Here in Texas, a lot of people ask me why Café Express – which you can argue invented fast casual in 1984 – only operates four units when it used to be 15 or more and had aspirations of 100.It’s simple: They didn’t keep up, … Continued

The relationship between the first in command and the second in command is the most important relationship in your company. Leadership gives birth to breakthroughs. When I’ve worked with clients where that relationship was in shambles, guess what we did first? We corrected it; if … Continued

I can’t make it through a single day without someone talking to me about how much they need to hire or develop more talented managers.  On many days it’s multiple someones. One nice part of our business right now that can help? Clarity. We know … Continued

I have seen more than one organization head into a new year with a comprehensive targeted annual plan but then – once the first quarter starts – forget it completely and just start reacting to whatever’s right in front of them. It’s like one of … Continued

Well, Q3 was a disappointment; we all know that. However, most of my clients did OK – because we have correctly managed the brand and value proposition and kept costs in line. But brands that entered Q3 in a weaker position struggled on flat sales … Continued

When the company you own remains the only one you where you have ever served in a leadership position, it can be like going to the same vacation spot every year and having no idea what the rest of the world looks like. You remain … Continued

It wasn’t long ago that my car dealer was sending me letters every week, asking me to sell them back my car for a crazy premium. I should have done it – because the price of used cars just fell off a cliff.  Car dealers … Continued

When you found out that KFC had formed a partnership with the online Western Governors University to offer employees 100% paid tuition to earn a college degree, you probably rolled your eyes as an independent restaurant operator. Or maybe the shock was so big, you … Continued

Have you driven by any of those restaurants with expensive dark and empty dining rooms, waiting a little longer to open – because their management team has not been fully populated?  Finding great restaurant managers has always been a challenge. These days, though, many owners … Continued

One aspect of my work focuses on allowing restaurant owners to leave when they want to – getting their companies to the point where the owner’s hands-on attention isn’t relied on too much. To do this, we supercharge the time they are at work, bringing … Continued

With the COVID crisis on the wane, guests are becoming open-minded about their dining choices again. Reclaiming these lost guests (and having at least 20% revenue to-go and delivery) requires your managers to continually improve. An elite group of independent restaurant company owners – each … Continued

With today’s decreased labor pool and increased wages, most operators think the way to manage labor is to concentrate on the cost of that labor. They are wrong.  Today’s top operators forget all about labor cost (for a while) and instead examine hours and productivity.  … Continued

Your vaccinated guests feel safe, and your unvaccinated guests feel bulletproof. Sales remain strong, and top operators prepare for that to continue, as well as for an uptick in to-go, delivery, and curbside. I sat in one of my clients’ restaurants the other day, looking … Continued

Chains beat the cr*p out of independents on technology during the pandemic.  You must now have a technology adoption plan that addresses three areas – guests, unit-level operations, and your office.  The only people who did not learn that in the last year, distracted themselves just … Continued

Imagine it is one month from today: The voting part of this election has (thankfully and finally) ended – even if the counting part may just be beginning. Whichever candidates or political party you support, you can do the right thing for your country, your … Continued

When a new restaurant opens: For the first few weeks, everyone runs around chaotically excusing every misstep saying, “We just opened – things happen!” After a while, though, that excuse rings hollow and gets in the way of progress. Typically three or four weeks into … Continued

The past few weeks have been a violent wake-up alarm that ended fleeting dreams of “best-case” COVID-19 scenarios. Negativity and challenges can be overwhelming. Like me, do you have strong feelings about the missed opportunities that have made this crisis much worse than it could … Continued

The COVID-19 crisis has spread chaos throughout your top line, bottom line, life’s work, savings, and future. While you think deeply about repairing those things, never forget how this has impacted the managers and staff who make your business go every day. What you say … Continued

Are you and your organization clear on the difference between task and management? Last week, I had three similar conversations with three different clients – all of whom own restaurants and companies anyone would envy. It was like a hazy art film where, no matter … Continued

My second-grade daughter – and all the second-graders in the Dallas Independent School District – are spending time learning the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. When Stephen Covey’s book first came out in 1989, it was revolutionary, cutting-edge thought about how to live your life. … Continued

How do you do that? Simple. Make sure all your managers get better every year. If you want to run great restaurants in the current labor market, you have no other choice. “We all strive to be better every day, and that includes me.”  When … Continued

In over 30 years in this business I have never seen anything like it. Restaurant managers. The shortage. Last week I heard about a new restaurant that opened two months late: Everything was ready to go—but there were no managers. You Can’t Order the GM … Continued

A very talented general manager in one of my client companies looked like the frustration emoji when telling me, “Our weekly operations meetings, it is the same thing every week—it feels like Groundhog Day.” The issue? Getting together yielded no process to develop the people … Continued

What would your employees text you—the successful owner of an independent, multi-unit restaurant group—if they had the chance? Michael Lastoria, CEO and founder &pizza, gave every one of his 750 employees at his 35-units his cell number—and the open invitation to text him. You may … Continued

Nothing happens in a restaurant dining room until someone creates a recipe, orders the food, preps and cooks the food, and an expediter puts the order together.  The best successful multi-unit independent restaurant companies create enthusiasm and loyalty with their back-of-house personnel by constantly telling … Continued

The professionals at the top of your successful multi-unit independent restaurant company are critical to your success, but they are not irreplaceable.   In some cases, replacing them will actually propel you forward. Experience in the restaurant industry is very important, but there’s also a lot to … Continued

Too many successful multi-unit restaurant companies budget like people who go to the grocery store and take a list of what they ate last week without any thought for what they might enjoy in the future. The result? They get good things, but not great things … Continued

I was recently talking with the CEO of a 30-unit organization, who asked me, “Are you the guy who brings in the technology and the software that will give me more data? My data is good, but it can always get better — and there … Continued

If you are an owner of an independent restaurant company, there is a good chance you have walked through your dining room wondering to yourself, “Why doesn’t anyone see what I see?” Sound familiar?  I recently talked to two such operators who asked me that … Continued

Those of us with a pile of wisdom and experience from being in the restaurant industry for decades remember when a restaurant operations manual was the size of a phone book. Those of us with that track record of career-long success also remember what a … Continued

Quick, recite the language you use to recruit and retain talent. Is it compelling? What does it say about your organization? What is special about working there? What makes working with your organization a winning strategy from the talent’s perspective? It probably isn’t rate of … Continued

If you know me well, you know I am a positive and optimistic person. But even I have to admit that, in this economy, finding unit-level management is brutal. It is easier for me to find a VP of Operations, CFO, or COO for the … Continued

Over the years, I have worked with so many successful independent multi-unit restaurant owners. A lot of them share this common characteristic — they just don’t fit the mold. You know, the conventional American business leader: the great manager who runs an organized, rational, structured, … Continued

General Managers are the most important people in your successful multi-unit independent restaurant company. They control what happens within the four walls — including both the guest experience and the strength of your bottom line. Finding great general managers in the current labor market can … Continued