How many seats does a bakery need to cover rent?

Add rent, CAM, property taxes and insurance, divide by 8% to 10% of sales (the healthy band for bakeries) to get the monthly sales needed, then divide by days open, your average ticket and turns, planning at 75% full. The calculator above does it with your numbers.

Test a higher average ticket, more turns from longer hours, or a lower rent. If takeout, delivery or retail sales carry part of the business, use the rent-to-sales calculator with total monthly sales instead.

Add rent, CAM, property taxes and insurance. Divide by the healthy occupancy share for your type of business to get the monthly sales needed. Divide that by days open and your average check to get guests a day, then by turns per seat and 75% to get seats.

One seating of guests at a seat or table. A busy café or lunch spot may turn its seats several times a day; a dinner-only restaurant may turn them once or twice. Use what you expect on a typical day, not your best one.

Few places fill every seat on every turn. Planning at 75% leaves room for slow days, and it is the same planning case DoorWorthy reports use for the rent a business can afford.

Test a higher average check, more turns from longer hours, or a lower rent. If takeout or catering will carry part of your sales, use the rent-to-sales calculator with your total monthly sales instead.