And that is usually if they also have a liquor license as that is where the profits are to help with the food end of the business. If it is only a beer and wine license, that business will likely fail as the profit margin is much lower in those beverages than in hard liquor. The only way for that business to barely succeed is by volume.The independent restaurant business is one of the toughest businesses to pull a profit and survive on.
The highest profit margin businesses are Mexican restaurants, as you may well know, and they can sometimes make it in very lean times with just a beer and wine license if they are well established and have long had a bustling clientele.