All my research points to a proven formula for handling issues that impact your multi-unit independent restaurant company’s ability to grow. In our business, it is a cliché that the hardest thing to do is grow from one to two units. But there are other leaps that are equally challenging. Blowing past three to four … Continued
If you own a successful independent multi-unit restaurant company, your work life — and your whole life — ought to be a joy. That’s how my best clients feel. This is the single most important thing I work on with my clients. But not all their peers feel that way. Some are caught up in … Continued
Recently a successful restaurateur looked at me over the lunch table and told me that running his increasingly growing stable of much-admired restaurants was beginning to become boring. “An opening is an opening — and, in operations, you may have problems, but they tend to be the same problems.” That made me think. Quality, service, happy guests, … Continued
Restaurant Development+Design November/December, 2015 By: Matthew Mabel Choosing the right site — one that is optimal for your concept, the right location for your customer base and at the right time for the place — is paramount to your success. Site selection is about more than just the viability of the unit you intend to … Continued
Nothing ever happens until somebody sells something . . . right? It’s a universal concept that’s been around for so long that nobody really knows who said it first. These days, that wise old sage would have gotten a service mark. Here’s the question: What are you selling? Want to achieve business success and personal life … Continued
In successful businesses, if you stop any team member and ask, “What are you focused on right now?” you are likely to hear the very same answer from everyone. Next . . . you meet the business owner and ask, “How does your business fit into your life?” Not only do you get a clear answer, but it is delivered with excitement, happiness and … Continued
Conventional wisdom often spouts off about razor-thin margins in the restaurant business. Our industry is perennially found on the list of the least profitable businesses, and media accounts are filled with information on how unprofitable restaurants are compared to say, law firms. In their 2015 Issues and Advocacy Agenda, the National Restaurant Association leads with this, saying, … Continued
If you own successful restaurants, you should be having fun with your business and be able to live your life with a great deal of freedom. Restaurateurs are idolized. To the outsider, owning restaurants does not really look like a job. It’s easy for people to fantasize about what it would be like to live that … Continued
“The P&L is really not important here anymore.” There, I said it. Around the table were some confused and shocked faces. The best businesses are doing well, but they know they can do better. Having a predictable financial statement and a budget they meet or beat every period indicates they are in that stage. So … Continued
One of my clients leaned into a group of his colleagues where I was sitting at a roundtable recently. He peered over my shoulder, and said in a mock comic tone, “Somebody has drilled the importance of PPA into me.” I could not see his face, but I knew he was smiling. I smiled, too. … Continued