Operations
Your numbers know
something you don't.
For restaurant groups running 2–6 locations.
Built By An Operator, Not A Consultant
I've been on your side of the table.
Thirty years in restaurants. I built and run Yolk — a multi-state brunch group operating across three states — alongside multiple other concepts spanning casual dining, coffee, and brunch.
To run it, I built a stack of operational tools for my own P&L: Toast POS dashboards, a labor efficiency framework that benchmarks cost per $1,000 in net sales, and real-time variance monitoring that flags drift before it shows up in the monthly close.
Most consultants hand you a deck. I install the same systems I've been running on my own books for years, then sit across from you while we work the numbers.
What We Look For
Where margin actually leaks.
Six places we look first when we open up an operation. We rarely come back empty-handed.
Labor variance
Schedules that look right on paper but bleed when the day goes sideways.
Prime cost drift
Food and labor creeping up a half point at a time until you're suddenly down three.
Menu mix decay
Top sellers from two years ago aren't your top sellers anymore — but pricing and prep haven't caught up.
Daypart inefficiency
Lunch paying for a kitchen that's built for dinner. Or vice versa.
Kitchen throughput
Tickets are slow not because the line is slow — the order of operations is wrong.
Scheduling waste
Over-staffed on the wrong shifts to feel safe, still getting hammered on the right ones.
How We Work
Three ways in.
Every engagement starts with the data. Where it goes from there depends on what you need.
Tier One
The Line Check
One-time diagnostic audit
$5,000–$7,500
per location
14-day turnaround
- POS, payroll, and P&L data in
- 20–30 page diagnostic report out
- 60-minute walkthrough with you and your team
- Labor efficiency, prime cost, and menu engineering review
- 3–5 dollar-quantified recommendations
Tier Two
The Operating Partner
Recurring fractional COO retainer
$1,500–$3,000
per month, per location
6-month minimum
- Continuous variance monitoring on labor and prime cost
- Weekly variance digest delivered every Monday
- Monthly strategy call with ownership
- Quarterly on-site visit per location
- Ongoing text and Slack access between sessions
Tier Three
The Build-Out
For operators opening their next location
$25,000–$75,000
project-based
Pre-opening through 90 days post-open
- Concept and brand work paired with operations setup
- Pro forma, labor model, and prime cost targets
- Vendor sourcing, opening playbook, training systems
- 90-day post-opening stabilization included
- For existing operators only — not first-time builds
Let's Talk
If you're running real volume and want to know what your numbers are actually telling you,
let's talk.
Send a few details and we'll be in touch within one business day.