Most restaurants rely on heroics. That’s why they break.
Chef calls out—everything collapses.
Staff turns over—culture disappears.
Owner burns out—nothing changes.

After 33 years in the kitchen, I’ve seen it all.
I’ve run high-volume operations, trained green teams into machines, and led groups through chaos and culture collapse.
And here’s what I know:

Culture eats talent for breakfast.
Systems beat talent when talent doesn’t have systems.

Today, I help restaurant leaders build kitchens that don’t rely on superheroes.
I work with chefs and operators to:

→ Define their way of doing business
→ Build leadership systems that teach it
→ Create operations that run consistently—even when they’re not there

It’s not theory. It’s not fluff.
One client cut turnover by 60% and grew profit by 15% in 90 days.

If your team is talented but inconsistent…
If your culture changes depending on who’s in charge…
If your restaurant falls apart when one person is out…

Let’s talk.

On the CULINARY MECHANIC podcast, I host candid conversations with hospitality's most innovative leaders. From kitchen culture to tech innovations, we blend battle-tested wisdom with modern insights that challenge 'the way it's always been done.' It's where restaurant wisdom meets real systems that work.

🎙️ Host: CULINARY MECHANIC
📩 DM me or visit culinarymechanic.com

Simon Zatyrka

If you're ready to stop living in service-to-service survival



The first install isn't a meeting.

It's a leadership operating system.

Not a new hire.
Not a motivational speech.
Not "trying harder."

A framework that runs whether you feel like leading or not.

We call it B.A.C.O.N.

Here's what it actually installs:

𝗕 — 𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗳𝘀
Non-negotiables in writing. How we communicate. How we clean. How we treat people. Not posters—enforced standards.

𝗔 — 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Clear roles. Clear ownership. Clear feedback. No ambiguity, no drama. Everyone knows what "done right" looks like.

𝗖 — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀
A 2-minute pre-shift. Same time every day. Same questions. Plus a weekly leadership meeting that kills repeat problems.

𝗢 — 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆
Checklists, protocols, and training reps that make standards stick—even when nobody feels motivated.

𝗡 — 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀
Tie daily behaviors to labor, food cost, and ticket average. Turn "it feels high" into "here's what we're changing this week."

Here's what 90 days looks like:

Week 1–2: Feels forced. Leaders resist. You wonder if it's worth it.

Week 3–4: Resistance fades. The team starts anticipating the rhythm.

Week 5–8: Standards hold on busy nights. Escalations drop. Your chef stops being the only quality control system.

Week 9–12: Leaders lead without prompting. The restaurant runs a shift without you texting.

The kitchens that stick with this see fewer escalations, fewer prep misses, and leaders who coach instead of firefight.

The ones who quit after week 2 stay stuck in survival mode.

Motivation fades.
Systems compound.

You don't need to feel like leading.
You need a system that runs whether you feel like it or not.

DM "90" if you're ready to stop running on adrenaline.

Your kitchen doesn't need inspiration. It needs structure.





I've watched kitchens have an incredible Friday night.

Flawless execution. Happy guests. Team clicking on all cylinders.

Then Saturday comes and it's chaos again.

Different energy. Different mistakes. Different results.

Same kitchen. Same menu. Same people.

What changed?

Nothing was built to repeat.

Here's what structure actually looks like:

• A 2-minute pre-shift that names the priority, the standard, and who owns what
• A post-shift that captures one win or one fix for tomorrow
• A weekly meeting that kills repeat problems before they become culture
• Roles defined clearly enough that anyone can hold the standard—not just the chef

That's not corporate overhead.

That's the difference between a great night and a great operation.

Inspiration gets you through one service.

Structure gets you through every service.

The kitchens I see running calm and consistent aren't more talented.

They just stopped leaving execution to mood, memory, and motivation.

They built a rhythm.

And rhythms repeat.

Structure is the real definition of consistency.

Save this if you want predictable execution—and drop a 🔥 if you've lived the Friday-to-Saturday whiplash.

"People don't want to work anymore."




I hear this weekly from operators.

And every time, I ask the same thing:

What does your leadership system look like?

Silence. Or a list of complaints about the workforce.

Here's the uncomfortable truth:

The workforce changed. Permanently.

Labor has leverage now. 


Good people can leave and actually improve their lives. 


The old pressure-based playbook—fear, chaos, hero hours, "just replace them"—doesn't land the way it used to.

But most kitchens are still running it.


Even if they aren't yelling and screaming, they are still trying to do things "the way it's always been done"

And then wondering why turnover is "normal."

Here's what today's teams actually require:

• Clarity — not assumptions about what they should "just know"
• Feedback — not silence until something breaks
• Routines — not chaos that changes shift to shift
• Fair accountability — not selective enforcement based on who's working

That's not soft. That's operational.

When expectations are clear and enforced consistently, people stop guessing. 


They stop bracing for chaos. They start owning work.

When leadership is a system—not a personality—engagement follows.

The problem isn't that people don't want to work.

The problem is that most managers were never taught how to lead in this environment.

Leadership isn't a trait. It's a skill.

And skills are teachable.

So before you blame the labor pool, ask yourself:

What if your team knew exactly what "good" looked like today—before service started?

The workforce changed.

Leadership has to change with it.

Or you keep paying the turnover tax and calling it "normal."

What's one leadership shift you've had to make in the last few years?

At Benchmark Sixty, we know that you want to be a great restaurant operator. An operator who wants to have long-term success regardless of inflation, labor shortages, or other common challenges. In order to operate that way, it’s important to understand how data and information can improve your business.

Unfortunately, most restaurant owners don’t have time to sift through information or study data because they’re too busy running their restaurants! This can be frustrating, and it leaves so many owners feeling stuck in the mindset that, “this is the way we’ve always done it.”

Benchmark Sixty is a consulting firm that believes no restaurant owner should feel stuck or like external problems are controlling their business. You shouldn’t have to feel like you have no choice but to hope that the old ways will work. That’s why we use a holistic method of analyzing data in a way that immediately pinpoints opportunities and provides a gateway to solving your problems.

Our three-step process allows us to better understand your:

Concept. Every business is different and should be operated as such.

Productivity. We measure this using a proprietary strategy.

Data. In minutes, we’ll have answers to help us better understand your business as a whole.

With Benchmark Sixty on your side, we can work to change the way the entire restaurant industry looks at labor costs in an attempt to better protect people and profit. Reach out to us to learn more about our hospitality consulting services or to get started today.

Benchmark Sixty Restaurant Services

The fastest way to fix your labor cost is to raise it.

I know. That sounds insane.


But I've seen this pattern destroy hundreds of restaurants. And I've seen the fix work every time.


I call it the Death Spiral.


Here's how it plays out:

• Labor runs high. 
• Panic sets in. 
• Hours get slashed. 
• Service suffers. 
• Sales drop. 

And labor percentage? Still the same.


So you cut more.


And the spiral continues.


I watched one restaurant take this to the extreme. They moved the cold station behind the bar so bartenders could make salads themselves.


Think about that.


Your bartenders are building Caesar salads between cocktails. All to save a prep cook.


And their labor percentage? Still not where they wanted it.


Because cutting labor without fixing productivity just shrinks your capacity.


You didn't fix the problem. You shrank the business.


Here's what most operators miss:

The spiral isn't a labor problem. It's a capacity problem disguised as a labor problem.


When you cut too deep:

• Servers get overwhelmed. Check averages drop.
• Kitchen gets buried. Ticket times spike.
• Managers expedite instead of manage.
• Your best people burn out and quit.


Now you're hiring constantly. Training constantly. Bleeding money constantly.


The counterintuitive fix?


Add people back. On purpose.


That restaurant with the bartender salads? We did exactly that.


Labor climbed to 28%.


Ownership panicked.


But then something happened.


The team had time to sell. Time to serve. Time to stay.


$225K annuall improvement.
Turnover got cut in half.
Labor dropped back to 25% on its own.


Not because we cut harder.


Because we gave the team room to perform.


They earned the right to spend less by producing more.


That's the escape hatch from the Death Spiral.


You don't cut your way out.


You build your way out.


If your labor percentage won't budge no matter how many hours you cut, you might already be in the spiral.


Comment "SPIRAL" below and I'll send you the diagnostic I use to identify if you're stuck in it.



👊🏻




#restaurants #labormanagement #restaurantoperations

Jim Taylor

I build sustainable business models for restaurants. Business model & labor optimization for restaurant owners & operators | Recover $60K–$2M+ without raising prices | Advisor | 2× Author | Restaurateur

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Most restaurant managers didn't plan to become restaurant managers.


You were 20. A friend worked at the cool spot. Needed cash while you "figured life out."


Fast forward 10 years—you're running a $3M operation.


How the hell did that happen? 


I'll tell you exactly how.

- You showed up on time.
- Made fewer mistakes than most.
- Took care of guests.
- Didn't do anything stupid.

Then someone asked if you wanted to "get into management." 


Your brain: Long hours. Pay cut. Managing friends. Vacation? What vacation?


But you said yes anyway.

For the paid time off.
For the benefits.
Because banks like salary over tips.


What you didn't realize? You were about to get an MBA in everything.


• HR when someone no-shows.
• Plumbing when the dishwasher breaks.
• Psychology when a guest loses their mind.
• Finance when food cost spikes.
• Marketing when sales drop.
• IT when the POS crashes.
• Engineering when the HVAC dies.


All while serving 1,000 guests on a Saturday.


People say hospitality isn't a "real job."

Those people never managed a restaurant.


Real jobs don't teach you to:
- Handle 47 crises before noon
- Turn $30/hour in sales into profit
- Keep 50 people motivated at 2am
- Solve problems with duct tape and hope


Every successful business person I know started in restaurants.


Not because they planned to.


Because restaurants teach you business better than business school.


That multi-tasking you perfected? It's called operations management now.

That angry guest you calmed? That's crisis management.

Those schedules you built? Workforce optimization.

Those stressed line cooks you motivated? Leadership.


My 20 years managing 500+ employees taught me more about business than any degree could.


Now I help restaurant managers see what they really are:

—> Some of the most skilled, resilient, resourceful business professionals on the planet.


• Running businesses that never close.
• Managing people who don't want to be managed.
• Solving problems that shouldn't exist.
• Making magic out of chaos.


Every. Single. Day.


So here's to the restaurant manager.

The accidental executive.
The midnight mathematician.
The professional plate spinner.


Your "job" is building an empire.


You just don't know it yet.


👊


P.S. That restaurant experience you think isn't "corporate enough" for your resume? 

It's exactly what every business needs. You learned to thrive in chaos. Most MBAs can't handle a lunch rush.


P.P.S. Still in the trenches wondering if this leads anywhere? I went from restaurant ops to building my own consulting business. 

Those "restaurant skills" now help 100+ other consultants build theirs. The classroom was just disguised as a kitchen.


#RestaurantManagement #Hospitality #Leadership #People

Business model & labor optimization for restaurant owners & operators | Recover $60K–$2M+ without raising prices | Advisor | 2× Author | Restaurateur

Labor percentage is the most dangerous number in your restaurant.


And you're probably obsessing over it right now.


Every operator I meet manages to this number. Cuts to this number. Celebrates when it drops.


But here's what nobody tells you:

Labor percentage is a lagging indicator. It tells you what happened. Not why. Not how to fix it. Not what to do next.


It's the scoreboard. Not the game.


You can't control labor percentage directly. You can only control the inputs that create it.


𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝟰 𝗶𝗻𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿:

→ 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗱 — How many labor hours are you deploying?

→ 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗶𝗱 — What does each hour cost you?

→ 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 — How many people walked through the door?

→ 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 — How much did each guest spend?


That's it. Four numbers.


Labor percentage is just the math that happens when those four collide.


𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀:

Two restaurants can both run 28% labor.

One is printing money. The other is bleeding out.

Same percentage. Completely different productivity.

Because one controls the inputs. The other just watches the scoreboard and panics.


𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁:

Stop asking "How do I lower labor percentage?"

Start asking:

→ How many guests can each labor hour serve?

→ How much revenue does each labor hour produce?

→ What happens to productivity when I add or remove staff?


Control the inputs. The percentage takes care of itself.


You can't manage a result. You can only manage the actions that create it.


Most operators have this backwards.


They cut hours and wonder why sales drop.
They add staff and wonder why profit doesn't improve.
They hit their labor target and still lose money.


Because they're managing the scoreboard.


Not the game.


👊🏻


P.S. I built a simple tool that shows you exactly how your 4 inputs connect — and where the real opportunity is hiding in your numbers. Comment "INPUTS" below and I'll send it over.


#restaurants #labormanagement #restaurantoperations

If you have these simple things, you have a labor model.


—> Employees who earn a wage.
—> Guests who pay for a product or service.


That's it.


Employees. Wages. Guests. Sales.


Four numbers. One relationship.


And 90% of restaurants don't understand how they connect.


Here's what most operators do:

They look at labor percentage.

"We're at 28%. That's good."

But good compared to what?


They have no idea if that 28% is producing results or just happening.


The labor model isn't about cost.


It's about the relationship between what you spend and what you get back.


𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 × 𝗪𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 = 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁

That's the investment side.


𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 × 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀 = 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲

That's the return side.


Your job is to understand how those two sides connect.


→ How many labor hours does it take to serve one guest?
→ How much revenue does each labor hour produce?
→ What happens to productivity when you add or remove an employee?


Most restaurants can't answer any of these questions.


They're running blind.


They cut hours and wonder why sales drop.


They add staff and wonder why profit doesn't improve.


They hit their labor target and still lose money.


They see low labor % and worry about service. 


Because they're managing a percentage, not a model.


𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁:

Stop treating labor as a cost to control.

Start treating it as an investment to optimize.


Your employees generate revenue.

Your wages buy productivity.

Your guests fund the whole thing.

Your model will tell you if it's working.


Simple numbers. One model.

Know how they connect, and you'll stop guessing.



👊🏻



#restaurants #labormanagement #restaurantoperations

If cutting labor actually fixed profitability, most restaurants would already be winning.

Labor percentage is not the lever. It is the result.

If you are serious about fixing the model instead of chasing percentages, this one is for you.

#restaurantoperators #hospitalityleadership #laborcost

View newsletter: The Restaurant Resurgence

First things first, if you haven't listened to the lastest episode of MENU Unplugged where we sat down and talked with Stephen Beckta, give it a liste

Open article: Stop Cutting Labor. Start Fixing the Model. by Jim Taylor • 3 min read

Stop Cutting Labor. Start Fixing the Model.

Most restaurants don’t actually know where their profit leaks are.

We’re giving one operator a full month working with Benchmark Sixty to find them.

#restaurantmanagement #restaurants #hospitalityindustry

If you want a chance to spend a full month working directly with Benchmark Sixty to uncover hidden labor inefficiencies inside your restaurant, you ca

Open article: Most Restaurants Don’t Know Where Their Labor Money Is Going by Jim Taylor • 2 min read

Most Restaurants Don’t Know Where Their Labor Money Is Going

Most restaurant operators are trained to chase one number.

Labor percentage.

But labor percentage is a result, not a strategy. By the time it shows up on 
your P&L looking bad, the problem has already been happening for weeks.
In this week’s newsletter I break down why the most profitable restaurants often run 2 to 3 percent higher labor than their competitors, and how productivity metrics like Covers Per Labor Hour change the way operators understand their business.

If labor costs always feel like a constant battle in your restaurant, this will likely change the way you look at the problem.

Read the full article below.

#RestaurantIndustry #RestaurantOwners  #HospitalityLeadership

There is a moment every restaurant operator has seen. The table is finishing their meal. Someone asks if they should stay for dessert. Someone else lo

Open article: The Labor Myth That Quietly Shrinks Restaurants by Jim Taylor • 3 min read

The Labor Myth That Quietly Shrinks Restaurants

Here is the big secret most restaurant owners miss.


Cash in the bank matters more than percentages.


Let me show you the math.


Your $40 steak costs you 50% to make. Looks terrible on paper, right? But you just put $20 in your pocket.


Your $20 burger costs you 25% to make. That percentage looks amazing. But you only put $15 in your pocket.


Read that again.


The "bad" food cost item made you $5 more. Per plate. Every single time someone orders it.


Now multiply that across a week. A month. A year.


Let's say you sell 100 steaks a week instead of pushing those burgers.


That's $500 more in gross profit. Every week.
$2,000 more per month.
$26,000 more per year.


From one menu item.


But here's what I see all the time:

Operators pack their menus with low percentage items because the math "looks good" on the P&L. They train servers to push the 25% items. They celebrate hitting their food cost target.


And they wonder why there's no money left at the end of the month.


Percentages aren’t dollars. Percentages don't pay rent.


Dollars pay rent. Dollars pay your team. Dollars go in your bank account.


The most profitable restaurants I work with don't chase the lowest food cost percentage. They engineer their menus to maximize contribution margin. Real dollars. Real profit.


Stop trying to hit an "industry average" food cost.


Start engineering your menu to put real money in the bank.


👊🏻


P.S. If your food cost looks great but your bank account doesn't, you're probably chasing the wrong number. 


Comment "MARGIN" below and I'll send you the framework I use to identify which menu items are actually making you money.


P.P.S Remember, “Industry Standard” is basically the average…. And chasing average isn’t going to make you’re restaurant great. 



#Restaurants #FoodCost #RestaurantProfit #MenuEngineering

Stop doing inventory. It's killing your profit.



I know. That sounds backwards.



But hear me out.



Inventory is a strategy that should be used to control variance. 


That's it. 


It tells you the gap between what you should have and what you actually used.


It doesn't lower your food cost.


It can't fix a menu that's priced wrong.
It can't fix contribution margins that don't work.
It can't fix recipes that were never costed properly.
It can't fix a theoretical food cost you've never calculated.


All it does is help you measure the gap.


And if the foundation is broken, measuring the gap is just measuring how broken it is. 


Over and over again.


I see this constantly:

Operators spend 4 to 6 hours every week counting product. Entering numbers into spreadsheets. Sending it off to the bookkeeper. 


And their food cost % doesn't move.


Because they're doing the wrong thing.


Think about it this way:

—> If your menu isn't engineered for profit, counting chicken won't help.

—> If your pricing doesn't support your margins, counting chicken won't help.

—> If you don't know your theoretical food cost, counting chicken won't help.

—> If you don’t know how to properly calculate food cost, counting chicken won’t help. 



Pro tip: Purchases divided by sales is NOT the correct way to calculate food cost %. 



Inventory without the foundation is just expensive busywork —> And your team hates it. 


Before you count a single item, you need:

• Menu engineering completed
• Recipes costed and documented
• Pricing aligned to contribution targets
• Theoretical food cost calculated and tracked


Then inventory becomes powerful. Because now you're measuring something that matters.


You're finding the leaks. Not just confirming they exist.


Stop counting product until you've built the foundation.


Otherwise you’re just pouring wages down the drain. 



👊🏻



P.S. If you're doing inventory every week but your food cost still won't budge, the problem isn't variance. 


It's everything that comes before it. 


Comment "FOUNDATION" below and I'll send you the checklist I use to make sure operators are ready before they start counting.



#Restaurants #FoodCost #RestaurantOperations #MenuEngineering

Most operators think labor management is simple.


Schedule to sales. Cut when it's slow. Hit your percentage.


Done.


Except that’s not even close.


I've spent 20 years consulting 500+ restaurants on labor. I've seen operators chase the same percentage for years and never move the needle. I've watched million-dollar losses from "simple" scheduling decisions.


Labor isn't one lever. It's dozens of them working together.


Here's what actually goes into optimized labor:

→ Wage mix and how it shifts by daypart
→ Productivity zones that change by volume
→ Scheduling architecture that protects margin
→ Deployment strategies during peaks and valleys
→ Training systems that reduce 90-day turnover
→ The math behind SPLH and why percentage lies to you
→ Building models that flex with real-time inputs


Most operators manage the output.


The experts manage the inputs.


That difference is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Sometimes millions.


I've taught pieces of this in posts. Workshops. Consulting calls. Keynotes.


But I've never put all of it in one place.


Until now.


Book three in the BOLD series is finished. And it's focused entirely on labor management.


Not theory. Not fluff. The actual playbook I use every single day.


If you want a pre-release copy before it hits the market, comment "LABOR" below and I'll add you to the list.


This one's been a long time coming.


👊🏻



#restaurants #labormanagement #restaurantoperations

We dropped labor cost by 7 points without touching a single shift.


No skeleton crews.
No burnt out managers.
No service complaints.


Here's exactly what happened.

A client came to me running 36% labor. They'd already tried cutting hours. Twice. Both times, sales dropped and the number barely moved.


Sound familiar?


We didn't cut anything. We fixed the system.

Within 90 days:
• Labor dropped from 36% to 29%
• Revenue increased by $4K per week
• Turnover dropped by 40%


That's over $225K in annual impact. For one location.


Here's the simple framework we used:


Step 1: Measure productivity, not percentage.

We tracked Guests Per Labor Hour (GPLH). Most operators have no idea what this number is. It tells you how much output you're getting for every dollar spent.


Step 2: Find the bottlenecks.

We identified where the operation was leaking time. Ticket times. Station handoffs. Prep inefficiencies. Small fixes. Big results.


Step 3: Redesign the schedule around productivity targets.

Not "how do we cut hours" but "how do we produce more per hour." Completely different question. Completely different outcome.


That's it. No magic. Just math.


Now here's the part most operators don't want to hear:


If you've tried cutting labor before and it didn't work, this will.



If your managers are exhausted and your team is stretched thin, this will actually help.


If you think you need to spend money on new systems or consultants charging $50K, you don't. 


This is a framework you can start using this week.


The problem was never your people. It was never your managers.


It was the operating system they were handed.


Fix the system. The numbers fix themselves.


👊🏻



If you want the exact productivity calculator I use with clients, comment "LABOR" below and I'll send it over.

#Restaurants #LaborCost #RestaurantOperations #Productivity

Two restaurants. Same brand. Same volume.

Very different results. 


One runs 19.7% labor.
The other runs 24.6%.


That's a 5 point gap.


Same wage rate. Completely different result.


Most people would assume:

The better location has a better manager.
Or a better team.
Or just gets luckier with traffic.


None of that is true.


Same caliber of leadership. 
Same talent pool. 
Same market conditions.


The difference is how the operation runs.


Location A: 4.99 guests per labor hour, $19 PPA
Location B: 4.36 guests per labor hour, $17 PPA


That's it. That's the whole story.


One location is simply more productive. Not because of who's running it. Because of how it's being run.


The winning location didn't cut hours. They didn't find cheaper labor. They didn't run skeleton crews.

They earned the right to spend less by producing more per hour.


Here's what most operators get wrong:

They see 24.6% labor and think "we need to cut."


But cutting labor without fixing productivity just shrinks your capacity. Service suffers. Sales drop. And the number barely moves.


Labor percentage is a scoreboard. Not a strategy.


You can't schedule your way out of weak productivity. You can't cut your way to a better system.


The math is simple:

A 5% improvement in productivity across both locations equals roughly $6K per week. That's $300K+ annualized.


$300k 



Your labor percentage isn't the problem.



Your operating system is.



And it’s not th store manager’s fault. 



If you want to find your productivity gap, comment "CPLH" and I'll send you my favorite tool.


And if you’d like a free analysis of your labor model, send me a DM and we will do it for free. 



👊🏻




#restaurants #labormanagement #restaurantoperations

"My labor % is too high."

Keep it that way.


I know it sounds backwards.


Every owner wants lean labor. Every manager cuts shifts. Every consultant preaches efficiency.


But the operators printing money? They run 2-3% heavier than everyone else.


And they're winning.

⸻


The Math Nobody Wants To Believe

$2.5M restaurant.
Running 28% labor instead of 25%.
That's $75,000 more in payroll.


Sounds like a problem.


Until you see what it actually buys:

• No doubles = servers who actually smile
• Real training time = fewer comped meals
• Built-in coverage = no scrambling 
• Team that stays = no constant hiring


Now do the real math:

Turnover drops from 75% to 40%.
35 fewer replacements × $3,000 each = $105,000 saved.


You just profited $30,000 by "overspending."


⸻


What This Looks Like In Practice


I worked with a 200-seat steakhouse running skeleton crews.


Before:
• Servers drowning with 8 tables each
• Bartenders plating appetizers
• Managers on the line
• 25% labor
• Nightly chaos


After:
• Servers with 5-table sections
• Dedicated support roles
• Managers actually leading
• 28% labor
• Guests noticed immediately


Results?


Check average: Up 22%
Turns: Up 15%
Complaints: Down 70%
Annual revenue: Up $400K


That 3% "extra" labor? It returned 16% in sales.


⸻


What Cutting Actually Costs You


Your top server walks: $8,000 to replace her
Two angry Yelp reviews: $15,000 in lost business
Burned-out manager quits: Start over
Guest who never comes back: $1,200/year gone


That's $25,000+ per incident.


How many incidents happen when you're understaffed?


Meanwhile, fully staffed restaurants:


People stay for years.
Guests become regulars.
Managers have time to actually improve things.
Everyone earns more.

⸻


The Playbook That Works


Stop scheduling to minimum coverage.
Start scheduling to maximum performance.


Tuesday needs 3 servers? Put 4 on.
Saturday needs 8? Schedule 10.


"That's expensive, Jim."

No.


Turnover is expensive.
Bad reviews are expensive.
Exhausted teams are expensive.


Proper staffing is an investment with a return.

⸻


Here's The Move


Add up your real turnover cost.
Add your lost revenue from poor service.
Add your manager burnout.


Compare that to 2-3% more labor.


Which number is bigger?


The restaurants dominating right now figured this out.


They stopped managing labor percentage.
They started managing guest experience.


And they're banking the difference.


👊🏻


P.S. Still cutting bodies to hit your labor number? Your competition is fully staffed and stealing your regulars.


P.P.S. Want the staffing model that helped that steakhouse add $400K? Comment "MATRIX" and I'll send it over.


#laborcost #restaurantmanagement #restaurants

I've been holding back.

But it’s time to change that. 


For years, I've shared pieces of what I know about labor. Posts here. Workshops there. Consulting calls. Keynotes.


But I've never put all of it in one place.

Not at this level. 

That's changing.


Book three in the “BOLD” series is finished. 


And this one is laser focused on nothing but labor management. 

If labor cost, productivity, profitability or restaurant math are important to you…. This is for you. 


Not food cost. Not marketing. Not leadership fluff.


Just labor.


And we go deep. 


Labor is the part of the business that keeps most operators up at night. 


The line item that swings wildly and never seems to cooperate. 


The thing everyone manages but few actually understand.


This book is the playbook I use every single day.


—> How to build a labor model that actually holds up in the real world. 

—> Why your percentage won't budge no matter how many hours you cut. 

—> The inputs that drive your labor spend, and how to control them. 

—> Productivity systems that don't destroy your team. 

—> Scheduling strategies that protect margin without sacrificing service.


Everything I've learned working with 500+ restaurants over 20 years. All of it focused on the one area that makes or breaks profitability.


I'm not sharing the title yet. But I am building the early access list.


If you want a pre-release copy before it goes to market, comment below and I'll add you.


More coming soon.



Don’t miss out. 



👊🏻




#restaurants #labormanagement #restaurantoperations #labormanagement #restaurantowner

You know something's gone wrong when your bartenders are making salads. 


The story we shred from our session with Harri last week about labor optimization definitely struck a chord.  


That's what one restaurant had resorted to. Moving a cold station behind the bar so bartenders could mix salads themselves, all in the name of cutting labor costs.


And their labor cost percentage? Still not where they wanted it.


I call this the Death Spiral, a pattern I’ve seen play out hundreds of times. You cut hours to fix the number. Service suffers. Sales drop. And the number barely moves.


The fix was counterintuitive: add people back. Intentionally.


Lower productivity…. On purpose. 


Guess what happened. 


Labor climbed to 28%. Then dropped back to 25% on its own, because a properly staffed team actually had time to sell, serve, and stay. +$400K in annual revenue. Turnover cut in half.


This was an epic turnaround. 


And you can listen to the full session if you’d like. 


Just drop me a 👊🏻 below and I will send you the link. 



#Restaurants #Restauantoperations #Restaurantbusiness #Laborcost

Culture is what happens on Sunday night when the team sees the schedule for next week.


Not your mission statement.

Not your core values poster.

Not what you say in interviews.


It's the text thread that lights up at 9pm.


"Did you see the schedule?"

"I'm opening Monday. Again."

"I literally booked this off two weeks ago."


That's your culture.


Right there.


The schedule tells your team exactly how much you value them.


→ Posted 7 days out? Respect.

→ Posted 3 days out? Chaos.

→ Posted Sunday night for Monday? You don't care about their lives.


And they know it.



Pro tip:  The best in the business schedule 4 weeks out



Every operator talks about protecting their people.


But protection isn't a speech.


It's giving someone enough notice to plan their week.

It's remembering they have kids, second jobs, lives outside your four walls.

It's treating their time like it matters.


Because it does.


The restaurants with the lowest turnover?


They post schedules multiple weeks out.

They honor time-off requests.

They don't treat their team like they're on-call 24/7.


The ones bleeding staff every month?


They're still posting Sunday night.

Wondering why nobody wants to work anymore.

Blaming turnover on a generation that doesn’t want to work. 



Your people will run through walls for you.


If you show them you actually care.


The schedule is where that starts.



👊🏻



P.S. Posting the schedule Sunday night for Monday morning isn't a scheduling problem. 

It's a culture killer. And your best people are already looking for somewhere that respects their time.



#restaurants #restaurantmanagement #leadership

A local restaurant made 257% more profit vs last year. 


By fixing just 2 things.


Not pricing.
Not marketing.
Not menu engineering.
Not bar costs.


Just CPLH and food cost variance.

That's it.


The numbers:

• Before: Struggling to break even
• After: 257% profit improvement
• Time: 12 months
• Changes: 2


CPLH went from 2.8 to 3.4
Variance dropped from 7% to 2.5%


No crazy new technology.
No complex systems.
Just focus.


Because here's what nobody understands:


Most restaurants are trying to fix 35 things at once.


The profitable ones fix 2 things completely.


My client picked:

1. Labor productivity (CPLH)
2. The gap between theoretical and actual food cost


Everything else? Ignored.(For now)


The math is actually really simple:


Better CPLH = More productive model 
Lower variance = Same sales, more profit


Combined? 257% improvement.


While their competitors are:

• Redesigning menus
• Running Instagram ads
• Changing suppliers
• Adding delivery platforms
• Installing new POS systems


They just counted covers and weighed chicken.


Boring? Yes.
Profitable? 257% worth.


The best part?

We haven't even touched:

• Menu pricing
• Bar costs
• Marketing spend
• Vendor negotiations


That's year 2.


Stop trying to boil the ocean.
Pick 2 numbers.
Fix them completely.
Bank the profit.



👊🏻



P.S. Want to know which 2 numbers would move YOUR profit needle most? 

Comment "TWO" and I'll share the diagnostic framework that identified this client's 257% opportunity.


#Restaurants #RestaurantProfit #RestaurantManagement

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Benchmark Sixty Restaurant Services

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