re: Restaurants charging for a refill or cup of sauce

Restaurants best margins are on anything other than the entree. Restaurants try to keep entree food costs to a max of 25%. Pizza places can easily go far below that to 10% to 15%. Quality steak or quality seafood go above the line upwards to 35%. A restaurants profitability is greatly affected by how good their servers are at upselling a table appetizers and deserts. Those are typically 10%-15% food cost items. Fountain beverages and tea is a 3%-5% cost item due to the fact that many just order water. A table of 4 with just one non water beverage order is a kind of insurance that a small profit will be made on the table. Get a staff full of sharp servers who are good at pushing apps and deserts on the regular and you will have a good chance at success given the food is quality.