Practical guides for running a profitable restaurant in Kenya
Honest, no-fluff answers to the questions that actually decide whether your restaurant, café or bar makes money — stock, theft, food cost, waste and profit. Written for Kenyan operators, in shillings, with M-Pesa and eTIMS in mind.
Stock, theft & waste
Where the money quietly leaks: theft, food cost, waste and bar shrinkage — and how to plug each one.
How to stop staff stealing in your restaurant (Kenya)
Most theft in a Kenyan restaurant isn't dramatic. It's small, daily, and invisible — a few sodas not rung up, a plate of nyama choma given to a friend, cash collected and pocketed before it ever reaches the till. By the end of the month it can quietly eat your entire profit. Here is exactly how it happens, and how to make it almost impossible without policing your team like a security guard.
Read guideHow to track food cost in a restaurant (Kenya)
Food cost is the biggest controllable expense in any restaurant, café or hotel in Kenya — and the one most owners only guess at. If you don't know what each plate actually costs to make, you can't price it properly, you can't spot when a supplier hikes you, and you can't tell which dishes are quietly losing you money. This guide shows you how to track food cost properly, in shillings, without an accountant.
Read guideFood cost percentage: how to calculate it (Kenya)
Food cost percentage is the single number that tells you whether your menu is priced to make money. It's simple to calculate and powerful to act on — yet most restaurant owners in Kenya have never worked it out. This guide shows you the formula, a worked example in shillings, what a healthy percentage looks like locally, and how to bring yours down.
Read guideHow to reduce food waste in your restaurant (Kenya)
Every kilo of food that spoils, gets over-prepped, or is thrown out is money you already paid for — gone before it could earn anything. In a tight-margin business, waste is often the difference between profit and break-even. This guide covers where waste really comes from in Kenyan kitchens and the practical steps to cut it down.
Read guideHow to track bar stock and stop shrinkage (Kenya)
A bar is the easiest place in hospitality to lose money. Spirits are poured by hand, beers move fast, and a single untracked bottle a night adds up to serious shillings over a month. If you run a bar, pub or club in Kenya, tracking liquor stock tightly is the difference between a profitable counter and a busy one that somehow never makes money. Here's how to do it.
Read guideProfit & pricing
Turn a busy restaurant into a profitable one. Know your real numbers and what to do about them.
Why your restaurant is busy but not profitable (Kenya)
It's one of the most frustrating things in this business: the restaurant is full, sales look strong, M-Pesa is buzzing all day — and yet there's nothing left at month-end. Busy and profitable are not the same thing. This guide walks through the real reasons a busy Kenyan restaurant still doesn't make money, and how to find which one is hurting you.
Read guideHow to know if your restaurant is actually profitable (Kenya)
Plenty of restaurant owners in Kenya genuinely don't know whether they're making money. The till feels busy, M-Pesa keeps pinging, but the bank balance tells a confusing story. Profit isn't a feeling — it's a number you can calculate. This guide shows you exactly which numbers to track and how to read them, so you always know where you stand.
Read guideBuyer's guide
Best restaurant POS systems in Kenya, compared
An honest look at what to look for in a restaurant POS — and how the options stack up.
Ready to know your real numbers?
Put these guides into practice with DineHQ. Start free in 5 minutes, or chat with us on WhatsApp first.