Empty professional kitchen of a staff restaurant

For anyone budgeting a canteen

What does a
staff restaurant cost?

What a staff restaurant costs depends mostly on the days it is open, far less on the number of meals served. Staff, space and energy keep running, even when thirty people come to eat instead of eighty. The cost of having no food offer at all is covered in a business without a canteen; this page sets out the cost lines of a canteen itself, so you know what you are budgeting.

Fixed and variable costs In-house or catered No made-up figures

Free location check Business without a canteen

The cost lines

What a canteen
really costs

The visible cost is the food. The bigger lines are the people who cook and serve, the space kept free for it, the kitchen’s energy and what goes in the bin after service. How heavily they weigh depends on how many meals go out per opening day. What happens to the leftovers is covered in food waste at work.

Most of these lines do not fall when fewer people turn up. That is why canteens come under pressure as soon as hybrid work or shift work spreads out the lunch peak; see a business without a canteen for the other side of the sum.

Staff Space Energy Leftovers

The six lines

Kitchen and service staff, or the caterer
The space: kitchen, dining room, storage
Energy and upkeep of kitchen equipment
Waste and food loss after service
A subsidy per meal for the employee
The contract and managing it

Comparison

Three ways
to organise it

	Run in-house	Caterer on concession	Fridge next to an eating area
Fixed cost	High: own staff and kitchen	Medium: fee or minimum spend	Low: a spot and a socket
Falls with attendance	Barely	Partly, depending on the contract	Yes, restocked to what sells
Outside lunchtime	Rarely	Rarely	Any hour, nights included
Who carries leftovers	You	Per the contract	You or your supplier, kept low by ordering to sales
Hot, cooked on site	Yes	Yes	No, reheated

The right-hand column is what we make; bear that in mind as you read. A fourth way to spend the budget, without any food on site, is a meal voucher or allowance; what it does and does not solve is covered in meal vouchers and food at work.

The sum that is often missing

Four numbers
you already have

Meals per day

How many meals really go over the counter, for each day of the week?

Hours next to shifts

Put the opening hours next to the hours people work. Who falls outside?

Leftovers

How much is thrown away at the end of service, and who pays for it?

Who never comes

What share of your people never eats in the canteen, and why not?

In a care facility the cafeteria closes in the evening while the building keeps running; how that is solved there is covered in a smart fridge for care facilities.

Sound familiar?

Signs the cost
no longer adds up

Two busy days, the rest half empty
Money is topped up without the budget matching
A growing part of the team never eats there
The late shift arrives after closing time
A lot is thrown away after service
The caterer’s contract is up for renewal soon
Hybrid work has shrunk the lunch peak
People ask for different hours or different food

Keep or add to it

A full canteen
is worth keeping

If your restaurant is full every lunchtime and most people eat at the same moment, it is often the best solution. The fixed cost is spread over many meals. The main remaining question is what happens outside opening hours.

That is where a fridge next to the canteen can cover the hours around it, without cutting anything back. How that works in practice is covered in an alternative to the staff canteen. What such a fridge costs is covered in what a smart fridge costs.

Frequently asked questions

About the cost
of a canteen

Is a caterer cheaper than running a canteen yourself?

That depends on the contract and on your attendance. A caterer takes over staff and purchasing, but often asks for a minimum spend or a fee that keeps running when attendance is low. Put both next to your real number of meals per day.

Which costs keep running when fewer people come to eat?

Staff, space, energy and the caterer’s contract usually fall little or not at all. Food purchasing does fall, but it is rarely the largest line.

Can we subsidise the meal price for staff?

Many companies do. How such a subsidy is treated for tax and payroll depends on your country and situation, so have it confirmed by your accountant or payroll adviser.

From how many people does a staff restaurant make sense?

There is no fixed threshold. A canteen works best on a large site with one clear lunchtime when most people eat together. As soon as the hours spread out, the fixed cost per meal rises quickly.

Can a fridge absorb part of the canteen cost without closing it?

Yes. The canteen keeps lunchtime, the fridge covers the hours around it: the early start, the late shift and the weekend. That way the canteen does not have to stay open longer to serve those people.

What does your canteen cost per meal?

Eight short questions about your people and hours. We will tell you whether a fridge can complement your canteen, or whether it is better left as it is.

Free site check See the options

Takes about 90 seconds · no obligation · no contact details until the last step

What does astaff restaurant cost?

What a canteenreally costs

Three waysto organise it

Four numbersyou already have