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Rob · 03-25-2005, 05:50 PM

I have a business degree and it still baffles me on how some buffet-style restaurants can make money.

For Example:
There is this buffet-style restaurant in town that offers all-you-can-eat seafood for $19.95. They offer lobster, snow and Alaskan king crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, fish, mussells, and other smaller seafood items like stuffed crab and hush puppies.

Now if you break it down, they should lose thier asses off if someone of average size came in to eat and got filled up. An average sized person (5'10" 175) can consume at least 2 lobsters (roughly 1lb a piece) a pound of crab, and some other smaller items like shrimp and clams.

The restaurant is obviously not spending as much on seafood as retail but wholesale prices even do not justify them making a profit. Let's say the lobster is going for $5 a lb, the crab legs $4 a lb, shrimp $4 a lb, clams about $3 a doz. That means just the average person will eat $21 of food.

That is just the price of the food. This doesn't include overhead like employees, rent, electricity, water, waste disposal, etc.

HOW DO THEY DO IT?!?!? Anyone ever run a buffet before and can give me some numbers to play around with? I'm completely baffled.

03-25-2005, 05:50 PM
Rob I'm a great bowler. Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Right Outside of Normal. Posts: 13,310	How Do Buffets Make Any Money? I have a business degree and it still baffles me on how some buffet-style restaurants can make money. For Example: There is this buffet-style restaurant in town that offers all-you-can-eat seafood for $19.95. They offer lobster, snow and Alaskan king crab, shrimp, clams, oysters, fish, mussells, and other smaller seafood items like stuffed crab and hush puppies. Now if you break it down, they should lose thier asses off if someone of average size came in to eat and got filled up. An average sized person (5'10" 175) can consume at least 2 lobsters (roughly 1lb a piece) a pound of crab, and some other smaller items like shrimp and clams. The restaurant is obviously not spending as much on seafood as retail but wholesale prices even do not justify them making a profit. Let's say the lobster is going for $5 a lb, the crab legs $4 a lb, shrimp $4 a lb, clams about $3 a doz. That means just the average person will eat $21 of food. That is just the price of the food. This doesn't include overhead like employees, rent, electricity, water, waste disposal, etc. HOW DO THEY DO IT?!?!? Anyone ever run a buffet before and can give me some numbers to play around with? I'm completely baffled. __________________