Greek Restaurant Break-Even Analysis: About $26K Monthly Sales

Fixed costs $10.0K/mo Base monthly cost

Contribution margin 83% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $12.0K/mo Revenue target

Break-even timing Month 3 Model break point

Break-even calculator

Use this calculator to see whether monthly sales cover variable costs and fixed monthly costs for a Greek restaurant.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Revenue is the cash engine that has to cover direct costs and overhead. $ Lower sales Higher sales Variable expenses Use food, paper, delivery, and marketing costs that move with sales. $ Lower costs Higher costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $37,350 $45,000 revenue - $7,650 variable expenses

Margin ratio

83%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly overhead the margin must cover. $ Lower overhead Higher overhead

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which Greek restaurant expenses are fixed and which move with sales?

Cost classification

Break-even only works if each expense behaves correctly in the model. Rent is stable, food moves with sales, and labor needs a base crew before volume scales.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Rent Retail Location	Fixed	Use $4,500 per month in fixed overhead.	Spreading rent across covers and hiding the true monthly hurdle.
Utilities	Semi-variable	Model the $750 monthly base, then review usage as kitchen volume rises.	Treating the full bill as fixed when longer service hours raise usage.
Business Insurance	Fixed	Use $200 per month as fixed overhead.	Linking insurance to sales even though the policy cost is stable.
Store Manager Salary	Fixed	Use the $55,000 annual salary as base labor before sales volume.	Treating all labor as Variable when base staffing exists before sales scale.
Counter Staff	Semi-variable	Keep base coverage in payroll, then flex extra hours with covers.	Modeling every counter hour as Variable and understating slow-day payroll.
Food Ingredients	Variable	Use 10% of sales in the first year.	Using a flat dollar amount instead of tying ingredients to revenue.
Packaging & Paper Goods	Variable	Use 2% of sales in the first year.	Forgetting packaging rises with takeout and delivery orders.
Online Delivery Commissions	Variable	Use 3% of sales in the first year.	Applying commissions to all sales instead of delivery-driven revenue.

How does break-even change from a lean Greek restaurant launch to a full build?

Scenario table

Lean launch sits right on the line because fixed costs eat most of the gross margin. Base and full cases both clear break-even, but the full build only works if volume keeps rising fast enough to cover added staffing.

Planning figures only; they show modeled break-even pressure, not a guarantee of actual results.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean lease test	$260K	$44K	$216K	83%	$0	Tests lease risk; profit is basically flat.
Base opening plan	$447K	$76K	$216K	83%	$155K	Clears break-even by Month 3 and gives room for ramp-up noise.
Full staffing build	$629K	$101K	$232K	83.9%	$296K	Creates a strong cushion, but staffing has to stay tight.

What breaks the break-even plan for a Greek restaurant?

Stress test

At the base plan, revenue is about $447K a month and break-even is about $260K, so the cushion is about $187K. A 25% sales drop with higher costs can shrink that cushion to about $24K.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$260K	$187K cushion	The base plan has room, but not a lot.
Revenue shortfall	Sales fall 10% to about $402K.	$260K	$142K cushion	Foot traffic softness trims cover fast.
Fixed-cost increase	Fixed costs rise 10% from rent, labor, and overhead.	$287K	$160K cushion	Rent creep and wage pressure lift the bar.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 17% to 22% of sales.	$277K	$170K cushion	Waste and promo spend eat coverage.
Combined pressure	Sales drop 25%, variable costs hit 22%, and fixed costs rise 10%.	$311K	$24K cushion	A small miss turns into a near-break-even month.

Can this Greek restaurant hit break-even before you sign the lease and start the build-out?

Founder checklist

Stress-test the lease, staffing, and build-out against the model before you commit. The target is about $260K in monthly break-even sales, with $6,870 in fixed overhead before payroll and $177K in first-year payroll.

1Break-even sales$260K/mo

Verify opening-week demand can climb toward monthly break-even sales, because anything lower leaves the lease and labor load exposed.

2Fixed overhead$6.9K/mo

Check that rent, utilities, insurance, POS, legal, maintenance, cleaning, and phone stay near $6,870 a month, because that cash leaves every month before payroll even starts.

3Payroll base$177K/yr

Confirm first-year staffing holds near $177K in annual payroll, or about $14.8K a month, because labor is the first cost that can outrun sales as service gets busy.

4Weekly covers710/wk

Make sure the kitchen and dining room can handle about 710 weekly covers, or the break-even math breaks when Friday through Sunday demand hits.

5Input costs10%+2%

Lock supplier quotes near 10% for ingredients and 2% for packaging, because a few points of cost drift can wipe out the margin you need to reach breakeven.

6Capex cash$895K

Stage the about $895K capex only after you can fund the Month 2 cash bottom of about $820K, and hold marketing spend if demand proof is still soft.