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AyRojgar

Small restaurant

A 300-500 sqft rice hotel. Cash comes in daily, but ingredients eat 35-50 percent of sales and six separate approvals are needed to open.

  • Last reviewed: 19 September 2026
  • Version 1
Small restaurant

Small restaurant

Starting capital
৳3,00,000 – ৳6,00,000
Editorial estimate
Manpower
3 – 8 people
First sale
60 – 120 days
Editorial estimate
Break-even
12 – 24 months
Editorial estimate
Kind of work
Shop · Hard

About the business

A 300 to 500 square foot rice hotel or small restaurant serving breakfast, a rice-and-curry lunch and roti at night. Customers pay at the table, so cash arrives every day. That daily cash is both the attraction and the trap: money in hand looks like profit until rent, wages, gas and electricity are counted at month end. Ingredients run 35 to 50 percent of sales and the rest goes to rent, staff and gas. On TCB's Dhaka retail sheet for 15 September 2026, coarse rice is Tk 50-55/kg, broiler Tk 180-200/kg, beef Tk 780-850/kg, rui fish Tk 300-450/kg and loose soybean oil Tk 186-195/litre. Over twelve months loose soybean oil rose about 11 percent and broiler about 7 percent, but raising the plate price sends customers to the hotel next door, and that squeeze is what kills most of them. The paperwork is heavier than people expect: trade licence, BFSA food safety registration, a fire licence from Fire Service and Civil Defence, environmental clearance from the Department of Environment, a TIN and VAT registration, typically two to four weeks with documents in hand. Dine-in restaurants pay 5 percent VAT. Location, keeping one good cook, and serving the same taste every single day are what decide survival.

Unit economics

ItemRangeEvidenceSuggest a correction
Monthly working capital৳1,00,000 – ৳2,50,000Editorial estimate
Selling price৳60 – ৳200 / unitEditorial estimate
Variable cost৳25 – ৳80 / unitEditorial estimate
Gross margin50% – 65%Editorial estimate
Time to first revenue60 – 120 daysEditorial estimate
Break-even time12 – 24 monthsEditorial estimate
Cash cycle0 – 1 daysEditorial estimate
Waste / loss8% – 20%Editorial estimate
Daily capacity80 – 250Editorial estimate

What you need to start

  • Burners, LPG cylinders (12 kg at Tk 1,585 from 2 September 2026), a fridge and deep freezer, large pots and pans, crockery, tables and chairs, a water filter and fans.Equipment
  • BFSA food safety registration: Tk 1,000 new, Tk 500 renewal, three years, compulsory under the Food Safety (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2026. Includes a physical kitchen inspection.Licence
  • Fire licence from the Directorate of Fire Service and Civil Defence, issued after a fire safety inspection.Licence
  • Environmental Clearance Certificate from the Department of Environment, covering solid and liquid waste.Licence
  • TIN and VAT registration from the National Board of Revenue. Dine-in restaurants are charged 5 percent VAT.Licence
  • Trade licence from the city corporation or union parishad, fee Tk 100-40,000 by trade type. It must explicitly say 'Restaurant' or 'Food Manufacturing'. Plus application form Tk 10, licence book Tk 50, standard tax Tk 30, stamp Tk 150-300.Licence
  • An experienced cook, the discipline to keep the taste identical daily, and a written daily sales and cost record.Skill
  • Wholesale rice, oil and spice arots, plus a daily produce, fish and meat supplier.Supplier
  • 300-500 sqft of street-facing space. The deposit and fitout are the largest single part of the capital.Workspace

How the work is done

  1. 1Find the location. Stand there morning, noon and evening and count the footfall and the competing hotels.
  2. 2Sign the lease. Put the deposit, the notice period and the rent escalation in writing.
  3. 3Take the trade licence from the city corporation or municipality. It must say 'Restaurant' on it.
  4. 4Register with BFSA: Tk 1,000 new, Tk 500 renewal, valid three years. They inspect the kitchen physically.
  5. 5Take the fire licence from Fire Service and Civil Defence and clearance from the Department of Environment.
  6. 6Get a TIN and VAT registration from NBR. Dine-in restaurants pay 5 percent VAT.
  7. 7Fit out the kitchen and dining area: burners, LPG cylinders, a fridge, utensils, tables, chairs and a water supply.
  8. 8Hire the cook. One good cook is the real asset, and when the cook leaves the customers follow.
  9. 9Buy the week's stock wholesale and check the day's rates against the TCB list.
  10. 10Write down daily sales and daily market spend. The cash box alone never tells you whether you made money.

Seasons

  1. JanNormal
  2. FebLow
  3. MarLow
  4. AprHigh
  5. MayNormal
  6. JunNormal
  7. JulNormal
  8. AugNormal
  9. SepNormal
  10. OctNormal
  11. NovNormal
  12. DecHigh
HighNormalLow

Where it works well

  • Strong fitChattogram · The port, the EPZ and truck drivers keep sales going at night too.
  • Strong fitCox's Bazar · Sales soar in the tourist season but the place sits empty off season.
  • Strong fitDhaka · Office areas, universities and bus terminals give footfall all day.
  • Strong fitGazipur · Garment workers eat out every day.
  • Strong fitNarayanganj · Heavy lunch rush in the factory and trading areas.
  • Strong fitSylhet · Remittance families and tourists support better-quality food.
  • PossibleBogura · A northern trading centre with highway traffic.
  • PossibleCumilla · Bus and truck stops along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
  • PossibleKhulna · Demand centred on government offices and markets.
  • PossibleMymensingh · Customers around the medical and agricultural universities.
  • PossibleRajshahi · Demand in the university and student areas.

Risks and cautions

  • HighWorking capital: Ingredient prices rise all year but the plate price cannot follow, because customers switch to the hotel next door. Between September 2025 and September 2026 loose soybean oil rose about 11 percent, packet maida about 14 percent and broiler about 7 percent. This squeeze closes most hotels.
  • HighCompliance: Six separate approvals are needed to open: trade licence, BFSA registration, fire licence, environmental clearance, TIN and VAT. The restaurant owners' association itself counts 10 to 12 separate regulatory approvals. Operating without them risks a mobile court fine or closure on any given day.
  • HighSpoilage: Cooked food unsold the same day is a total loss. Rain, a strike or an exam holiday halves sales without warning, after the cooking is already done.
  • MediumDependency: The whole hotel rests on one cook's hand. When a rival offers more money the cook leaves and the customers follow. Cook turnover is routine in Dhaka.
  • MediumDemand: Lunch sales nearly stop during Ramadan while rent and wages continue in full. During Eid holidays city hotels empty out as customers leave for their villages.

Sources

What changed

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Stories about this business

What workedA food hotel owner in Jamalpur, in a Shomoyer Alo report

A food hotel alongside the job, taking 8,000-9,000 taka a day

A plot bought for 350,000 taka in 2022 became a food hotel now taking 8,000-9,000 taka a day; the report gives no net profit or staff count.

Capital
৳3.5 lakh
Reasons
Working capital

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