Except even then there is no voodoo: the restaurant has costs far and away above the cost of good sold: labor, rent, furniture, dishwashing, etc. etc. etc. The actual profit margin even at retail is razor thin.
An excellent lobster dinner for $30 is good value. I now knew, however, that the actual cost of Larry was barely $10 a pound. But that’s the formula in the restaurant business. “On the industry standard theory,” Chris said, “a third of what you sell it for is food cost.”
Restaurant Man by Joe Bastianich:
http://www.amazon.com/Restaurant-Man-Joe-Bastianich/dp/B00B9...
Linen is the number-one evil, because it is expensive and no one pays for it. Same with bread and butter. ... paying a dollar and a quarter for a tablecloth and thirty-five cents for each napkin that someone gets dirty before they even have their first drink is a drag.