Welcome to the Surrender News/Blog.  Get the latest news, trends, tips and information to help you succeed and thrive in the workplace.

Avoid Pitfalls of Restaurant Expansion by Planning in Advance

It could be easy to be stuck in your tracks right now. You look at a flat market, threats of tariffs that can upend the economy, and a stock market that bounces around daily like a basketball players’ “shooters bounce” that goes up and down three times before it makes it through the hoop. Yet … Continued

How Multi-Unit Restaurant Supervisors Create Better Results

You can’t afford to have multi-unit supervisors just run the machine. That’s always true, but especially in volatile and uncertain times like these. Instead of running the machine, your multi-unit supervisors must be building a better one.  Two Different Outcomes For people who work in your company, do the alarms in their phones wake them … Continued

How to Take Action and Power to Boost Guest Count

The most important number for your restaurants – the one to look at every shift, day, week, and accounting period – isn’t on your P&L. That number? Guest count. I have clients who show up with positive comp guest counts. Those brands offer great experiences to guests who are willing to pay for unique and memorable … Continued

How to Make Productive Restaurant Partnerships Work

Early in my career, as an operator with partners, I experienced the joys of an imploding partnership: enriching lawyers and exchanging money, territories, and grief.  My CPA told me, “A partnership is a like a marriage: easy to get into, hard to get out of.” Many of my clients love doing their own thing without … Continued

How Restaurant Owners Make Work Not Take Over Their Lives 

Which of these two statements do you think applies to most restaurant owners? After decades of working with successful owners of multi-unit independent restaurant companies, I guarantee the big issue is number 2: the work ethic (or paranoia) that leads to working too many hours.   The Spring Break Example In Texas this week, we … Continued

Now is the Time To Re-Focus On Your Restaurant Menu

Your guests demand more than ever and their tastes change. The good news? All the data shows they’ll still hand you their credit or debit card  when you give them something they perceive as valuable. So, as part of your guest focus, never stop working on menu improvement.  Does Your Menu Hold You Back? After a … Continued

Restaurateurs Use Your Spectacular Victories to Unlock Even More Success

Let’s take a vacation from focusing on issues (aka “opportunities”) you might have at your restaurants and ask you, “What’s your latest victory?” Does anything come to mind quickly? Hopefully – after a day spent dealing with the competition, immigration, workforce issues, egg prices, renewing your insurance, and retaining and motivating your work force – … Continued