Chains beat independents on a cycle of refreshing their concepts, décor packages, signage, logos, menu design, and offerings.Unfortunately, independents who ought to go big tend to go small.The consequences? Results that are obviously insufficient.Don’t let the chains beat you. Investing in upgrades activates your guests, enticing … Continued

For a large part of their days, restaurant owners try to figure out ways to give hourlies and managers more flexible lives. That’s just part of the world now: offering flexible scheduling for hourlies and groundbreaking benefit packages for managers. When you do this quality … Continued

I have new clients in the startup phase complaining that not all their new managers are getting the job done. I also have longtime clients worried their best people may leave for that hot new brand. The best strategy for both these clients is the … Continued

Walt Disney did not say, “If you can dream it, you can do it” – no matter how many Web posts and truckloads of World Market, hardware store and Etsy-sold canvas wall art attribute that to him. The saying, “If we can dream it, we … Continued

I’ve gone back and chosen five especially popular or meaningful posts from 2022 – a year of adjustment to new challenges and, on the whole, a successful year for the restaurants I work with.     My clients and my readers told me that these messages turned … Continued

Often (unfortunately), when they’re asked to solve problems, too many management teams don’t have the information or education they need to solve them. If your managers remain P&L illiterate, don’t defend their P&L in a meeting of their peers and then go right back to … Continued

When you spend your whole day dealing with rising costs and a soft market, leadership development might be the last thing on your schedule.  That’s a huge mistake.  Why? Because leadership development applies to everything you do in operations.  Restaurants really live in the branding … Continued

The less qualified people available to work in your restaurants earn more money than ever before. So you only have two choices: I can’t make this any simpler.   Matthew’s 5 Key Training and Education Concepts Recently I wrote to you about planning for 2023 … Continued

Don’t waste another year not handling chronic issues in your organization.  Look at your calendar. The end of the year dictates that you have a plan in place for your company for next year. In a world that’s rapidly changing and uncertain, shorter ranges of … Continued

Last week, Restaurantowner.com asked me to do a webinar on 2022’s five most valuable multi-location initiatives. You can view the webinar here.  In a hurry? Short attention span? Read this summary of my message.  Over to you. Which one of this Top 5 offers the most benefit to … Continued

If you’re feeling stuck, frozen, or worried about what happens next in the economy, you’re in danger of succumbing to short-term fears. Don’t do it! Stay focused on the big picture. Continue to build your company to support your long-term vision.   Win the Marathon … Continued

Success creates the time for you to work on only those things you like to do – and what no one else can do.  So it pains me to see restaurateurs who don’t take advantage of their success.  Why do people miss this opportunity to … Continued

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

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

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

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

By the time I start working with most of my clients, they’re already successful – making more money than they’d ever imagined. The reason they’ve brought me in, though, is that they know there’s an opportunity for so much more.   What the Airport Reminded … Continued

You miss out if you return from summer vacation with only lifetime of memories, and cool photos on your Instagram. Yesterday was my first day back in the office after two weeks in the Pacific Northwest and Colorado – two weeks of being with family … Continued

Many of the restaurateurs I talk to every day often make assumptions that send them in absolutely wrong directions. When this happens in your brain, let me help you neutralize them with Matthew’s Top 10 Course Corrections – the cure for the faulty assumptions that … Continued

A lot of restaurateurs forget to ask for the results they want – then feel puzzled when they don’t get those results. If you suffer from lack of specificity, learn to ask “why” over and over. Borrow a three-year-old or remember when you raised a … Continued

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

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

Right now, the kiddie pool in the hotel your family visits this summer is deeper than the management pool in the restaurant industry. Every few days I have a conversation where one of my clients complains that the management talent in their organization is not … Continued

Haruki Murakami wrote in his novel, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, “If people lived forever…they’d probably just figure, ‘Oh well, I’ve got plenty of time for that. I’ll think about it later.’” Stop operating your company with immortality in mind, like you have unlimited time to … Continued

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich once said, “Economic forecasters exist to make astrologers look good.” There is no time like June 2022 to remember that. Winners exist in any economic condition. You don’t have to worry about all restaurants; just focus on yours. Then win. … Continued

The smartest operators know not to let their business become a clinical trial for an experienced senior chain restaurant person who works for an independent for the first time.  Instead, they leave that risk to someone else. NEVER hire senior management unless they’ve had at … Continued

David M. Solomon, the CEO of investment bank Goldman Sachs, surprised the world by offering senior bankers unlimited vacation time. He wants his people to “take the vacation they need so they can continue to run hard, be competitive, run productively, but take care of … Continued

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

A lot of restaurant owners have that tired old American dream: Work your whole life, then sell your business and retire for good. When my clients figure out the high cost of selling now, many see that dream as a nightmare. You have another option. … Continued

By now, we’ve all shared the February New York Times article “Restaurants to Customers: Don’t Call Us, We Won’t Call You.” It’s about a growing trend in restaurants – of communicating only by email or text, not phone. In the article, one restaurant owner complains that, to … Continued

What is one thing in your organization that, when improved, would be a breakthrough for your guests, employees, brand, and net worth? Look in the mirror – it’s you. Since you’re always quick to improve other things in your business, how long are you willing … Continued

I talk to so many restaurateurs who have a restaurant detail voice in their head and stress about how their managers handle many issues.  Instead of thinking about how to create and grow, they reside in someone else’s details. I remember an image, an old … Continued

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

Non-cash adjustment moves the credit card processing cost away from your P&L and onto your guests’ credit or debit card – in small increments they do not mind.   Plastic-wielding guests will see this cost itemized on the guest check, or will see a reduced price … Continued

Last week, for the first time in two years, I went to a concert – me and 10,000 of my closest friends. Until the pandemic, that’s something I had been regularly doing my whole life.  At first, it felt otherworldly and weird.   And I … Continued