when he asked, his lab assistant hesitated for a moment and then looked down when he explained, "Well, sir, the dog with the waitress DNA ground up her pile of bones, snorted it, gave the other two dogs the clap, and then called in sick for work."

Here is a great interview with Rene Redzepi on Charlie Rose. Rene Redzepi is the head chef and owner of Noma, a restaurant in Denmark which ranked as #1 in the world last year. At one point he breaks down his finances, talking about the amount of people he hosts a night, and the amount he charges each. I didn't catch the whole thing so I'm not sure about his expenses. Either way, he echoes the comments above about success in the business boiling down to vision and passion, though I'm sure that is really true in any business line.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/11054

A family friend was the GM of a "chain" of three upscale restaurants. Apparently the owner pulled in about $150k per restaurant per year (more or less) before the economy dropped, now he pulls in about 75-100. Another family friend owns a chain of sports restaurants/bars that aren't upscale, but their not fast food. Theyre kind of nice, entrees in the $10-15 range. He gave the impression that each one of his 10 restaurants made him about $30-60k a year (he had 3 expensive, but experienced and good GMs and solid managers at each restaurant pretty much running the show for him)

A friend's relative owns 7 MacDonalds. Combined, she makes a little less than $1M a year. Chains are the way to go if you just want the cash. Though, I have heard that a large number of chains fail, so make sure to choose wisely.

Do people usually go in w/ an investor to franchise or is it usually their own money? I believe McD was ~$1.2M and you needed ~400k of that liquid

Chains and other fast food crap should not be considered a restaurant. All your really doing is following the rules based off a manual that was provided to you. You have no entrepreneurial spirit, you aren't really even your own boss.

I worked in the business (real restaurants, no 18year olds flipping burgers) and could tell you first hand that a busy place in NY (not just manhattan, all 5 boroughs) could bring in 1-2million a year and the owner would see about 10-30 percent of that depending on how well it's managed and a number of other variables eg. rent or mortgage. Unless you have something really, truly unique to provide in terms of atmosphere, food, etc. AND already have experience in the business, I wouldn't recommend getting started.

Pretty much if you want to make money open a chain of fast food places, the upper-end restaurants bring in a decent bit of money, mid-range seem to do okay, you're just going to need to make it somewhat of a chain if you want to bring in bank.