At Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace this weekend – on Sunday, July 11, I will present a rapid-fire brainstorming education session: “I’m Still Standing. The Pandemic Kicked My Restaurant’s Ass.” I will be on the show floor’s Big Bend Ideas Stage at 10:30 AM on Sunday, July 11, … Continued

At Texas Restaurant Association Marketplace in three weeks – on Sunday, July 11, I will present a rapid-fire brainstorming education session: “I’m Still Standing. The Pandemic Kicked My Restaurant’s Ass.” I will be on the show floor’s Big Bend Ideas stage at 10:30 AM on Sunday, July 11, … Continued

I recently talked to a restaurateur who had just taken his first plane trip in 15 months – and he told me incredulously that it felt “almost like normal.” I’m taking my first one in a few weeks. Last year, the year of oddness and … Continued

One of my peers in my international consulting community sent me the results of a small business owner poll taken by Alignable, the small business referral network, about reasons for the hiring shortage. It was interesting…and predictable, with unemployment presented as the #1 reason and stimulus … Continued

Said no one ever: “Honey, I feel hungry. What corporation do you want to dine at tonight?” One of the myriad changes forced on your multi-unit restaurant company during the crisis phase of the pandemic? Spending your corporate office budget much more wisely. No sacred … Continued

In Texas, from time to time, a bumper sticker appears that says, “Lord, grant me one more oil boom and I promise not to screw it up.” Welcome to our oil boom. Last week I dined with a group of experienced restaurateurs who I noticed … Continued

Attention procrastinators! There is still time to register for the webinar “Let’s Eat – How Restaurants Should Respond as Nighttime Diners Return.” This event takes place at 4 PM CDT today. Register free here.  You will hear success stories about my clients and the plans … Continued

The latest release in horror movies our industry is part of – our three-pronged labor shortage disaster. When I speak with operators, our first words are usually the zeitgeist pleasantries about Pfizer, Moderna, or J&J, and our next words are always about staffing our restaurants. … Continued

The latest release in horror movies our industry is part of – our three-pronged labor shortage disaster. When I speak with operators, our first words are usually the zeitgeist pleasantries about Pfizer, Moderna, or J&J, and our next words are always about staffing our restaurants. … Continued

The not-so-secret formula to exceeding your 2019 revenue by double digits? Getting to see friendly faces again. With capacity restrictions on your dining room removed as if by magic, you’ll see lots of customers you recognize from a long time ago.   Now that they’re … Continued

With Texas allowing 100% capacity, the honeymoon with our guests is on.   But honeymoons don’t last forever. And what about this crisis? It won’t really be over until the case load is low, we understand new post-COVID guest behavior, when the unready or hesitant … Continued

You live your restaurant brand – treating it as your precious, much-loved baby.  To you, every tiny change and improvement you make to your restaurant is obvious, just like parents notice their kids changing every few days when they are young. Unfortunately, what is great … Continued

Give yourself credit.  You made it through the past year. You will never forget it, and definitely never want to repeat anything like it. A year and a week ago yesterday, my daughter and I were at a Dallas Mavericks game, and the person who … Continued

The great Texas Experiment begins next Wednesday. That’s when Governor Greg Abbott has announced he will rescind his statewide mask mandate and capacity limits on businesses. The governor also said, “Personal vigilance to follow the safe standards is still needed to contain COVID.  To stay … Continued

They run restaurants and are an organization’s highest VIPs. So it’s not unreasonable that my best clients are continually growing the capability of their general managers. You want them to act like they have ownership, or spend less time on task, or take on activities … Continued

At first, it was a surprise that the younger entrepreneurs I work with today – people in their 30s and 40s, building great brands and futures for themselves and their families – don’t suffer from the ego problems that obstructed their predecessors. They are much … Continued

During the pandemic, the pendulum swung in the battle between independent and chain restaurants – now favoring chains. Over time, supremacy has switched from one to the other – and back again. Like between Federer and Nadal Republicans and Democrats The Avengers and Thanos At … Continued

At breakfast before school one day last week, my eight-year-old daughter looked at me over her yogurt-covered waffles (her self-created entrée) and asked me a great question. She asked what would make COVID-19 go away. We’ve all asked the same thing. As we usher in … Continued

We now exist in the planning range for what happens to your successful multi-unit restaurant company after the pandemic ends. Write that down on a post it note, or take a picture of it on your phone and look at it every day. Take action … Continued

If you’ve watched the most recent season of The Crown on Netflix, you probably remember the episode when Prime Minister Thatcher and her husband spent a social weekend with the royal family at Scotland’s Balmoral Castle. However, even though it was supposed to be a social weekend, … Continued

For the generation of restaurant companies growing up over the past 30 years, two things remain clear today that were not so evident in, say, 1991: 1. How you master professionalization, and2. How you master culture will determine your restaurant company’s results. One way or … Continued

I’ve gone back and chosen five especially popular or meaningful posts from this year – a year when, just like you, I’ve pivoted to help people in a different way. It’s astonishing that, if you had shown me these five subjects a year ago, I … Continued

After nine months, no one wants to hear about what we’ve learned from this mess. They just want to know what to do. I can’t tell you how many times throughout this crisis I have had to quiet my brain every time I thought, “lesson … Continued

Welcome to the re-beginning. Last March, we felt shock as we walked through empty dining rooms, establishing tactics and strategy as we went along. In the background we heard health authorities warn us there would be a spike “next winter” – but we sort of … Continued

At the risk of going all Winston Churchill on you, forecasting and planning for 2021 looks like “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Increased COVID cases may have a negative impact on revenue. Availability and acceptance of a vaccine may have a … Continued

Remember the days leading up to the presidential election? And the days after it? World-championship LeBron James levels of uncertainty – like much of the year 2020. Reminds me of a telephone negotiation I just completed.  The person on the other end of the call … Continued

Earlier in the year, I expected to be writing by now about the lessons we learned during the COVID crisis. I mean, we knew going into this that it wasn’t going to be a sprint. We always thought it would be a marathon. But it … Continued

In 2020 you need all the help you can get. Here is help for you that takes next Monday at 2 PM CDT (registration link at the bottom of the page). Read below about Denny Law Group’s annual industry event, free and this year, virtual. … Continued

Last week I spoke to multiple operators who reflected on the process they used a year ago to set their goals for 2020 – and how those goals currently lie in a hundred pieces on the floor due to COVID-19. Usually around this time of … Continued

Remember your former long-time guests? The ones you have not seen since March? Think of all their names and faces now. While they may seem like just a memory at this point, they’re more than that – they represent your life’s work…and your future profit. … Continued

Restaurateurs who barely gave a thought to to-go and delivery before this year are now relying on them to help their restaurants produce any kind of revenue approaching historical norms. For that to happen, though, customers need to perceive your to-go and delivery as fast, … Continued

When you log on to your favorite news site to see that 25% or 40% or 85% of restaurants will not survive this mess, you feel depressed and downright disturbed. (By the way, I predict the lower number.) As of today here in Texas, though, … Continued

Qualifying for a potential PPP2 loan is critical to survival planning. Congress is working with a formula where  PPP2 loans, if they happen, reward people who could not (or did not) open after the shelter-in-place orders – or had central business district or tourist locations. … Continued

2020 has taken its place as the best year of our lifetimes to honor the American worker.  Like everything else, Labor Day has taken on the personality of what we got this year-not what we typically encounter.   With no experience to fall back on, … Continued

Any restaurant owners out there who want to feel better? If so, I recommend spending some time right now improving your restaurant company with the future in mind. Restaurant owners who live in the middle (or wherever we exist now) of this pandemic feel a … Continued