The market and the economy will not do your work for you this year. So you’ll just have to do it yourself.While guests are continuing to dine out less often, there’s good news to be found in the demographics most of my clients serve: When people … Continued

Last week I wrote to you about plans. This week let’s talk about changing them. When your nav system offers a better route, take it. You ought to be putting the most emphasis where you will yield the greatest return.  Doing that means you may have to shift course … Continued

Maybe you already have multiple units and you’re embarking into multi-city. Or maybe, in addition to multi-city, you’re adding a second concept. Either way, if you want to sleep better, plan and organize and import knowledge from the best restaurant companies in America – and do … Continued

So we’re at the end of Q1. Now what? 2024 didn’t start off with a bang; it started off with freakishly cold weather, kids missing days of school, and utility bills that made 2022’s inflation look tame.  Unfortunately, restaurateurs are still talking about that.  Relegate … Continued

“Don’t bother to look over there; that’s all fine!” I’ve heard that from many clients who had brought me in to address specific issues. When I start roaming and nosing around their restaurants to find other opportunities to address, they try to shut me down … Continued

For my best clients, it doesn’t matter what curveballs life throws at them. They stay on a strong growth curve regardless—remaining in control of their destiny and putting the right information to work. And when you do that, great things happen, like jumping from 5 … Continued

If it’s not going great now, why would you want more of not-great? My brother once asked me, “Has anyone ever opened a restaurant in Dallas they didn’t intend to be a prototype for expansion?” Well, yes, but he made his point. For many restaurateurs, … Continued

A funny thing happened on the way to the maybe-going-to-be-a-recession: Our business stabilized.  My clients focus on growth again, the smell of fresh paint and carpet glue is in the air and new staffs learn in training classes. With calm soft openings being as current … Continued

For the best operators and smartest people, 2022 looks like a back-to-operating like a normal person year. Sure, the noise of the next variant, inflation, labor, and supply chain issues – still audible. But we have evolved in handling once-unusual and once-unthinkable scenarios. I tell … Continued

Stop looking at PPA. Start focusing on recovering the lost guest and guest count. If you know me well, you may be shocked that I would suggest you ever stop talking about PPA – even for one minute (or one shift). Right now, though, top operators realize … Continued

As we put the restaurant crisis portion of the pandemic behind us, many operators are resuming bonus plans that lay dormant last year – when there was painfully little (or no) profit to share. But I see too many bonus plans out there that look … Continued

Growth is back on the menu. As we navigate the exit lane from the restaurant crisis portion of the pandemic, my clients – owners of successful multi-unit independent restaurant groups – re-focus on their next big move. Dining rooms are opening up, revenue is increasing, … Continued

If everyone who calls me talking about taking advantage of second-generation restaurant space moves forward with their plans, I predict second-generation space will soon be in tight supply. Remember when there wasn’t any second-generation space? Not anymore. One of the tragic outcomes of this COVID-19 … Continued

At some point every day, think about your cash position and borrowing ability.   Imagine the letters C-A-S-H in red letters 12 feet high on your front lawn. I know you have a lot of things to think about (and do), like running your partitioned and … Continued

The COVID-19 crisis has segmented your guests into three distinct groups, each with different needs, wants, feelings, and thoughts – but all needing three meals a day. It’s like your three kids turned out so different; at dinner every night, one talks about their fantastic … Continued

Today’s worker has less than zero interest in hearing what their boss wants them to do without context. Smart people sell their decision and ideas.    If you don’t identify as a great salesperson but you want breakthrough results in your dining rooms, you must become a … Continued

A friend of mine told me she would enjoy moving every year. Wow! I had not heard that one before. But she abandoned that dream, realizing her kids need a stable home.   I remembered this when my daughter asked me, “Is this our forever … Continued

When your restaurant concept goes to a new city, you typically go with mega excitement and hella-aggressive confidence. That’s because you know you have something special – like when you bought that gift you knew your partner was going to love. With their first bites, locals will … Continued

Underperforming locations? They’re facts of life in the growth of any brand.  And sometimes they’re just born that way. That’s because site selection has become more science than art, but still has some artistic qualities – and can create a maternity ward for underperforming stores. … Continued

So you’re not an Olympic gold medalist, a musician with 20 million streams, or a Pulitzer Prize winner? Still want to leave your mark? For successful owners of independent restaurant companies growth looks like something between a hobby and an obsession that they talk about … Continued

Most successful people are comfortable with at least some degree of uncertainty. They surround themselves with people who tell them things that, at first, may not even seem true. Other people, though—who have trouble keeping up with the market, the competition, and the changing desires … Continued

What would happen if you asked a bunch of restaurateurs how they’d react if they consistently received feedback that menu prices were too high? First, you would see them shake their heads in frustration, roll their eyes in disbelief, and face-plant on their dining table … Continued

Recently I had the pleasure of buying a new car. I did not have a choice—mine got totaled. (We are fine, by the way. No injuries.) Having no idea what I wanted, that meant interacting with lot of car dealers and a lot of car … Continued

Everyone likes a good story. Storytelling is how we communicate and influence people. Storytelling goes one step further than what you are currently doing. – Do you want to order the fantastic, juicy steak? Or order the steak the owner specifically chose because of how … Continued

One of the many beautiful things about owning a successful independent multi-unit restaurant company is that revenue is in your control—and it can always be going up. But many restaurateurs don’t act that way. They have become me frustrated with next year’s industry forecasts that say … Continued

When you look at expenses on your P&L, you are typically making sure numbers are low enough. On the other hand, when you look at guest comp expense, you ought to make sure it is high enough. If it is not, you are under-utilizing one … Continued

All the growth in the industry is spending growth through PPA. Guest counts are going down. My advice to you and to my clients — successful owners of independent multi-unit restaurant groups — is to be good to yourself and forget all that. Put it … Continued

One of my clients owns six restaurants, serving a combined million guests every year. Working together, we figured out how to raise their PPA by $1.00. That raised system-wide sales $1,000,000. And $650,000 dropped to the bottom line. Annually. My clients and I have done … Continued

There is a line unaccounted for on your P&L. It is called “missed opportunity.” By sheer accident of the way our accounting system works, missed opportunity is a controllable expense your successful, independent multi-unit restaurant company does not account for. Potential revenue and profit is … Continued

Building restaurants is sexy. It is fun. It represents all possibilities. It gets your employees and your customers excited. Oh yeah — and it gets you and investors excited, too. And, if you invest all your money into new units, you will end up making … Continued

To be truly successful, owners of multi-unit independent restaurant companies must feel free to leave the office and their restaurants — either for a vacation or simply for a day for some creative brainstorming time — without worrying. They need to know that the people … Continued

Not long ago I had lunch with a respected industry leader who is well known in his market for his career-long success in restaurant ownership over two different brands. Over that time, he has experienced more than his share of peaks and valleys. We were … Continued

Opportunity allows you to have a chance to successfully grow the multi-unit independent restaurant company you own, building your net worth and the quality of your life. When your organization is surrounded by opportunity, an element of excitement about the future permeates your organization. The … Continued