For independent restaurant owners

Menu & Margin

Menu & Margin is the one-stop shop for opening a restaurant and improving how it runs—checklists, permits guidance, operations tools, and free calculators for independent owners.

Close-up of hands writing notes in a notebook on a wooden desk — Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko / Pexels

Start here

Opening a restaurant

First location: permits, startup-cost worksheet, tech buy order, funding, and build-out.

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Running a restaurant better

Already open: pick the problem—food cost, labor, ticket times, POS, scheduling, or waste—and get steps.

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Browse by section

Calculators →

Opening

Opening a restaurant

Checklist and timeline from entity and permits through funding, build-out, and opening day.

Front of house

Front of house tools

POS, online ordering, reservations and waitlist, payments, loyalty, and reviews.

Back of house

Back of house tools

Inventory and food cost, kitchen display, suppliers, recipe costing, and food safety logs.

People

Payroll and HR, scheduling, hiring, tip management, and labor-law basics.

Money

Accounting, insurance, and calculators for food cost, labor, prime cost, and break-even.