Restaurant Ownership
How Restaurant Owners Stay on Top While Everyone Else Handles the Numbers
Top restaurateurs spend less of their precious time knowing their organization’s numbers and more time ensuring that the people who run their restaurants have financial acuity. They develop people who tell them (their boss) about prideful action undertaken to provide great guest experiences, loyal and … Continued
Read MoreWhy Today’s Young Restaurateurs Start With Strategy
Why do entrepreneurs in the incubation stage understand the need for strategy more than many successful owners of independent multi-unit restaurant companies? Recently I spoke at the DEC@Redbird part of The DEC Network in Dallas, which is dedicated to delivering access to resources, education, and guidance to give a boost to … Continued
Read MoreTop Restaurants Strengthen Culture by Asking Tough Questions
People can work for years creating a healthy culture in their restaurants – then one false move destroys it all. On a recent Monday morning, Texas Rangers President of Baseball Operations Jon Daniels called a press conference to announce he was firing his direct report: manager Chris … Continued
Read MoreOnly 3 Worthwhile Places to Look When Developing a Healthy Restaurant Business
Do your guests smile, feel happy, enjoy their meals, and tell their friends about that? Do your financial statements appear predictable and healthy – making you proud? Does your culture deeply permeate your restaurants every unit, every shift, every table, every time? Do your people … Continued
Read MoreHow Independent Restaurants Respond to the Beating They Took From Chains During This Pandemic
Chains won the pandemic – independent restaurants lost. Chains leveraged their financial and resource superiority and, in a frightening (for us in the independent world) turn of events, learned to act quickly. Chili’s created a virtual brand across 1,000 units in a few months. Chipotle … Continued
Read MoreThese Three Restaurant Fundamentals Ensure Guest Happiness in Uncertain Times
We live in uncertain times – in a maybe-recession, maybe-not recession, maybe-shallow recession. In the big cities where most of my clients operate, restaurants experience softer sales. Guests are spending, but that spending happens while on vacation in France, Spain, the Bahamas, Florida, Colorado, California, … Continued
Read More3 Steps to Developing Powerful Restaurant Managers Now
Expecting managers to perform because, 1) You told them to, and 2) You pay them a lot, identifies as disappointing fantasy. Instead, stick to reality. And in reality, the management shortage actually looks worse this year. People have landed in their post-COVID-crisis spots in and … Continued
Read MoreHow Restaurant Owners Eliminate Frustration about Missed Opportunity
The pandemic changed what people tolerate. Today, after all they’ve lived through; owners of successful independent multi-unit restaurant companies have less tolerance for organizational blind spots. They’re not content to just let initiatives be like conversations that go on year after year with no tangible … Continued
Read MoreHow Top Restaurant Companies Make Current Strategy Succeed
Looking into 2022, the greatest thing top restaurant companies have going for them is that – after experiencing all those previously unimaginable things over the past two years – they have now figured out their strengths, identity, branding, and plans. The future now looks much … Continued
Read MoreSix Key Takeaways for Restaurants from My “Beat the Labor Shortage” Workshop
If you missed the workshop I conducted last week, “Beat the Labor Shortage – How to Attract and Retain Talent Without Breaking the Bank,” I’m sharing six key takeaways discovered by the diverse group of owners, operators, educators, and corporate team members who collaborated with … Continued
Read MoreHow Multi-Concept Restaurant Operators Conquer Their Unique Challenges
Many of my clients operate more than one brand. These operators of multi-unit, multi-concept organizations have challenges that never even show up on the radar for single-concept operators. Still, few yearn for a simpler life. That’s just how the personalities of these owners work. These … Continued
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