I'm so excited for this new year, for 2021 to be here. I want to look forward and talk about your opportunities in this new year. 

In 2020, when the pandemic first hit, the restaurant industry was on pace to have a banner year. Sales were soaring for almost every restaurant operator in the U.S. It also brought on rising minimum wages across the country, with $15 per hour wage starting with much of the west and east coast states.

Then in late March came the business restrictions and, for...

When it comes to restaurant food cost in an independent operation, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to do it all. Restaurant food cost strategies can be delegated, which will give you, the owner, time to work on your restaurant’s financials, marketing and other important things that are the job of a restaurant owner. Watch this restaurant business tip or keep scrolling for more restaurant food cost tips for independents.

Restaurant food cost tips for...

If you want to know how to run a restaurant that competes with the chains and franchises, buckle up. While it may seem like they have all the advantages and a steady flow of customers, they pay dearly for both of these things. If you want to run a restaurant that competes with chains and franchises but allows you to keep your independence, here are three tips to outshine them and reap the same benefits. Click below to watch the tip or keep scrolling to read the whole thing.

Being an...

In this episode of The Restaurant Prosperity Formula podcast, I talk with restaurant owner Karen Fagnilli, owner of The Lake House Inn Resort in Ohio on Lake Erie. Karen and her family purchased the inn about 20 years ago and added the restaurant in 2005. Then in 2012, they expanded the restaurant and have been on a quest to make money in the restaurant ever since.

Karen was already greatly focused on taking care of the guest, using locally sourced products and using systems. But like many...

Running a restaurant in 2021 is a challenge no one has ever faced before. Food cost has become a bigger issue than ever before and that’s saying a lot considering most independent restaurants are running a restaurant 7–9 points above their ideal food cost in the best of times. You want to blame your distributor because it seems like for every delivery, some commodity price item goes up, and they never seem to go down. But you have more control than you think. Watch this restaurant...

Menu engineering to control restaurant food costs can be one of the most powerful tools an independent restaurant can have at their disposal. If you want to make the most profit on your menu, you have to reengineer it. But menu engineering is often thought of as a way to guide your customers into ordering what you want them to order. And while there are some design tips and ways to describe your food that increase sales of the items you want to sell, most restaurant owners aren't maximizing...

The topic of this latest podcast episode again centers around the crisis restaurant owners find themselves in due to the re-enabled COVID-19 business restrictions. This episode is a result of so many of my members facing dining room closures, a Congress that has ignored the cries of the industry for way too long and thousands of people dying every day. What I have to share with you is both sobering and hopeful. 

First, the implementation of these restrictions on the restaurant...

Do you want to hear about how to run a successful restaurant explained with plans for post-lockdown? Right now, operating with COIVD-19 restrictions feels like you are taking a beating. You're going up against Rocky in the first Rocky, and you are just getting beat to hell. But I’m here to tell you there's a way to get through this, to make money again, to keep people employed, to bring your customers back. Watch the video below or keep scrolling to read three things to include in your...

A restaurant owner salary is dependent on a few factors, but most importantly, restaurant owners must understand the importance of receiving a paycheck. Let’s explore some of the reasons here. Click the video below or keep scrolling to read more about restaurant owner salary for independent operators.

First let’s talk through some of the things I hear when asked this question. 

I don't get paid unless there's money left over at the end of the month.

I know that...

In this episode of The Restaurant Prosperity Formula podcast, host David Scott Peters talks to Steve Eller, restaurant owner of Cosmic Cowboy in Idaho and Washington. David and Steve talk through Steve’s experience adopting and working with David’s restaurant systems to learn how to run a restaurant. Steve’s story is interesting in that he was already using a lot of the systems that David teaches, but his prime cost was too high, and he was looking for the answer to why and...