New Year's Eve prix fixe: what to charge, how to take deposits, and how to staff Thursday 31 December

Picture 8pm on New Year's Eve: the party of six that booked in November has not arrived, and paid nothing up front. Take the money when guests book, not on the night.

Price a New Year's Eve prix fixe twice, once from plate cost and once from what each seat earns on a normal busy Saturday, then charge the higher figure. Take a deposit credited to the check for a two-seating night, or full prepayment for a single ticketed seating, with refund terms in writing. Staff Thursday 31 December 2026 like a Saturday, because Friday 1 January is a holiday. Last checked: 5 November 2026.

What should you charge for a New Year's Eve prix fixe?

Charge the higher of two floors: a cost floor (what the menu costs you, divided by your target cost percentage) and a seat floor (what each seat would have earned on an ordinary busy night, plus a premium for the extra work). Pricing from cost alone is the usual mistake: a long single seating can then quietly earn less per seat than a normal Saturday.

Both floors start from your own numbers. There is no reliable public data on what US restaurants charge for New Year's Eve, so do not price from another restaurant's menu.

Worked example: a 64-seat restaurant

The last line is a sense check. Menu prices for full-service meals rose 3.8% in the 12 months to September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI release of 14 October 2026. If your new price is below last year's price plus that, you are giving the night away.

Two rules keep the number honest:

1. Cost the menu you will actually serve, including the amuse, bread, petits fours and the toast. The menu price calculator turns each course's cost and your target into a price, and the US profit margin guide shows what a healthy food cost looks like.
2. Decide whether the toast is included. If it is, it is in the cost floor. If it is sold as a pairing, it belongs in the drinks line.

An automatic gratuity on the prix fixe is a service charge, not a tip: the IRS says automatic gratuities "are service charges, not tips" and are generally reported as non-tip wages. The service charge vs tip guide explains the four-factor test and the wording guests must see.

One seating or two on New Year's Eve?

Run two seatings when you expect to sell at least half of the early seats at a price above your normal check. Otherwise run one long seating and price it with the seat floor above.

Using the same 64 seats, here is what the choice is worth before drinks:

Even a thin early seating adds revenue, but each early cover also adds labor and a reset. If you cannot hold the early seating to two hours with the check dropped at 7:00 pm, the late seating starts late and the toast slips. Write the end time into the booking terms and say it at the table.

Deposit, card hold or full prepayment on a Thursday night?

For two seatings, take a deposit per guest, credited to the check. For one ticketed seating with a fixed menu, take full prepayment. Skip the card hold: a table booked in November outlasts the authorization. The reservation software guide compares deposits, holds, saved cards and prepayment in one table.

Thursday matters. Friday 1 January is a federal holiday, so most guests can stay late; expect the late seating to sell first. A deposit that is credited to the bill keeps the table honest without feeling like a ticket, and it gives the guest a reason to tell you early if plans change.

Three things US owners ask about:

• Is it legal? No federal law sets restaurant deposit amounts. What protects you is clear terms shown before the guest pays, and a record that they agreed. State consumer protection rules still apply, so check with an advisor for your situation.
• Sales tax. States differ on whether tax is due when a prepaid meal is sold or when it is served. Ask your state's tax department before you sell tickets.
• Card disputes. A guest can still dispute a deposit with their bank. Your defense is the written terms, the confirmation email and the reminder they received. Never write card numbers in the book or a notes field.

How much? Size the deposit from the money you lose on an empty seat, which the no-show cost calculator works out. For the example above, $40 per guest on the late seating covers the $31 of food and extras bought for an empty chair, and $25 does the same for the shorter early menu. Owners in the UK should read the Christmas and New Year's Eve bookings guide instead, because UK consumer law sets different tests.

How busy is December, really? Our analysis of Texas bar receipts

December is still a strong month for bars and restaurants with liquor permits, but its lead has shrunk, and its biggest lift is in wine. January then falls hard.

This is our analysis of the Texas Comptroller's Mixed Beverage Gross Receipts data, downloaded on 5 November 2026. Every business with a Texas mixed beverage permit reports its monthly liquor, wine, beer and cover charge receipts. We summed all 3.87 million monthly reports by the month they cover, statewide, with no venue names, and compared each December's total receipts with the average month of the same year.

What it means for your New Year's Eve:

• Wine and sparkling are the December story. Wine receipts ran 21% to 36% above the average month in every December from 2017 to 2025, against 5% to 15% for liquor. Beer ranged from 4% below to 10% above, and was within 4% of normal in seven of the nine years. A by-the-glass sparkling list and a pairing option earn more than another cocktail special.
• Do not assume the room fills itself. December was the top or second month of the year in six of the eight years we checked (leaving out 2020), but only fourth in 2024 and 2025. Deposits and a confirmed seating plan matter more than they did.
• January follows. Receipts fell between 14% and 23% from December to January in each of the last five years. Money collected as deposits and prepayments in December is cash you have when January is quiet, and the February game-day platters in our Super Bowl catering guide are the next prepaid night.

Limits: these are Texas permit holders only, recent months can be revised by late filings, and a month includes holiday parties as well as New Year's Eve.

How do you staff New Year's Eve on a Thursday?

Staff New Year's Eve like your busiest Saturday, then add one person per station for the toast and the turn, and schedule a lighter team for New Year's Day brunch.

• Holiday pay is set by your policy. The Department of Labor's FLSA FAQ says the FLSA does not require pay for holidays not worked, that extra pay for night or weekend work "is a matter of agreement", and that there is no double time rule. Overtime still applies after 40 hours in the workweek, and some states and cities add their own rules.
• Thursday into Friday stretches the week. A server who closes on New Year's Eve and opens brunch on 1 January can cross 40 hours by Saturday. Check the week's hours before you publish the schedule.
• Post the schedule early. If you are a chain covered by a fair workweek law, the schedule is due 14 days ahead, so by 17 December. The predictive scheduling guide lists who is covered. Posting early is good practice for everyone.
• Name a toast captain and a door lead. One person runs the midnight pour and the countdown; one person checks IDs at the bar and turns away walk-ins you cannot serve.
• Brief the team on cutting guests off. Midnight or not, your state's dram shop rules still apply, so agree who decides and how.

New Year's Eve pricing worksheet to copy

Fill in your own numbers. The two floors and the seating test are the whole method.

NEW YEAR'S EVE PRIX FIXE WORKSHEET (Thursday 31 December 2026)

A. Cost floor
   Plate cost per guest, every course .............. $____
   Toast, favors, extras per guest ................. $____
   Total cost per guest (A1) ....................... $____
   Target food and beverage cost % (A2) ............ ____%
   Cost floor = A1 ÷ A2 ............................ $____

B. Seat floor
   Normal December Saturday turns per seat ......... ____
   Average spend per guest, food and drink ......... $____
   Revenue per seat (turns × spend) ................ $____
   Holiday premium (suggest 10% to 20%) ............ ____%
   Target per seat ................................. $____
   Expected drinks per guest on top of menu ........ $____
   Seat floor = target per seat minus drinks ....... $____

C. Price = higher of A and B, rounded ............. $____
   Last year's price × 1.038 (CPI check) .......... $____

D. Seatings
   Early seating price and end time ............... $____ by ____ pm
   Early seats I expect to sell ................... ____ of ____
   Run two seatings if early fill is 50% or more    YES / NO

E. Deposit or prepayment
   Two seatings: deposit per guest ................ $____ credited to check
   One seating: full prepayment per guest ......... $____
   Refund cut-off ................................. ____ days before
   Auto-gratuity (paid as wages) .................. ____% or none

New Year's Eve deposit terms to copy

Show these before the guest pays, in the booking confirmation and in the reminder.

New Year's Eve, Thursday 31 December 2026

Our New Year's Eve menu is $115 per guest for the 8:30 pm seating and $70
per guest for the 5:00 pm seating, before tax, drinks and gratuity.

Deposit: we take $40 per guest for the 8:30 pm seating and $25 per guest
for the 5:00 pm seating when you book. Your deposit comes off your check on
the night.

Changes: you can change the number of guests until Monday 28 December. If
fewer guests arrive than booked, we keep the deposit for each missing guest.

Cancellations: cancel by Thursday 24 December for a full refund. After that,
we keep the deposit, unless we fill your table, in which case we refund it.

The 5:00 pm seating ends at 7:15 pm so we can reset for the late seating.

A [18]% service charge is added to every check. It is not a tip; it is
paid to our team as wages. You are welcome to leave more if you choose.

Questions or changes: [phone] or [email].

Delete the service charge line if you do not add one. For a single ticketed seating, replace "Deposit" with "Payment: your ticket is paid in full when you book" and keep the same refund dates.

Can TablePort handle this for you?

Yes, for the booking side of the night. Pricing the menu stays your decision.

1. Set the deposit per shift. Deposits, cancellation terms and hours are set per shift, so dinner can ask for a deposit per guest while lunch stays free.
2. Collect it through Stripe. The guest reads your terms before they confirm, which is the record you need if a charge is disputed.
3. Confirm and remind. Guests get a confirmation and a reminder before they arrive.
4. Seat to bill. The booking opens a tab with the party size and notes, and the deposit is credited to the bill as its own line.

The honest limit: a deposit does not stop a guest disputing the charge with their bank. See Reservations.