Latest Articles
Reading for independent restaurant owners, in order of publication.
- Your distributor added a fuel surcharge. What can you change?
Get the charge for your account, then compare what a different delivery schedule would actually save.
- Electricity use fell. Why did the bill rise?
Find the charge behind the increase, then ask for the calculation that applies to your account.
- The average turn is over. Is the table ready?
Four invented turns average 100 minutes. Following the next reservation shows why that average cannot promise a ready table.
- What the cheaper case costs after trimming and prep
Compare whole and prepared ingredients at the same usable output. Then separate time released in the kitchen from money that actually leaves the payroll.
- Evaluate phone AI by the calls it cannot finish
Test handoffs, uncertain answers, menu changes, and correction work before assigning a value to answered calls. This is a pilot design, not a hands-on product review.
- Test the whole order path before adopting a restaurant system
A successful checkout is only one checkpoint. Require evidence that the correct order reaches the correct station, changes propagate, and recovery does not create missing or duplicate work.
- Price a restaurant system beyond its monthly software fee
Compare payment volume, transaction count, devices, add-ons, and exit costs on the same operating assumptions. A public price page is the start of the worksheet, not your final quote.
- Where packaging, monthly fees, and promotion costs belong
Keep a transaction view, a channel-period view, and a shared-overhead view. A useful allocation should explain the business without pretending every allocated dollar disappears with an order.
- How much volume must a discount add—and how much can a price rise lose?
Solve the contribution equation before testing customer response. A ten-percent discount can require far more than ten-percent additional sales.
- Compare dine-in, direct, and delivery by what one order leaves
Use the same basket and cost boundaries first. Then ask whether the channel adds an order, moves an existing one, or consumes scarce kitchen capacity.
- Diagnose the peak-hour delay before adding another shift
Trace a small set of orders through the queue, preparation, and pickup. The same total wait can point to very different operating problems.
- Build a prep log that can explain both waste and stockouts
Count what was made, what left the station, and when the item was unavailable. A sales total alone cannot tell you how much to prepare next time.