How much does it cost a restaurant for a serving of ice?

Mr. Smartypants

Just the energy to freeze the ice and refrigerate it until it's used. I read an article about soft drink sales in restaurants, especially fast-food. Many restaurants today have the soft drink machine where the customers can use it themselves. This is because it actually costs more for a store employee to refill a drink than the drink itself is worth. A refill of a soft drink in a 12 oz cup costs the restaurant less than 2 cents! The 30 seconds or 1 minute it takes for even a minimum-wage employee to fill it costs more than that. So they allow the customer to do it themselves. Presumably the ice is part of that refill, so it's less than 2 cents.

Tom

Lots.

Bob

Not more than a cent or two.