What do the most profitable restaurants have in common? A unique concept, a good location, a delicious menu, and excellent customer service.
Since the concept is king, let’s see what the most profitable types of restaurants are and what makes them so successful. Plus, what menu items can bring you the most profit?
Most Profitable Restaurant Menu Items to Focus on
Restaurant profitability depends on a variety of factors, from choosing the best places to open a restaurant in your area to the dishes you sell, the cost of ingredients, and more.
To give you an idea of what you could sell to increase your chances of making more money, here are some profitable menu items:
- Pizza: This is a versatile dish for which you need dough, sauce, and a variety of toppings that you can play around with and even let customers choose to add to their pizza.
- Add-ons: Speaking of dish customization, add-ons can give customers more flexibility to personalize their meals, and help you increase the check value in the process.
- Food combos: You can use combo offers to pair more expensive menu items with more affordable ones, such as a pizza and a drink, or a burger and fries. Here’s how you can easily create restaurant combo offers using our promotions module:
Lowest Food Cost Menu Items to Add to the Menu
What determines the most profitable restaurant food is not just its pricing or flexibility, but also how much it costs to make. Here are a few menu items that won’t cost you a fortune:
- Appetizers: They are typically inexpensive, and you can pair them with main dishes, which will help you cross-sell.
- Sides: Similar to appetizers, sides don’t cost a lot to make (just think of French fries or rice), and they can be added to main dishes.
- Vegan and vegetarian items: Vegetables and meat replacements will cost you less than most of your meat-centered dishes will. Plus, you will cater to a larger audience by serving meat-free dishes too.
7 Most Profitable Types of Restaurants in 2024
Now that we’ve looked at the most profitable restaurant items, let’s explore a couple of restaurant concept ideas that are more likely to help you succeed in the competitive restaurant industry.
1. Fast-food restaurants
Also known as quick service restaurants, fast-foods serve to-go food at counters or drive-thrus. Customers can enjoy the food at the restaurant, for those that have dine-in seating, or take it to go.
Fast-food restaurants are some of the most profitable types of restaurants because the food is quick to make, the ingredients don’t cost much, and customers love a good fast-food meal.
Although quick service restaurants are not known for their healthy food, a lot of people consider fast-food a treat and a staple whenever they want to relive childhood nostalgia (like the McDonald’s meals you used to have as a kid).
Check out our detailed guide on how to start a fast-food restaurant if you’re interested in opening one.
2. Pizzerias
As we’ve mentioned above, pizzerias are one of the most profitable restaurant concepts because of how versatile pizzas are. Plus, who doesn’t love pizza?
However, if you want to open a pizza place, you need to take into account the fact that it is a highly competitive market. There are probably already lots of pizza places in your area, so you need to come up with a concept that will make you stand out when marketing your pizzeria.
To increase profitability, enable your customers to personalize their own pizzas by providing a variety of sizes, crust types, and toppings. You can easily do that using our intuitive online menu builder. You can even use it to sell half-and-half pizzas that provide customers with even more versatility.
3. Ghost kitchens
Also known as cloud kitchens, dark kitchens, or virtual restaurants, ghost kitchens are takeout or delivery-only types of restaurants that are profitable because they don’t require a dining room or storefront. You only need a kitchen to operate it.
To accept orders, you can use an in-house online ordering system that allows you to keep all the profits, instead of giving your hard-earned money away to third-party delivery apps.
Follow these steps to learn how to start a ghost kitchen by yourself.
4. Pop-up restaurants
Are you looking for interesting restaurant concepts that won’t cost you a fortune and can become profitable fast? Look no further than pop-up restaurants.
What makes pop-up restaurants unique is that they are temporary. You can set them up anywhere, from a shared kitchen to a festival booth, and even your home.
Due to their temporary nature, they cost less to set up. They are also an excellent way to test a concept before you open a brick-and-mortar restaurant.
If you’re curious about how to start a pop-up restaurant and promote it to the public, we have prepared a full guide for you.
5. Food trucks
One of the fastest-growing restaurant concepts, food trucks are popular due to their low startup and operating costs, and flexibility to experiment with different types of cuisines and concepts.
Think of food trucks as mobile kitchens that you can drive to food and music festivals, local events, office parks, and so on. Since you’re not going to have a large kitchen, you need a small menu that you can change periodically.
To market a food truck, you should focus on creating a memorable brand, including a nice logo and signage that will draw customers to you.
Leave customers with a business card or a discount flyer for a future purchase whenever they order something to increase the chances of them coming back.
6. Cafés
From being a place to grab your morning cup of joe to a gathering space for friends or even a quiet place for people to work, it’s no surprise coffee shops are some of the most profitable types of restaurants.
If you’re wondering what the most profitable café items you can sell are, beverages are known for having high-profit margins. So, focus on serving multiple types of coffee, tea, boba, and soft drinks.
However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also serve food like sandwiches, pastries, cakes, and snacks. These will complement your drinks and increase the check value.
Keep on reading: 10 Coffee Shop Marketing Ideas to Help You Stand out in the Crowd
7. Breakfast & brunch restaurants
Finally, are breakfast restaurants profitable? Yes, if you keep them open all day long and serve a variety of both breakfast and brunch foods.
Breakfast and brunch dishes like eggs, bacon, and pancakes are typically easier to prepare and they don’t cost much to make. Plus, customers love a good all-day brunch place where they can order eggs no matter the hour.
Consider including trendy menu items in your breakfast menu, such as meat alternatives, exotic fruits, and fermented drinks to attract a larger crowd.
Final Thoughts
The most profitable types of restaurants are those where you find a good balance between costs (startup, operating, food, etc.), menu pricing, and a popular concept that will appeal to the public.
Experiment with the profitable restaurant ideas we explored above if you want to make it in the restaurant industry.
