Rowing in the Same Direction: How Alignment Cuts Audit Costs

  When the audit request list hits your inbox, what’s the first feeling that hits you? If you’re like most of the operators I talk to, it’s a mix of confusion and pressure. I’ll be honest, even working in a financial firm, audits always felt mysterious to me.. Why the intense scrutiny? What’s the real […]

How Growing Restaurants Should Build Their Finance Function at Every Stage

Margins are tightening across the industry right now. Inflation keeps pushing costs higher. Labor is more expensive, and the competition never lets up. Industry forecasts warn that up to 30% of restaurants could close in the next few years without stronger operational fundamentals. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when a restaurant tries to grow from […]

Quality, Consistency, and Passion: Ingredients for Scaling a Restaurant

  Opening a new restaurant is always a gamble—and as I learned in my conversation with Ivan Iricanin, CEO and Founder of Street Guys Hospitality, that gamble pays off when vision meets execution. When Ivan stepped into the Washington, DC market as an outsider, he brought Balkan cuisine to a city already crowded with familiar […]

Restaurant Budget Accountability: How to Set Realistic Goals and Incentives

Running a restaurant is tough. Rising labor costs, unpredictable sales, and slim margins make financial discipline essential. Yet many operators fall into a common trap: setting ambitious stretch goals instead of building realistic budgets their teams can actually follow. Restaurant budget accountability addresses this problem directly. The goal isn’t simply to slash costs. It’s about […]

Why Financial Benchmarking for Restaurants Isn’t What You Think

In the restaurant industry, the pressure is relentless. Between thin margins and rising expectations, the cost of a financial misstep is higher than ever.  Operators know they need to track performance, but too often, benchmarking is mistaken for a simple game of comparison, measuring yourself against other brands. The reality is, true benchmarking in restaurants […]

Think Outsourcing Means Losing Control? Here’s the Real Story

  Most restaurant owners know what it’s like to manage every detail. You built your team, learned each regulation the hard way, and protected the culture you built. The thought of letting someone else handle your HR, payroll, or accounting sparks real anxiety. What if you lose sight of the details that set your restaurant […]

Restaurant Financial Planning with Four-Week Forecasts

Restaurant owners face relentless financial pressures with rising food costs, unpredictable sales, and labor shortages threatening already narrow margins.  Without a reliable restaurant financial plan in place, cash flow surprises and missed payrolls become real risks, especially when seasonality and sudden expense spikes enter the mix.  Most operators want more than guesswork or a static […]

How to Build a High-Performance Restaurant Team From the Ground Up

What does it take to build a restaurant team that performs every shift, even when turnover spikes and margins shrink? Operators know the challenge: one day you have a full roster, the next you’re scrambling to fill gaps and keep guests happy. Every decision about your people ripples out to the guest experience and bottom […]

Restaurant Forecasting Methods, Tools, and Best Practices

Every restaurant owner knows the drill: food costs go up, margins get thinner, and customers are unpredictable.  Operators who lack a disciplined restaurant forecasting process often react too late to cash flow surprises, labor overruns, or inventory waste that erode profitability. Most budgets collapse because of unrealistic projections, poor accountability, or a lack of buy-in from the […]