Profitability
Profitability and margin improvement
Busy room, disappointing bottom line. It is the most common brief we get, and the fix is almost never one big thing — it is six or seven points recovered across food, beverage, labor, purchasing and waste, then held with a weekly number.
Line by line, not across the board
Blanket cost-cutting shrinks the plate and the welcome, and guests notice both faster than they notice a dollar on a price. Margin work that lasts is specific: which dishes contribute, which suppliers have drifted, which shifts are overstaffed against forecast, which categories carry the variance.
We anchor everything to prime cost — cost of goods plus total labor as a percentage of sales — because it covers the two costs an operator actually controls. Full-service independents should target 60 to 65 percent, fast-casual 55 to 60, bars 50 to 58, coffee shops 55 to 62. Above 70 in any format, the establishment is not earning its rent.
- Prime cost calculated correctly, then tracked weekly by day-part
- Menu and beverage pricing rebuilt on contribution margin
- Supplier consolidation and contract renegotiation
- Par levels, counting discipline and waste tracking by category
- Delivery and channel economics costed honestly
- Overhead, energy and equipment cost review
Holding the gain
Most margin projects decay because reporting stays monthly. Monthly numbers tell you what happened; weekly numbers let you fix it while the month is still in play. We stand up a one-page weekly scorecard — prime cost, sales per labor hour, variance against par — and train managers to run it without us.
For operators who want a senior advisor watching those numbers permanently, the retainer keeps the discipline in place after the project closes.
Who this is for
Establishments with solid sales and weak margin, groups whose unit economics vary by address, and owners preparing for a refinance, an expansion or a sale who need the numbers to hold up under scrutiny.
What operators get
- Five to eight points of prime cost recovered in the first two quarters
- Supplier pricing benchmarked and renegotiated
- Delivery and discounting decisions made on real contribution
- A weekly reporting rhythm that keeps the gain from drifting back
Common questions
- How quickly do results show?
- Purchasing and labor changes usually show within one to two reporting periods. Menu re-pricing takes a full trading cycle to read cleanly. Most engagements complete results within 90 days.
- Can you tell us where we stand before we commit?
- Yes — the free margin health check gives a benchmarked read on your prime cost in a few minutes, and the first thirty-minute call is free.
Related services
Or see all 9 disciplines on the services hub.
Quick enquiry
Talk to us about profitability and margin improvement
Three lines is enough. A senior advisor reads every message — not a bot, not an intern.
We reply within one business day
+1 (214) 988-5411Find out what this is worth to you
Run the free margin health check for a benchmarked read, or book a thirty-minute call and we will tell you honestly whether an engagement is worth it.