The Demand
Walk your final-thirty-days checklist tomorrow and separate what is execution of a prior decision from what is still a foundational decision being made too late — seating chart, section division, food safety protocol. Every item still in the second category is ground you will pay for twice, once now and once again in the first sixty days of operation. Name the certificate-of-occupancy timeline specifically, since it is the one gate you do not control, and build your opening date around the real answer, not the hopeful one.
The Work
Days remaining until opening:
Foundational decisions still unmade that should have been settled in months two and three:
Equipment tested and calibrated — refrigeration, walk-ins, Ansul, ice machine, POS — status:
Opening inventory date, and whether the operation will be clean and fully stocked by then:
Certificate of occupancy — expected date, and the inspection sequence it depends on:
What happens to your opening date if the CO timeline slips:
The one decision you are making this week that you will otherwise redo in the first sixty days:
The deliberate handoff you will run from construction close-out into operations, and who owns it:
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
