This is the kind of stuff that puts most people to sleep but can save a restaurant from certain doom. Go get some coffee cuz this is important (if you own a restaurant or are thinking about owning one). Restaurant back offices are often like giant junk drawers, with the bare minimum functionality needed to generate enough records to comply with the IRS. Someone, somewhere, stated out loud: “managers should not be in the office!”… and it stuck as restaurant lore... as if face-time with customers and employees is the only important part of controlling operations. The problem with this …

As far as a restaurant’s profitability goes, the lowest of the low hanging fruit is often found in a poorly planned tip tracking program.  Owners and operators leave money on the table when they don’t accurately plan the incomes of their support staff and schedule employees to deliver results.  They also get into lots of trouble as the government cracks down on under-reporting tips. The support staff I’m talking about consists of positions like busser, food runner, server assistant, bar back, front desk team, etc.  These are folks that are often new to the service industry and are paying their …

Truly the BEST service involves giving your servers what they want: Power.   I think folks are motivated by a combination of three things – Affiliation (approval from others... "please like me") Achievement (simply a job well done) Power (including money, authority over others, being envied) Let’s face it, servers in America view themselves as fallen Angels… “I was on my way to medical school but ran out of money” or “I’m really a Real Estate professional with some extra time on my hands” or “I’m going to be a famous actor as soon as I get discovered”.  I find that …

Folks often ask us to help them with "training"..but  what does that mean?. Teaching someone how to do something they didn’t know how to before? Correcting a bad behavior?  Conditioning the mind to do something instinctively, without hesitating or thinking? Helping someone improve an existing skill?  Instinctively, most restaurateurs know “training” is important but they don't fully understand what it takes to get someone sufficiently "trained" to do their job. They DO know that, when someone is "trained", they can leave that employee alone and they will get the job done competently and confidently without much prompting or hand holding.  …

Whether working in a garage, on Wall St. or in an operating room, we need fuel when we’re away from the nest.  Around, oh say 11:30, we want something fast, easy to eat, cheap, and most of all, tasty.  Since I can remember, the usual hand-to-maw fare has been burgers, pizza, bar-b-que, fried chicken, or traditional deli sandwiches. “Saying” we want something new and actually “Seeking/eating” something new are two different things.  As Millennials take the gastronomic-direction-setting mantle from Gen X they seem almost completely unfamiliar with the family meal.  They’re barely familiar with raw ingredient shopping (I’d say “grocery …

People often ask me, “What’s your favorite knife for a professional kitchen?” It always makes me pause because there are a bunch of things to consider before I can answer: All great questions and they mostly center around what you plan to use it for. I’ve never met anyone, for example, who lists the meat cleaver as their “favorite knife” but try to cut through bones with a paring knife and you’ll wish you had one. Asking a chef to choose one knife is like asking a golfer to pick one club to use for driving, chipping and putting…or asking …

The interesting thing about small towns is that their business community inhabitants often don’t know how they measure up against their counterparts in larger metropolitan areas.  In Milledgeville, Georgia, the owners of a small coffee shop had no idea if they were doing the right things. Blackbird Coffee’s owners called BORA to assess operations and to help them establish systems to make the business more predictable and viable.  However, they had no idea what pieces of their business were “keepers” and which were “duds”.  After two days of observing operations, reviewing bookkeeping statements, speaking with guests and getting to know …

A few years ago, in Greenville, South Carolina, a group of successful businessmen decided to open and operate a sophisticated jazz club, evoking the upscale steak houses and speakeasies of Chicago’s prohibition era.  The club was beautiful, the wine selection was immense, but the restaurant was struggling.  No expense was spared on the design, fit, and finish, yet the restaurant failed to drive the foot traffic it needed to thrive.   The owners, admittedly, underestimated what it takes to operate a restaurant. They had chosen poor leadership based on flawed assumptions and they had no restaurant operations experience on which to …

Opening JCT Kitchen was a full-service immersion.  Working closely with Chef/Owner Ford Fry, BORA assisted with full concept development including branding/naming, menu style, use of space, design elements, throughput engineering, and company culture. JCT was interesting because it was a concept created around a great location.  Generally, a concept is developed and then a location is sought to compliment the concept.  JCT was built around a unique location in Atlanta’s hip West Side trade area near a massive railway junction. Since railroads define Atlanta’s origins and history, the location presented an opportunity to showcase Chef Fry’s culinary gifts. We helped …

Alon’s Bakery & Market retained BORA to assess operations, standardize service, re-merchandise retail floor, develop operational systems, evolve back office systems, and refine management and training protocols. This project required full immersion for several months where BORA worked side by side with management and staff to fully understand operations. During the assessment process, BORA established benchmark targets for operating model. From there we went to work, evolving the management structure to support the model and to prepare for a hub and spoke, commissary system for a new store opening. We developed training methodologies that immersed operators in multiple venues, giving …