The Demand
Before you plan tomorrow's labor or food cost target, throw out the industry rule of thumb — the 30% labor, the 28% food cost — and check it against your own actual numbers and outcomes instead. Those benchmarks are survivorship-bias averages, not a strategy for your specific building.
The Work
Name the industry rule of thumb you currently plan to:
☐ Labor at 30%
☐ Food cost at 28%
☐ Other:
Throw it out. Check your own actual numbers instead:
Your actual number:
Your actual outcome (Guest experience, retention, margin) at that number:
What is specific to your building that the industry composite cannot capture — your lease, your labor market, your menu pricing, your Guest?
The number you will build from your own outcomes, not someone else's average:
44 years. 200+ independent operators coached. 34 restaurants opened from scratch.
I work with restaurant operators who know something is wrong and are ready to find out what it actually is — and with leaders who are ready to build something that lasts.
The complete framework is in my new book: The Operator’s Playbook
Call or text: +1-817-797-2929 Email: Jeffrey@JeffreySummers.com
