Large Pizza COST ??? Please help

[ttkauffman]

I am considering a unique twist to pizza buffets.  Need some information.  Want to see if the profit margins are there.

1)  What is the cost to make a Large Pizza with a few toppings?  Do not include labor, or cost associated with rent, etc.  Only include materials.

2)  How much would a middle of the line pizza equipment cost.  Meaning ovens, prep station, etc.  We expect to average about 250 pizza a day.


Just looking for a variety of feedback to get an average.


Thanks in advance.

[Pete-zza]

ttk,

You might find this thread at the PMQ.com Think Tank of interest:

http://www.pmq.com/cgi-bin/tt/index.cgi/noframes/read/24598.

Peter

[chiguy]

 Hi, ttkauffman
 I am not sure of the pizza cost because location and prices can vary. I will address the question of equipment. A pizza buffet will have a bit higher cost than a normal pizzeria  because of the buffet/dishware itself. I would estimate the equipment cost to run somewhere in the $80,000-$100,000k. A CiCi's pizza franchise, another buffet concept cost $400,000-$600,000 to start up. Only $30,000 being a  franchise fee.Now, with all this being said i do think it is possible to buy very good used equipment for you're venture. I would say that you could maybe find the equipment you need for as low as $25,000-30,000. It would take a good amount of time and searching to do this. These are just guesstimates and i would like to point out do not include the cost to build out and hire tradesman for elec,gas&plumbing, tile. This can be a very expensive part of the start-up as well. I know you may be thinking of doing some of theses things yourself but the city inspector and landlord may not accept it. I did have a question for you. I was wondering how you know that you are going to be making 250 pizza's a day?? I mean this is an all you can eat buffet?? What kind of performa have you done to come up with this number??       Thanks, Chiguy

[youonlylivetwice]

Hi TT,
forgive me if I am way out-of-bounds on this statement, but I think those types of questions you generally need to answer for yourself through a good bit of research.  This forum is absolutely fantastic, but I wouldn't want to assume that anyone else would know the particular situation you are in.  Just the way you phrase the question makes me think much more research needs to be done.  Quality of ingredients could cause a considerable difference in food cost, and at a relatively high price/cost could mean a huge swing in product price. Do you want everything ready t go, or are you going to make the sauce, slice the toppings, etc.? It depends what you are trying to produce.
Likewise, the equipment to produce many pizzas during an extremely heavy lunch or dinner period versus spread throughout the day would cause variances, as would method; are you using a conveyor system or ovens?
So many questions to answer your questions, I would encourage you to find some answers and ask the folks here to test them for reasonableness.... but don't build a business plan around them..

Best of luck on your endeavor!

[chiguy]

 Hi Youonlylivetwice
  I have read all kinds of question on this site that seem downright odd. I do not feel however TTkauffman's question is unreasonable especially for this section. I really enjoy  some of the question's and comments that are proposed in this section even the questions that have nothing to do with pizza. This is a thread about a question on Pizza Buffet Cost
  http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,1900.0.html
            Goodluck, Chiguy 

[youonlylivetwice]

Hey Chiguy,
I have to admit I thought more about it after I left the post.  What it really comes down to is I am one of those "wish I had" persons... I always wanted to give my own business a shot but I never did.  Now I have family and do altogether too well to risk what I have, but I still struggle with the fact I never did it.  I just don't want to see someone fail who could have succeeded... possibly because a few questions weren't answered.  I have been involved in some small business development work and while I didn't want to presume TT had not thought about it, I felt that if I was asked those questions in person that would have been my reply.  It was not a dumb question at all, just me wanting to encourage TT to find those answers and validate them.  Altogether too many small business fail for the wrong reasons....

thanks!!

YOLT.

[chiguy]

 Hi Youonlylivetwice
 I agree with you in the sense that alot of research needs to be done especially in the restuarant business. l think most people do not know that 50% fail with in the first year. The 50% that are left, half of them fail the follwing year. I am sure anyone who is married with a whitecollar job would have a tough time explaining to thier spouse that they want to quit thier job to start making pizza for a living . I think that alot of members are intimidated by the amount of knowledge and subject matter on this site. I feel they do not ask simple question's they may need answers too because of these reasons. I just try to encourage people too ask questions because that is the only way to learn. I think TT was probably just looking for a estimate on equipment to see if he is even in the ballpark. I think that for alot of people that decide to start a business there are two things that come to mind first. One is a good idea and the other is how much it will cost, unfortunately for most, a business plan is way down the list. This probably has something to do with the high failure rate. TTKauffman, I still say draw up a plan and go for it, but you have to do you're homework like YOUONLYLIVETWICE is implying.      Goodluck,  Chiguy 

[youonlylivetwice]

And best of luck from me as well, Chiguy makes some great points.... don't hesitate to ask any question, just make sure you validate the answers against your own sources and plan.

(And let us all know when and where you open your place.... !!)