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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The People Around the Founder Shape the Business

Every hospitality founder eventually discovers that opening a business is not an individual pursuit.

The concept may begin with one person’s vision. The financial risk may sit primarily with one entrepreneur or ownership group. The emotional attachment may be deeply personal. Yet the business itself will be influenced by dozens of people long before the first guest ever walks through the door.

Family members will offer opinions. Friends will share what they believe your guests will want. Designers will defend the guest-facing experience. Accountants will question the numbers. Lawyers will identify exposure. Contractors will raise practical limitations. Vendors will recommend products, systems, and equipment.

Landlords, brokers, lenders, chefs, consultants, technology providers, branding teams, and future employees will all contribute information that can shape the final business.

That support can protect the founder from expensive mistakes. It can also create an expensive mess.

by Doug Radkey

Directional street signs pointing toward numerous destinations around the world.

The difference is not simply the quality of the people involved. It is whether everyone is contributing to one clearly defined strategy or quietly developing their own version of the business.

That is where many hospitality projects begin to lose their way.

Support Is Essential. Unfiltered Influence Is Dangerous.

Founders need support because no single person can possess every skill required to develop a bar, restaurant, hotel, or hospitality-driven concept.

A founder may have a strong creative vision but limited financial experience. They may understand service but not construction. They may have operational experience but little knowledge of lease negotiation, market feasibility, commercial kitchens, licensing, brand architecture, or capital planning.

That does not make them unqualified. That just makes them human.

Strong founders recognize that expertise must be assembled around the opportunity. They build access to people who can identify risk, strengthen decisions, test assumptions, and translate ambition into an executable business. The problem begins when the support is mistaken for shared control of the vision.

Every advisor views the project through a different professional lens. The lawyer sees liability. The designer sees space, flow, and visual impact. The chef sees production. The accountant sees cost. The vendor sees an opportunity to sell a solution. Family members see the founder’s emotional and financial exposure.

None of those perspectives are inherently wrong. They are simply incomplete.

A hospitality business cannot be built exclusively through the lens of design, programming, finance, construction, marketing, or emotion. It must be developed as one connected operating system. When those individual perspectives are not tied back to an overarching strategy or series of playbooks, the founder is left managing a collection of recommendations instead of building a coherent business.

The Founder Becomes the Intersection of Every Opinion

This is one of the least discussed pressures of pre-opening. Founders are expected to absorb a constant flow of information from people who often sound equally confident.

One person recommends adding seats, another argues for more open space. One advisor recommends lowering the opening budget, another says the concept needs greater investment to compete. A designer pushes for a dramatic feature, the operations team warns that it will disrupt service flow. A friend says the menu needs more options, the chef wants to narrow it down further. A technology provider promotes a system with dozens of features, the founder still has not clearly defined which operational problems the technology needs to solve.

Each recommendation may sound reasonable in isolation. Together, they create noise. That noise is exhausting because the founder is not only processing information. They are also carrying the consequences of every single decision.

Advisors may provide recommendations, but the founder signs the lease. The designer may propose an experience, but the founder funds it. The vendor may sell the equipment, but the founder must generate the revenue required to pay for it.

This is why pre-opening support should reduce decision pressure, not multiply it.

When the support structure is functioning correctly, the founder gains clarity, confidence, and foresight. When it is fragmented, the founder becomes more reactive, more emotionally drained, and more likely to approve decisions simply to keep the project moving.

As I always say to clients: Movement can feel productive, but it is not always progress.

Family and Friends Carry a Different Kind of Influence

The personal support team matters just as much as the professional one. Hospitality development places unusual pressure on relationships. It demands time, capital, emotional energy, patience, and tolerance for uncertainty. The founder may be working through lease negotiations, financing challenges, design decisions, delays, budget increases, and shifting timelines, all while trying to remain confident in front of others.

Family and friends often become the emotional foundation beneath the project. They (hopefully) remind the founder why they started. They (hopefully) provide encouragement when progress feels slow. They may also help with introductions, childcare, temporary finances, logistics, or simply provide a space where the founder does not need to perform.

That support is invaluable. Yet personal relationships can also introduce another layer of pressure.

Family members may fear the financial risk. Friends may compare the concept to their favorite venue. A relative with limited industry experience may become highly influential because the founder trusts them personally. Casual comments can create doubt about decisions that were built through months of research and planning. Personal feedback often carries more emotional weight than professional feedback, even when it carries less strategic relevance.

Founders must understand that care and expertise are not the same thing. Someone can deeply care about the founder and still provide advice that does not serve the business. The role of the personal support team is not necessarily to redesign the concept, challenge every strategic decision, or become an informal board of directors. Their greatest value may be helping the founder remain grounded, resilient, and connected to life beyond the project.

Hospitality founders need people who protect their energy, not only people who add opinions.

The Vision Must Become More Than an Idea

Founders often say they have a clear vision. What they sometimes mean is that they can see the finished venue in their mind. They can imagine the lighting, the atmosphere, the guests, and the feeling of opening night. That is a creative vision; a development team needs an operating vision.

The support team must understand who the business is being built for, what market position it intends to own, how it will generate revenue, what level of service it promises, what makes it relevant, and which financial and operational boundaries cannot be ignored. Without that clarity, every professional fills in the gaps using their own assumptions.

The designer interprets premium as expensive finishes while the chef interprets premium as complex ingredients. The technology provider interprets innovation as more software, while the marketing agency interprets excitement as more promotional activity. The founder may then receive a beautifully designed, operationally complex, capital-heavy concept that does not align with the original market opportunity.

That is not collaboration. It is strategic chaos.

A strong vision should create enough clarity that every contributor can make better decisions within their area of expertise. It does not remove creativity; it directs creativity toward a business outcome. The primary question here is whether an idea strengthens the concept, supports the guest journey, protects the financial model, and contributes to the intended market position.

Strategy Must Become the Filter

Founders do not need to reject outside input to protect their vision. They need a filter strong enough to evaluate it.

Every recommendation should connect back to the strategic foundation of the business. That foundation includes feasibility, concept, prototype, brand, programming, marketing, technology, systems, operations, financial outcomes, and investment. This is where professional pre-open strategy proves its value, building the connective tissue between disciplines.

The floor plan is not evaluated only as a design document; it is examined for guest flow, labor movement, revenue density, service delivery, accessibility, and operational efficiency against the strategic playbooks. The menu is not developed only around creativity; it is aligned with equipment capacity, staffing skill, purchasing, pricing, preparation time, waste controls, and the intended guest occasion. Technology is not selected because it is impressive; selections are made because they support the experience, capture useful data, remove friction, or strengthen decision making. Brand identity is not treated as decoration; it becomes the external expression of a validated concept and operating promise.

This integrated thinking is often missing when founders engage multiple specialists without establishing the strategic sequence first. Each specialist may deliver competent work. The combined result, however, may still fail.

This got me thinking about a project we were brought onto late in the development process. We discovered that the kitchen plan, menu direction, and equipment package had been developed by separate parties before the operating model was finalized. Once the menu and operational requirements were properly aligned, the revisions affected equipment selection, utility requirements, construction drawings, and the opening budget. What initially appeared to be a simple menu adjustment became a multi-disciplinary redesign.

Before the issue was resolved, the delays had exceeded 45 days and generated approximately $68,000 in avoidable costs.

No single advisor had necessarily failed. The failure was in the sequence and the absence of one strategy connecting every discipline and support team member.

Too Many Voices Can Make a Founder Abandon Their Own

There is a point many projects reach where the founder stops leading and starts reacting. It usually happens gradually.

They adjust the concept after a friend’s comment. They add features after visiting a competitor. They increase the scope after a designer presentation. They change the menu after hearing from a potential investor. They purchase technology because another operator recommended it. The business becomes a collage of external influence.

By the time the project reaches construction or launch preparation, the founder may no longer be able to clearly explain why certain decisions were made. That uncertainty eventually reaches the team. Employees can feel when leadership is not aligned. Vendors notice when decisions keep changing. Consultants struggle when previous approvals are repeatedly reopened. Costs rise as completed work is revised. Timelines stretch, and confidence weakens.

A founder does not protect the vision by refusing to listen. They protect it by knowing the vision is strong enough to say no.

No to additions that do not support the market position.

No to costs that do not produce meaningful value.

No to design decisions that weaken operations.

No to advice based on personal preference rather than evidence.

No to urgency that forces the business to skip critical stages.

Every strong hospitality concept is defined by what it chooses not to become.

Alignment Creates Better Support

The most effective support teams are not made up of people who always agree. They are made up of people who understand the objective.

Healthy disagreement can improve a project. A strong advisor should challenge assumptions. A consultant should identify blind spots. An accountant should question projections. A lawyer should expose risk. A designer should push the founder to think differently.

The goal is not to surround the founder with approval; it is to create informed tension within a shared direction. When the strategy and vision are clearly communicated, contributors can debate the best path without debating the identity of the business every single week.

Why? Because they know the guest. They understand the positioning. They recognize the financial realities. They are aware of the founder’s goals. They understand the non-negotiables and where flexibility exists. That alignment transforms the support team from a collection of service providers into a strategic advantage. It also protects the founder from becoming the translator between professionals who are unknowingly working toward different outcomes.

The Right Team Does More Than Help You Open

A support team should not be measured only by whether it helps the founder reach opening day. As I’ve highlighted previously, opening day is not the finish line.

The decisions made during pre-opening determine the conditions that the business inherits after launch. The wrong lease, oversize footprint, unclear positioning, inefficient layout, inflated labor model, weak cost controls, or disconnected technology stack will not disappear once the doors open. They become operating realities.

The strongest pre-open teams help the founder develop a business that is not only exciting to launch, but structured to operate, stabilize, and eventually scale. They protect capital, improve decision quality, reduce avoidable rework, create clearer accountability, and help the founder move through uncertainty without being controlled by it. Most importantly, they allow the founder to remain connected to the original ambition while replacing assumption with clarity.

Hospitality entrepreneurship will always require courage. It should not require isolation. Founders need family members and friends who protect their resilience. They need specialists who bring depth to critical decisions. They need advisors who are willing to challenge them. They need strategic leadership that connects every recommendation to the larger business. The objective is not to build the largest possible support team. It is to build the right team around the right roadmap and strategy.

The people surrounding a founder will influence the business long before the guests ever do. And when those people are aligned, informed, and connected to one vision, they do more than support the opening. They help build a business that’s truly worth opening.

Image: Jamaal Hutchinson via Pexels

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by krghospitality krghospitality No Comments

Is Your Business Being Built in the Right Order?

There’s a moment in hospitality development when everything starts to feel real.

The founder has found the space. Investors are asking questions. The landlord wants an answer. The designer needs direction.

Timelines begin to form, and suddenly decisions that once felt distant become urgent. This is where many hospitality businesses begin to get built in the wrong order.

It’s not because founders lack passion. Usually, it’s the opposite: they care deeply about what they’re creating. They’re willing to take risks, invest significant resources, and pursue a bold vision.

The problem isn’t passion. It’s sequence.

by Doug Radkey

Hand carefully positioning dominoes in sequence on a table, representing the importance of building a business in the right order.

Image: Ron Lach via Pexels

Hospitality businesses rarely weaken because of one catastrophic decision. More often, they weaken because good decisions are made in the wrong order.

The lease is signed before the numbers are understood. The brand is designed before the guest is clearly defined. The menu is built before the service model has been pressure tested. The opening date becomes more important than the operating model.

By the time founders discover what’s missing, planning problems have become operating problems. And operating problems are always more expensive to fix.

The Pressure to Move

Hospitality development creates urgency long before it creates clarity. The broker says the space won’t last. Investors want timelines. Contractors need drawings. Designers need decisions. Everyone is pushing the project forward.

Movement feels productive because things are happening: money is being spent, meetings are being scheduled. The concept feels alive. But just like being busy doesn’t mean a business is successful, being active isn’t the same as making progress.

Progress means the business is becoming clearer, stronger, and more defensible. It means the decisions being made today are strengthening the decisions that will need to be made tomorrow. Founders often feel pressure to move quickly because they don’t want to lose the opportunity. Ironically, moving too quickly is sometimes what creates the greatest risk.

The goal isn’t to slow everything down. It’s to slow down the decisions that matter most.

Founders Often Build Backwards

Many hospitality businesses aren’t built incorrectly. They’re built out of order.

The space is selected before the numbers are understood. The brand is designed before the guest is clearly defined. The menu is developed before the service model is proven. Design moves ahead before operational flow has been considered. The lease becomes urgent before the business has determined whether it can support the obligation.

At first, this feels like progress. Then, three months after opening, the numbers don’t feel right. Six months later, the team is exhausted. Nine months later, marketing feels inconsistent. Twelve months later, leadership has become the system holding everything together through personal endurance.

By then, the planning problems have become operating problems. The business may still be open and guests may still be coming through the doors, but hidden weaknesses have begun appearing in places founders didn’t expect.

Opening problems are often planning problems that simply took time to reveal themselves.

Beware the Word “Maybe”

One of the most expensive words in hospitality development is “maybe.”

The rent feels high, but maybe sales will support it. The buildout feels expensive, but maybe investors will cover it. The timeline feels aggressive, but maybe the team can push through. The concept is still evolving, but maybe it will become clearer once design begins.

“Maybe” isn’t necessarily wrong, but it is an invitation to ask a better question:

  • Who is the guest?
  • Why this location?
  • Why this service model?
  • What revenue does the business need to survive?
  • What revenue does it need to justify the investment?
  • What does the labor model require?
  • What happens if revenue is delayed?
  • What happens if costs rise?
  • What happens if the founder cannot be there every day?

These aren’t negative questions. They’re protective questions. Founders need more protective questions before they commit capital, sign leases, hire teams, or move into design.

Investors should demand them as well because investors aren’t simply investing in the dream. They’re investing in the founder’s ability to convert that dream into an operating business.

Bad Decisions Don’t Stay Put

Hospitality businesses weaken through a chain of decisions.

If the guest is not properly defined, the brand becomes vague. If the brand is vague, the design may miss the mark. If the design misses the mark, the guest experience becomes harder to deliver. If the experience is harder to deliver, labor pressure increases. If labor pressure increases, margins begin to erode. If margins erode, leadership becomes reactive. If leadership becomes reactive, culture begins to slip.

The damage doesn’t stay in one category; it travels. A rushed lease decision becomes a financial pressure point. A poor layout decision becomes a labor problem. An unclear concept becomes a marketing problem. An underdeveloped training plan becomes a guest experience problem.

That’s why sequence matters. Early decisions create the conditions for everything that follows. When those decisions are strong, they strengthen the business. When they’re weak, the consequences travel downstream just as quickly.

Some Decisions Can’t Wait

Not every answer is needed on day one, but some answers can’t wait. You can’t figure out the capital gap after construction has started. You can’t figure out service flow after the floor plan has locked you into friction. You can’t figure out positioning after the market has already misunderstood the concept. You can’t figure out leadership structure after hiring becomes urgent. And you can’t figure out opening cash after invoices begin stacking.

Founders don’t need perfect information before moving forward. Hospitality is too dynamic to fulfill that expectation. There will always be surprises, adjustments, and decisions that need to be made in the field.

There is, however, a significant difference between adjusting from a strong plan and reacting from a weak one: one feels controlled, the other becomes chaos. In hospitality, chaos is expensive.

Sequence Creates Confidence

The right sequence creates confidence and allows founders to say, “We know what we’re building, who it’s for, what it requires, what it costs, and what decisions need to happen next.”

That clarity changes investor conversations. It changes landlord conversations. It changes design conversations. It changes hiring conversations. Most importantly, it changes how founders carry themselves throughout the development process. They’re no longer trying to convince people with excitement alone; they’re leading the development of a business.

Hospitality will tempt founders to skip steps. It will tempt them to chase momentum and confuse movement with progress. It will tempt them to believe passion can compensate for planning gaps.

The founders who last learn how to resist that temptation.

Build It in the Right Order

Sequence doesn’t guarantee success. Nothing does. Hospitality is too complex and too human for guarantees.

What sequence does is improve the quality of decisions. It exposes weak assumptions earlier, protects cash before money becomes tight, and helps founders understand tradeoffs before those tradeoffs become painful. Most importantly, it gives the business a stronger foundation to stand on.

So, before the lease is signed, construction begins, or the opening date is announced, ask one more question: Is this business being built in the right order?

The answer may determine far more than whether it opens. It may determine whether it lasts.

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Symmetrical fields of force stabilizing a central point, representing alignment
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The Four Forces of Gravity in Hospitality

How brand, social, and structural forces align hospitality systems to generate gravity and create venues guests return to again and again.

In hospitality, some places constantly chase guests while others pull them in. The difference isn’t marketing budgets, influencer campaigns, or the latest technology platform.

It’s gravity.

Gravity is the force that draws guests back to a venue without constant persuasion. It’s what happens when a restaurant, bar, or cafĂŠ becomes part of a person’s routine, conversations, and memories. Venues without gravity operate differently. They constantly need another promotion, another campaign, another push to maintain momentum. Traffic becomes unpredictable. Marketing shifts from amplification to compensation. Over time, that dependency becomes expensive, operationally exhausting, and increasingly difficult to sustain.

Gravity changes that equation. It creates return behavior strong enough to reduce the constant pressure of reacquiring attention.

However, gravity doesn’t appear accidentally. It forms when several underlying forces align inside a hospitality business. Over time, those forces create pull. If they’re allowed to weaken, gravity disappears.

by David Klemt

Symmetrical fields of force stabilizing a central point, representing alignment

AI-generated image.

Understanding these forces explains why some venues thrive for decades while others struggle to survive their first few years.

The Four Forces of Hospitality Gravity

Four forces shape whether a hospitality brand develops real pull. They operate together, reinforcing or weakening one another over time.

When they align, something powerful happens: guests return, again and again.

Brand Gravity

Brand gravity begins with identity. Not logos, not marketing language, but identity. Venues with strong brand gravity begin with strategic clarity. Operators know exactly what they’re building, and who it’s for.

Guests understand the concept almost instantly: a neighborhood cocktail bar, a high-energy sports pub, a classic steakhouse. The concept doesn’t try to be everything to everyone. Strategic clarity attracts the right guests and naturally filters out those seeking a different experience. Not every guest is meant for every concept. A high-energy nightlife venue and a quiet neighborhood wine bar should not attract the same expectations, behaviors, or occasions.

Alignment is the first step toward gravity. When identity is unclear, everything downstream becomes harder: marketing loses precision, hiring becomes inconsistent, and service standards drift because teams no longer understand what experience they’re protecting. Clear brands make better operational decisions because the business understands itself first.

Strong identity shapes expectations before a guest ever walks through the door. That kind of alignment creates stability. It reduces friction, improves consistency, strengthens culture, and allows teams to deliver experiences with greater confidence and precision. Clear identity strengthens attraction, improves retention, and gives consistency something stable to compound from. Brands that try to appeal to everyone often lose the clarity that made them compelling in the first place.

Social Gravity

When guests connect with a venue, something begins to happen: they talk about it. They recommend it. They bring other people. Gravity spreads socially long before operators recognize it. Stories start forming around the venue. People come on first dates. They celebrate milestones there. Friends gather for late-night conversations. Strangers find common ground at the bar and leave having made a new connection.

These moments transform a business into a place. More importantly, they turn that place into a guest’s place. It becomes their spot, their third space. That emotional ownership matters more than most operators realize. Guests protect places they identify with emotionally. They recommend them differently. They forgive small imperfections more easily, and continue returning even when alternatives exist. That’s the moment a venue stops competing transactionally and starts existing socially inside a guest’s life.

Places with stories travel through social networks faster than any advertising campaign.

Structural Gravity

Identity and buzz can attract attention. That’s important, but that’s just one component of the overall formula. Attention is easier than it has ever been to generate, and it easily devolves into noise. Noise is expensive.

When noise compounds faster than meaning, only what is built to hold will remain. What attracts attention is no longer a reliable indicator of what will sustain the concept. It’s structure that sustains gravity.

Behind every venue that “just works” for guests is a system supporting the experience: operational discipline, training systems, service standards, kitchen consistency… These structures create reliability. Guests trust that the experience they enjoyed last time will exist again the next time they return.

That said, structure does more than just create consistency: it protects the identity of the business under operational pressure. Without structure, standards become reactive. Experiences vary depending on staffing, stress, volume, or leadership presence. Over time, the business slowly drifts away from the experience guests connected with originally. That drift is where gravity begins weakening. Without structure, even the strongest concept eventually collapses.

Gravity Imbalance

The final force appears when one of the others weakens. Gravity rarely disappears at once; it erodes through imbalance. The imbalance often goes unnoticed because performance appears stable. Traffic looks strong, and revenue holds. Meanwhile, erosion is slowly but steadily weakening the structure. That delay creates false confidence.

Operators assume the business is healthy because visible performance hasn’t collapsed yet. But gravity often weakens long before the market response materializes fully. By the time traffic softens noticeably, trust, consistency, and emotional connection may have already been eroding for months. A cocktail bar may have a strong concept but weak operations. A nightclub may generate social buzz but fail to deliver a consistent experience. A neighborhood restaurant may run efficiently but lack a compelling identity. When one force falls out of alignment with the others, gravity weakens.

Guests feel the difference even if they can’t explain it. They visit less often. Eventually, they stop returning at all.

A Simple Diagnostic

Operators don’t need complicated analytics to sense whether gravity exists.

Four simple questions often reveal the answer:

  1. Do guests understand our concept instantly? If guests struggle to describe what your venue is, brand gravity is weak.
  2. Do guests talk about us outside of our four walls? If the venue rarely enters conversation, social gravity hasn’t formed.
  3. Does our operation deliver the same experience every night? If the answer is no, structural gravity can’t hold.
  4. Are these forces reinforcing each other or quietly working against each other? When identity, experience, and systems move in different directions, gravity weakens.

Most operators already know the answers. What they often lack is the framework to interpret what those answers mean. But if they answer these questions honestly, most will understand quickly where the real problems lie.

The Difference

Some venues constantly chase guests, others pull them in. The difference isn’t luck. It isn’t demographics, and it isn’t the latest trend. It’s gravity. It’s brand clarity, social momentum, and operational discipline. When these forces align, something remarkable happens: guests return, again and again.

When gravity forms, retention strengthens. That means marketing becomes more efficient. It means that word of mouth accelerates naturally. Teams operate with greater clarity because the experience they’re protecting is fully understood across the business. The venue stops relying entirely on constant stimulation and begins generating pull organically.

Everything else is noise. And noise is expensive.

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A chess clock next to a chessboard with full pieces set up
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The 48-Hour Rule: Slow Decisions Kill Momentum

Hospitality does not reward hesitation. It moves in real time, and leaders must keep pace.

Labor shortages remain elevated across much of the world, operating costs continue to fluctuate aggressively, and competition for talent, real estate, and consumer attention is tighter than ever.

According to the National Restaurant Association, labor costs remain well above historical averages, while operators continue to cite staffing, inflation, and operational complexity as top concerns. At the same time, hospitality moves in real time: opportunities appear and disappear quickly, great candidates accept other offers, contractors move on to faster-moving projects, and landlords lose patience. Momentum either fades or disappears entirely.

That’s why one of the most underrated leadership skills in hospitality is the ability to make decisions both quickly and confidently. Now, that does not mean making reckless decisions; there’s certainly a difference. It’s about the power of making informed decisions within 48 hours.

by Doug Radkey

A chess clock next to a chessboard with full pieces set up

Strategic clarity > Indecisiveness

From proposals to quotes, hiring, strategic direction, vendor approvals, and other day-to-day decisions, the businesses that move forward fastest are rarely the ones with perfect information. They’re the ones that maintain momentum while everyone else stalls in overthinking, avoidance, or indecision.

The Founder Who Couldn’t Decide

We once worked with an operator opening a new hospitality concept who had everything going for him. He had a strong location, strong investor group, and a really strong concept.

The issue was that every decision took too long.

There were equipment quotes that sat untouched for weeks. The hiring conversations dragged on endlessly. The branding and design revisions stayed “under review.” Construction decisions were revisited repeatedly. The project support team started feeling it: vendors became less responsive, deadlines slipped, and stress increased.

What should have been strategic thinking became decision paralysis. And the interesting part was this: none of the delayed decisions became better because they waited longer. They all ended up exactly where they were headed in the first place.

But now momentum was damaged, trust was weakened, timelines were extended, and costs increased. That’s the hidden cost of indecision.

The Real Risk Isn’t the Wrong Decision

Most leaders delay decisions because they fear making the wrong one. But in hospitality, the greater risk is often making no decision at all.

While you wait:

  • the market continues to move
  • the team loses confidence
  • opportunities disappear
  • energy drains from the business

This is particularly dangerous in hospitality because momentum matters. Restaurants, bars, and hotels are operational ecosystems. Delays in one area ripple into others because everything is connected. Indecision creates drag, and drag compounds.

The 48-Hour Rule

I’m not suggesting every decision should be made impulsively. What I am saying is this: if you have enough context, enough data, and enough alignment to move forward, make the decision within 48 hours.

Why? Because most decisions in hospitality aren’t improved by endless revisiting.

They’re improved by focusing on four key areas:

  1. Strategic clarity
  2. People and processes
  3. Accountability
  4. Execution

What we’ve seen, what we know works, is the 48-hour rule creating urgency, confidence, and forward movement. And momentum is one of the most valuable assets a hospitality business can have.

The Cost of Delayed Decisions

Here’s a clear example for you to consider. A strong candidate interviews well. The leadership team likes them. The fit is obvious. But instead of deciding quickly, leadership waits.

“Let’s think about it.”

“Let’s see a few more candidates.”

“Let’s call a few more references.”

“Let’s regroup next week and make a decision.”

Meanwhile, another company moves faster with this candidate.

Now the operator is left:

  • restarting interviews
  • onboarding and training another candidate
  • extending stress on the team
  • wondering why hiring feels so difficult

Top performers often know they are top performers. And top performers rarely wait around for indecisive leadership.

Fast, confident decisions communicate clarity, direction, and operational maturity. Slow hiring processes on the other hand, communicate uncertainty.

Vendors and Contractors Feel it Too

The same dynamic happens with vendors, contractors, designers, and consultants. Strong partners want decisive clients. Not reckless clients, just decisive ones.

If a $30,000 decision on a $2.5 million project takes three to four weeks or more, how long are you going to take to make decisions around the $250,000 quote?

If every quote requires weeks of debate, if every proposal stalls in committee-style conversations, if every revision gets reopened endlessly, strong partners begin to lose urgency around your project. And honestly, they should.

Indecision at the leadership level creates operational instability downstream. This is why experienced founders and operators understand that delayed decisions create delayed execution, while delayed execution creates cost creep, and cost creep destroys margins.

The businesses that open strongest are not always the ones with the biggest budgets. Often, they’re the ones with the clearest decision-making structure.

Why Leaders Struggle to Decide Quickly

Let’s address the real issue here: most delayed decisions are emotional problems, not information problems. Entrepreneurs, founders, and leaders delay decisions because they fear criticism, responsibility, making the wrong move, or they mistake more thinking for more strategy.

Now, a strong dose of reality: no decision ever comes with perfect certainty. Hospitality leadership requires calculated confidence, not perfection.

And many leaders need a mindset shift around this.

The Mindset Shift: Speed with Structure

Fast decision making does not mean chaotic decision making. It means that criteria are clear, the values are defined, the priorities are known, and the process is disciplined. The strongest operators build filters that allow them to move quickly.

They ask questions like:

  • Does this move my business forward?
  • Does this align with our strategy?
  • Does this support the guest experience?
  • Does this improve operational flow?
  • Does this fit the budget reality?

Once those filters are satisfied, they decide and then they execute.

The problem in many bars, restaurants, and hotels isn’t lack of intelligence. It’s lack of structure around decision making.

What Happens When Momentum Stays Alive

Let’s be honest: momentum changes culture.

When leadership moves decisively:

  • teams trust direction
  • projects move faster
  • accountability improves
  • vendors respond differently
  • confidence grows

Momentum creates belief, and belief matters because teams feed off leadership energy. If leadership hesitates constantly, the business becomes hesitant. But if leadership communicates clearly and moves with intention, the business gains rhythm.

This is particularly important during openings, renovations, staffing changes, menu transitions, growth phases, and crisis periods. The businesses that survive volatility are not the ones with the least pressure, they’re the ones that continue moving under pressure.

Fast Decisions Require Strong Foundations

Now, there’s an important caveat here: you can’t make fast decisions if the information is not sound, your strategy is unclear, your values are undefined, your numbers are weak, or your leadership team is misaligned.

This is why strategic clarity matters so much; clarity removes unnecessary friction. A business with strong playbooks, clear priorities, defined standards, and aligned leadership can make decisions significantly faster than one operating emotionally.

This is one of the hidden reasons that systems matter: they reduce decision fatigue.

The Questions Leaders Should Ask Themselves

If you want to become a stronger decision maker, ask yourself:

  • What decision am I currently delaying?
  • What am I actually afraid of with this decision?
  • Would more time truly improve this decision?
  • What is the cost of waiting?
  • What momentum is being lost right now?
  • Does my team experience me as decisive or hesitant?
  • What process would help us move faster in the future?

These questions are important because indecision often disguises itself as caution, but caution without movement eventually becomes stagnation.

The Takeaway Serious Operators Should Save

First and foremost: hospitality rewards momentum. It does not reward chaos, impulsiveness, or inaction. It rewards momentum.

That means founders, operators, and executives need to become better at making informed decisions quickly enough to keep the project or the business moving.

Within 48 hours:

  • review the proposal
  • choose the vendor
  • move the candidate forward
  • approve the design
  • commit to the direction

Because the longer you wait, the heavier the business feels, the slower the business moves, and the more expensive progress becomes.

The best operators are not the ones with perfect information. They’re the ones who build strong decision filters, trust their frameworks and playbooks, move with intention, and maintain momentum while others sit back and hesitate.

That’s leadership.

In hospitality, momentum is often the difference between a business that grows and a business that quietly stalls while everyone wonders what the hell happened.

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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

A Brand Does Not Start with a Logo or Menu

Most founders think a brand starts when the visuals begin.

Too often, founders kick things off by designing a logo. There’s a wishful menu. A color palette. An Instagram teaser. A friend’s design file. That feels like progress, like the “we’re finally doing this!” moment. So naturally, it becomes the focus.

But in hospitality, polished visuals can create a dangerous illusion: movement without clarity.

Because a logo can’t explain who the business is for. A menu can’t define positioning. And a beautiful brand deck can’t sell a weak concept, an undefined guest, or a business model to a savvy investor. Yet this happens constantly. Founders build the aesthetics first, then try to reverse-engineer the strategy afterward.

That sequence is backwards.

The strongest hospitality brands don’t start with design. They start with a point of view strong enough to shape every decision that follows. A clear understanding of who the brand is for, what role it plays in the market, what standards it protects, and why it deserves to exist in the first place.

Without that clarity, everything becomes reactive. The menu becomes guesswork. The marketing sounds generic. The guest experience feels disconnected. The visuals may look polished, but the business underneath them lacks structure, alignment, and direction.

And in a market where guests are more selective, investors are more cautious, and operating costs are less forgiving, that lack of clarity becomes expensive fast.

by Doug Radkey

A closeup of a person's hands as they sit at their desk and design a logo on a tablet with a stylus.

Designing the logo and menu are fun, but they’re not where successful brands start.

Here’s what I see time and again, call after call.

The Discovery Call Pattern

There’s a version of this conversation that happens over and over and over again.

A founder books a call and I can tell immediately that they’re excited (which is great). They seem to have momentum early on in the journey. They have a space they are looking at, or maybe a lease they’ve already signed. They tell me they are ready to move quickly.

Then, they continue with one of three things:

  • “We already have a logo.”
  • “We’ve already built the menu.”
  • “We don’t need a feasibility study. I’ve lived here my whole life; I know the market.”

And every time, I ask the same question: What is your business model based on?

That’s usually where the room gets quiet. The logo was designed before the concept was pressure-tested. The menu was built before the market was understood. The visual identity was created before the guest was defined clearly.

We see this pattern constantly, and it exposes a sequence problem.

The Market Does Not Reward Aesthetics Without Clarity

This is the hard truth founders need to understand earlier on in the sequence.

A logo does not create demand. A menu does not create positioning. A pretty brand deck does not create investor confidence. What does is a point of view.

That point of view answers questions, such as:

  • Do we understand who we are?
  • Do we know where we’re going?
  • Do we understand why we’re doing this?
  • Do we know how we’re going to get there?

This is the essence of strategic clarity. Without answering those questions through the completion of a series of strategic playbooks, your logo is decoration. Your menu is guesswork, and your investor deck drives more questions than confidence.

This matters even more now because guests are more informed and more selective on how and where they spend their money. This is a signal that modern guests are making decisions faster, with more scrutiny, and with less patience for uncertainty.

If the brand is unclear, the market will feel that before the founder does.

What a Point of View Actually Is

A point of view is not a slogan.

It’s not “elevated comfort food,” or “modern yet approachable,” or “a neighborhood spot with a twist.” Those are filler phrases that sound polished, and they mean almost nothing.

A point of view is the strategic stance behind the brand. It’s the way the business sees the guest, the market, hospitality, and its own role inside both.

It gives shape to everything that follows:

  • The concept
  • The programming
  • The music
  • The service style
  • The price strategy
  • The visual identity
  • The marketing voice
  • The standards
  • The guest experience

A point of view is what makes a brand feel intentional. Without it, everything becomes reactive.

The founder builds a menu they personally like, not what the market wants or needs, or what will support the business model financially. The designer builds a logo they think looks cool before establishing the strategy, story, values, and personality. The space gets designed around trends instead of budgets, service, and guest experiences. The marketing ends up sounding like everyone else because there was no strategy tied to targeted guest profiles.

Does any of that sound familiar? That’s how generic hospitality brands are born.

A Logo is Not a Strategy

I want to be direct here because this misconception costs people a lot of money.

A logo is an identifier, not a strategy. A logo can only express something that already exists. It can’t invent clarity where there is none.

This is why so many early-stage hospitality brands look polished but feel hollow. The founder invested in visual assets before making strategic decisions, so the look arrives before the logic.

That’s backwards, and should no longer need to be explained. If the brand doesn’t know who it’s for, why it matters, what lane it owns and what standards it protects, then no visual system can save it.

In fact, a premature logo often creates false confidence. It makes the founder feel further along than they actually are. That’s dangerous, because confidence without clarity speeds up the wrong decisions throughout the planning and development process.

A Menu is Not a Concept

The same problem exists with menus. Founders often show up with 40-plus dishes and a list of beverage categories or 15 cocktails, and they feel prepared because the menu is already “done.”

The question is: What is the menu based on?

A menu should not start with creativity alone. It should start with the 14 fundamentals:

  • Target your ideal guest profile
  • An ideation stage of just 12-15 items
  • Competitive analysis and positioning
  • Economic factors
  • Flavor profiles
  • The talent pool to execute menu
  • Vendor management
  • Pricing strategies
  • Theoretical costs
  • Bar and kitchen layouts and equipment
  • Visual representations
  • Testing and feedback phase
  • Marketing and engineering
  • Training program for that menu

A menu isn’t just food or drink. It’s the primary signal for a successful business model.

If the concept is unclear, the menu becomes random. If the target guest is fuzzy, the menu becomes too broad. If the operations are not defined, the menu becomes expensive to execute. And if the point of view is missing, the menu becomes a list instead of a story.

That is why I say a menu should be the result of strategy, not the substitute for it.

Story First, Design Elements Second

Let me put this another way. A strong brand is built in this order:

  1. Point of view: What do we believe, who are we for, and why do we matter?
  2. Positioning: Where do we sit in the market, and what role do we want to own?
  3. Guest Journey: What should it feel like to discover us, enter, order, stay, leave, return, and talk about us?
  4. Operational reality: Can the experience be delivered consistently, profitably, and at standard?
  5. Identity system: Now the logo, visual direction, menu language, and design cues can begin, and will start to make sense.

This is the order serious brands follow. Everyone else starts at step five and wonders why nothing feels cohesive.

What Happens When You Skip the Point of View

When founders skip this work, a few predictable things happen.

  1. The brand sounds generic: The language becomes vague: “curated,” “elevated,” “authentic,” and “experiential.” Do those all sound familiar? These words get used because there’s no sharper perspective underneath them.
  2. The menu overreaches: It tries to be too many things to too many people because nobody defined what the concept actually stands for.
  3. The guest experience feels disconnected: The music says one thing. The food says another. The pricing says something else. The room looks polished, but the soul of the brand is missing.
  4. Investors lose confidence: Remember, smart investors aren’t buying your taste. They’re buying into your clarity, systems, strategy, and ability to execute at a high level.
  5. Teams struggle to execute: When the founder can’t clearly explain what the brand is trying to be, the team can’t possibly deliver it consistently.

The Discipline New Brands Need

This is the part founders don’t always want to hear, but they need to listen to it.

You don’t need to move faster, you need to think in the right order. You need to follow a tested sequence that drives success.

So, before the logo, before the menu, before the social accounts, before the branded packaging, and before the lease, you need a point of view.

That means doing the less glamorous work first:

  • Validating the opportunity
  • Studying the market
  • Identifying the concept
  • Defining the promise
  • Developing strategic clarity through playbooks

If you’ve already started, that isn’t a delay. If you’ve already started, this is protection. Because once the point of view is clear, everything else gets easier, I promise.

Your design becomes sharper, your menus become smarter, your marketing becomes more magnetic, your hiring becomes more intentional, your training becomes more consistent, your guest experience becomes more memorable.

This type of clarity 100 percent compounds.

The Takeaway Serious Founders Should Save

If you’re building a new hospitality brand, remember this: Your brand doesn’t start when someone designs a logo. It doesn’t start when someone writes a menu. It doesn’t start when you post the first teaser on Instagram. It starts the moment you can answer, with precision and confidence:

  • Why this concept and brand?
  • Why this guest and this market?
  • Why now, and why us?

That’s your point of view. And if you don’t have that yet, you don’t need more design; you need more strategic clarity.

Because in this industry, the brands that win won’t be the ones that look the best first. They’ll be the ones that know exactly what they stand for. That’s how a brand starts.

Everything else comes after.

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Interior of a light, relaxing restaurant with a focus on the modern, sophisticated light fixtures and open window to the sidewalk and street.
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Emerging Brands are Compound Startups

Why the smartest one to 15-unit hospitality brands are not “small chains” yet. They are startups learning how to repeat themselves without breaking.

Growth in this industry has entered a new era. From recent conference discussions, what we are seeing and hearing is that bar, restaurant, and even boutique hotel operators still plan to open more locations despite cost pressure.

However, the conversation has shifted from raw expansion to sustainable growth, stronger unit economics, and operational readiness.

At the same time, industry data continues to show that closures remain part of the landscape, particularly for brands that grew faster than their model matured. Black Box Intelligence has warned that unit closures are likely to continue, even as some operators keep developing more locations.

That’s why this thought matters: emerging brands are just compound startups.

A second, fifth, or 15th location does not magically make a brand “corporate.” It simply means the founder is attempting to repeat a business model under more pressure, with more people, in more places.

by Doug Radkey

Interior of a light, relaxing restaurant with a focus on the modern, sophisticated light fixtures and open window to the sidewalk and street.

This article breaks down what “compound startup” means; why so many operators misunderstand scale; and what serious bar, restaurant, and boutique hotel entrepreneurs must build before growth becomes an asset instead of a liability.

The Growth Illusion: Why More Locations Can Hide a Weaker Business

In hospitality, growth is seductive:

  • A packed dining room turns into a second site conversation.
  • A strong summer in one market becomes an excuse to test another.
  • Friends, investors, landlords, and even guests start asking the same question: “When are you opening the next one?”

That question flatters the ego; it does not validate the model.

Too many operators assume that one good location means they have a scalable brand. What they often have is a founder-carried success story.

The owner still approves too many decisions. The best managers still rely on the founder’s instinct. The menu still works because one chef protects it. The guest experience still lands because the founder is in the room.

That is not scale. That is heroics, and heroics do not compound.

A Story Every Growing Operator Will Recognize

A founder opens a strong first location. Maybe it is a cocktail bar, maybe a neighborhood restaurant. Maybe it is a small lifestyle hotel with food and beverage anchors.

The first unit performs well enough. Reviews are good and revenue looks strong. Staff is stretched, but the energy feels high. There is momentum.

Then the founder opens a second location. Almost immediately, the cracks widen.

The first unit loses focus because the founder is no longer present every day. The second unit opens with a team that knows the standards in theory but not in rhythm.

From there, costs and inventory variance increase, culture starts to split, and guests notice inconsistency. Managers become messengers instead of coaches and leaders. The founder begins working more, not less.

This is the point where many operators say “Growth is hard.”

But here’s the thing: growth is not the issue. Unrepeatable success is the issue.

An emerging brand is still a startup because every new unit is a new test of the model. The only difference is that the cost of failure gets higher with each location.

Pillar One: Scaling is Not Expansion. Scaling is Repetition Without Degradation.

The first truth serious operators need to accept is this: opening more units is not scaling. Repeating a model without dilution is scaling.

That means the following must remain true from location one to location five:

  • The guest experience still feels intentional.
  • The unit-level economics still make sense.
  • The culture still transfers.
  • The systems still hold.
  • The brand identity still lands clearly.

If any of those degrade with each unit, you are not scaling; you are stretching.

This is where a lot of emerging brands get trapped. They call themselves a “chain” because they have multiple addresses. But operationally, they are still improvising. They have expanded their footprint without maturing their infrastructure.

A second location should not prove ambition, it should prove repeatability. That is a much higher bar to reach.

Pillar Two: Systems Compound. Effort Does Not.

Startups are fueled by intensity. That is normal. Founders often work harder, stay later, and solve more problems than anyone else in the building. In the early stage, effort covers a lot of weakness.

But effort has a limit. What has no limit? Systems.

The brands that become scalable stop asking “How do we keep up?” They start asking “What must be documented, standardized, and delegated so this works without us?”

That simple mindset shift changes everything.

Systems do not automatically make a brand bureaucratic or corporate. They ensure that knowledge leaves the founder’s head and enters the business in usable formats:

  • strategic playbooks
  • programmed SOPs
  • role clarity
  • service standards
  • training flows
  • decision rules
  • opening and closing disciplines
  • vendor and purchasing frameworks

This is where compounding begins.

Every time a system replaces memory, the business becomes more transferable. Every time a process becomes trainable, leadership gets lighter. Every time expectations become standardized, culture gets stronger.

The founder who still solves everything manually is not building an emerging business; they are scaling personal exhaustion.

Pillar Three: Every Unit Should Be a Feedback Loop, Not Just a Revenue Line.

This is where serious operators separate themselves from the hopeful.

A new location should do more than add top-line revenue. It should teach the brand something.

Every additional unit should refine the model:

  • program complexity
  • labor deployment
  • average revenue per guest behavior
  • service pacing
  • production flow
  • local marketing
  • daypart demand
  • guest retention patterns

That is how compound startups evolve into disciplined brands.

You are not just opening more bars, restaurants, or boutique hotels. You are gathering intelligence. Every unit is a live test of what is truly core to the concept and what was only working because of geography, novelty, or founder presence.

The smartest operators treat each location as a strategic lab. The struggling operators treat each location as proof they were already right.

One mindset compounds wisdom, the other compounds blind spots.

Pillar Four: Leadership Depth, Not Real Estate, is the True Growth Constraint.

Most people think growth is limited by capital, real estate, or timing. In hospitality, growth is usually limited by leadership depth.

You can always find another space. Just as you can always raise more money or can always negotiate another lease.

What is much harder is building a bench of people who can lead the brand at standard without the founder becoming the glue for every decision.

This is the hidden scaling trap.

A business can look ready on paper while being leadership-fragile in practice. Ask better questions:

  • Can your current GMs develop managers into future AGMs who can then become future GMs?
  • Can someone open a new unit without you holding every meeting?
  • Can your business and developed culture survive your physical absence?
  • Can the business solve problems without escalating them all upward?

If the answer is no, you do not have a scaling problem. What you have is a leadership development problem, and this is where many emerging brands stall.

Not because demand disappeared but because the founder never stopped being the sun in the solar system. Real scalable businesses are not built on charismatic founders. They are built on distributed leadership, reinforced systems, and cultural consistency.

Pillar Five: Unit Economics Turn Growth Into Wealth or Waste.

This is the point many operators avoid because it feels less fun than branding, design, or buzz.

But this is the pillar that determines whether an emerging brand becomes a wealth-building machine or an expensive ego project.

Revenue is loud, unit economics are quiet.

The industry is full of businesses that grow volume and revenue faster than profitability. That is why sustainable expansion has become such a focus. Operators planning new locations are doing so under heavier cost pressure, more scrutiny around labor and inventory, and growing emphasis on profitability discipline.

If your first location does not have healthy unit-level economics, your fifth location will not solve that; it will amplify it.

That means serious operators must know:

  • contribution margins.
  • prime cost discipline.
  • ADR + TGRM for hotels.
  • labor productivity (not just labor costs).
  • sales per square foot.
  • cash flow timing.
  • return on invested capital by unit.
  • payback timeline.
  • break-even thresholds under pressure and volatility.

This is where emerging brands become compound startups in the truest sense. They do not just add units, they improve the model so each new location has better odds, better data, and better operational intelligence than the one before it.

That is compounding; not ambition without infrastructure, and not “we’ll figure it out later.”

Compounding means the business gets smarter as it grows.

What This Means for Small Hospitality Brands Right Now

If you operate between one and 15 locations, this should reframe how you see yourself.

You are not “small” in some dismissive sense, and you are not “too early” to think like a chain.

But you are also not “there” just because you have multiple units. You are an emerging brand, which really means you are a compound startup.

That requires a different mindset:

Stop asking:

  • How fast can we grow?
  • Which market is next?
  • How do we get bigger?

Start asking:

  • What in this model is actually repeatable?
  • What still depends too much on founder energy?
  • What is documented versus assumed?
  • Where are margins strongest and weakest by unit?
  • What are we learning with each location?
  • Who can lead without us in the room?

Those questions build a legacy business. The others just build motion.

The Strategic Takeaway Serious Operators Should Save

The brands that win the next decade will not be the fastest to expand. They will be the most disciplined in how they repeat. That is the entire game.

A startup proves an idea. An emerging brand proves a system. A great hospitality company proves that the system can grow without sacrificing the soul of the brand.

So if you are sitting at one, three, or ten locations right now, remember this:

You are not done being a startup. You are simply in a more expensive chapter of it.

Treat each unit like a lesson. Treat systems like assets, leadership depth like oxygen, and unit economics like truth.

Emerging brands are not just growing businesses, they are startups that learned how to compound. And in hospitality, that is the difference between becoming a brand and becoming a cautionary tale.

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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Three Lies Hospitality Operators Need to Stop Telling Themselves

Revenue vanity, generational myths, and the expensive distractions hurting operators.

The hospitality industry spends an extraordinary amount of time talking about the wrong things.

Operators debate generational stereotypes. They brag about revenue numbers, and chase the newest technology platform.

Meanwhile, the operators who actually build durable businesses are focused on something far less exciting: structure, discipline, and profit.

Spend enough time walking trade show floors, reading hospitality headlines, or sitting through conference panels and the pattern becomes impossible to miss.

Hospitality doesn’t suffer from a lack of passion; it suffers from distraction.

And some of the loudest conversations in the industry right now are built on myths that waste operators’ time, money, and attention.

by David Klemt

A closeup image of a hand attached to the leads of a lie detector, with the small polygraph machine sitting on the bar top.

Illustration generated using AI

Here are three of the worst lies distracting operators.

Lie #1: Sales Equals Success

Revenue is hospitality’s favorite number. Or, phrased a bit differently, sales are hospitality’s favorite vanity metric.

Operators proudly announce they’ve done $3 million or $5 million in annual sales. Trade show rooms applaud when they hear big sales numbers. Social media celebrates. Award nominations start rolling in. Hospitality publications write features.

But revenue alone tells you almost nothing about whether the business is healthy.

A venue doing $3 million in sales and netting $100,000 isn’t a success story. It’s really a stressful job disguised as a business. A significant number of hospitality entrepreneurs end up giving themselves jobs instead of building businesses and empires.

Sales tells you how busy you were. Profit tells you whether your model actually works.

Too many operators chase volume (full dining rooms, long lines, packed weekends) because volume looks impressive. However, the reality is busy doesn’t equal profitable.

Busy rooms and long lines look impressive to some. But profitability, not popularity, is what determines whether a business survives.

The operators who survive long-term aren’t chasing top-line numbers, they’re protecting margins.

Lie #2: Generations Explain Everything

Another long-standing distraction is the industry’s obsession with explaining everything through generational stereotypes.

We’ve read and heard them all: Boomers are entitled, Millennials have killed restaurants, and Gen Z doesn’t drink.

Did you notice I skipped Gen X? That happens a lot when discussing generations.

These narratives make for easy articles and viral social media posts. However, they rarely reflect what operators actually see inside their venues.

Guests aren’t demographic caricatures, they’re people.

Yes, preferences evolve. But successful operators pay attention to how guests behave in their rooms, not how someone online claims an entire generation behaves.

When operators get distracted by generational mythology, they miss the fundamentals that have always mattered: hospitality, atmosphere, consistency, and value. They also miss another key factor when serving people: speaking to guests’ personal values.

Hospitality doesn’t need better stereotypes; nobody and no industry does. Hospitality needs better observation.

Lie #3: Critical Thinking is Optional

This is where the industry’s most expensive mistakes happen.

Operators will hesitate to invest $30,000 in strategic planning that could protect hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in capital. But they’ll sign a $50,000 equipment order without blinking.

Operators will overspend on technology platforms they barely use. They’ll chase design trends that photograph well but do nothing for the business. They’ll throw open their doors and add complexity before they’ve built stability.

It happens constantly.

People under-invest in critical thinking and over-invest in shiny equipment, overpowered tech, and unnecessary design.

The irony is that thinking—strategic clarity, concept development, operational structure, financial discipline—is the part that determines whether a venue survives.

Equipment doesn’t fix a weak concept, technology doesn’t repair broken operations, and beautiful interiors don’t create profitability.

You know what does tick all those boxes? Systems and structure.

The Reality

Bars, restaurants, nightclubs, eatertainment, hotels, and every hospitality business in between rarely fail because operators lack passion.

They fail because operators chase signals that look impressive and buy into stereotypes disguised as actionable data points. Failure comes because they’re distracted by revenue headlines, generational myths, shiny equipment, trendy technology, and, possibly the most damaging of all, refusing to change because “we’ve always done it this way.”

If these distractions dominate so much operator thinking, what’s the answer to this key question: What really creates truly durable hospitality brands?

Signals that actually matter.

The operators who build durable businesses focus on something much less glamorous: building businesses with real pull.

They develop and build out clear concepts. They adhere to disciplined operations, and implement profitable systems.

Everything else is noise, and noise is expensive.

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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The Public Has Spoken: How Guests View Bars and Restaurants

A few weeks ago, a popular bar and restaurant in Toronto closed its doors after more than 25 years in business.

Not quietly. Not without attention from local PR. And not without commentary from the public online.

What followed wasn’t just nostalgia or sadness. It was a wave of blunt, uncomfortable public opinion, with comments that should stop every operator in their tracks. Comments such as:

“Bars and restaurants are a cultural wasteland.”
“Not surprised. Kids don’t drink anymore.”
“Why pay $25 for a burger and fries?”
“I can’t afford to go out anymore anyway.”
“Going out is a waste of money. I can cook better at home.”
“Charge less and you’d still be open.”

These weren’t trolls. These were guests (or potential guests). This is a trend we are seeing on many other closure announcements.

Every day, consumers are starting to react honestly to what dining out now feels like to them.

Whether operators like it or not, there is a perception problem that the hospitality industry must confront head-on.

by Doug Radkey

A bar and restaurant with very few guests but many empty tables, chairs, and barstools.

Image: Canva

Operators Must Reinvent the Hospitality Industry

This isn’t just Toronto. It’s everywhere.

Across Canada, the United States, the UK, Western Europe, Australia, and even parts of Mexico, the same themes are emerging: demand still exists, but tolerance is shrinking. Guests are no longer willing to blindly accept higher prices, inconsistent experiences, or unclear value.

Recent data paint a sobering picture:

  • Canada is projected to see roughly 4,000 net restaurant closures in 2026, following a “bloodbath” of approximately 7,000 closures in 2025 (Dalhousie University’s Agri-Food Analytics Lab)
  • Over 86 percent of consumers say they plan to cut back on dining out due to high costs.
  • Input costs for food, labor, rent, and supplies have increased 20 to 30 percent year over year.
  • Many small independent operators, already running on razor-thin margins, are the most vulnerable.

In the UK, net closures continue, though the pace has slowed.

In Europe, bankruptcies in accommodation and foodservice jumped more than 20 percent in 2025.

Australia has seen one of the highest closure rates in hospitality relative to other sectors.

The US looks more stable on paper, but that stability masks aggressive adjustments in casual dining and a widening gap between winners and everyone else.

Mexico remains growth-oriented, but performance is uneven and increasingly value-sensitive.

This is not a localized issue. This is a structural issue, and requires a reset for the industry as a whole.

The Calm Before the Storm

Here’s the part that confuses people.

Just months ago, many headlines talked about recovery, stabilization, and momentum. Many articles boasted about new records in revenue. But as we always say, revenue is a vanity metric.

So what happened? Well, while the perception was about recovery, the fact is, it was just the calm before the storm.

Many operators were surviving on deferred debt, temporary relief programs, optimism, and sheer willpower. Balance sheets were stretched. Lease terms were aggressive. Margins were compressed but ignored. Now, reality is catching up to many operators.

Our working theory is this: This era may become the largest period of restaurant closures in modern history. Not because people stopped eating out, but because years of inflated optimism, weak unit economics, and bad financial discipline finally collide.

The market isn’t cruel, it’s just indifferent.

How the Public Actually Sees the Industry Right Now

This is where operators need to listen more than they talk.

From the guest’s perspective, dining out is judged through a simple lens for most:

“Is it worth it?”

That’s it.

Guests are not anti-bar or anti-restaurant; they are anti-disappointment.

They still want experiences. They still want social connection. They still want great food and drink (and yes, even alcohol). And, of course, they want hospitality.

But what is happening is they are rationing their frequency and raising their expectations.

Across markets, several narratives dominate:

  1. “Dining out costs too much for what you get.”

Affordability is the loudest theme. Inflation, tariffs, and prices rose fast, portions are often viewed as shrinking, and consistency in service has slipped. Guests don’t just feel sticker shock; what they are feeling is uncertainty. They don’t trust that the experience will justify the bill.

  1. “Tipping and surprise charges are out of control.”

Tip fatigue is now mainstream. It’s in the media. Guests are sharing screenshots of their bills on social. People are frustrated by auto-gratuities, hidden service charges, and unclear checkout moments. The final bill often feels disconnected from the experience they just had.

  1. “I’m cutting back, but I still want real nights out.”

This is critical. Again, guests aren’t quitting bars and restaurants; they are choosing moments. Routine dining is being replaced by occasional, intentional experiences. When they do go out, they want it to feel special, even if it is not a typical special occasion. Operators need to fight for that earned dollar more than ever before.

  1. “Value wins. Convenience gets questioned.”

Convenience still matters, but tolerance for fees is collapsing. Delivery, once a savior (particularly during the pandemic), now carries a perception problem. Guests are questioning all-in costs and choosing where value feels honest, even when it comes to convenience.

  1. “I feel bad for operators—but I won’t overpay forever.”

There is an element of sympathy, but not blind loyalty. Understanding cost pressures does not equal unlimited patience. However, the public still doesn’t understand the economics of the industry. Of course, that begs the question: Should they have to?

In short, the public still wants bars and restaurants, but they want proof. They want proof of value, proof of consistency, and proof that the cost makes sense for them.

Where Operators Went Wrong

This is the hard part.

Many closures were not food or beverage problems. They were not service problems or not demand problems. What were they? Strategy problems, or what we refer to as strategic clarity problems.

Too many operators:

  • built concepts without clear strategy and value ladders;
  • raised prices without visibly improving the experience;
  • allowed menus to sprawl, increasing labor and waste;
  • operated with thin or negative margins and called it “temporary”; and
  • treated leases and debt as fixed realities instead of negotiable strategy.

The middle of the market, particularly casual dining, has been hollowed out. Legacy QSRs are fighting traffic declines and digital fatigue. Only a handful of unicorn brands are truly winning at scale.

Being busy is no longer enough. Neither is just being liked. Being open for 10 or 15 or more years is no longer a shield for your brand, as we saw at the start of this article.

Consumer Education Starts with Operator Discipline

As I alluded to a moment ago, guests don’t understand restaurant economics—and they shouldn’t have to. It’s not their job to subsidize inefficiency or poor planning.

Consumer education will not come from lectures or defensiveness. It will come from intentional design. When the word “value” is used, the industry must remember that it does not mean “cheap.” “Value,” to most guests, means “I understand what I paid for, and it was worth it.”

Winning operators are doing a few things differently:

  • Creating clear value ladders on the menu. Entry items that feel generous. Mid-tier bestsellers that anchor frequency. Premium items that sell identity and margin.
  • Engineering portions and prep so guests feel abundance in the right places while margins are protected behind the scenes, which takes planning and strategy.
  • Pairing price increases with visible improvements in speed, cleanliness, hospitality, or consistency. Being intentional with onboarding, training, and culture.
  • Eliminating billing friction. Fewer surprise fees. Clear compensation models. Simple, human scripts at checkout while still providing frictionless payment methods.

The goal is not to race to the bottom, it’s to rebuild trust for the consumer’s earned dollar.

The Real Estate and Balance Sheet Reckoning

Many recent closures weren’t hospitality failures. They were financial failures. It was the period of rent structures, debt servicing, and cash flow timing.

Operators must treat the lease and balance sheet as core strategy, not background admin. That means you should become disciplined about the following:

  • Negotiate harder than you are comfortable with. Rent structure and tenant improvements can make or break the business before the first guest arrives.
  • Build a real cash flow plan: 90-day cash runway targets, weekly dashboards, and a contingency action plan for slower weeks.
  • Price for reality. If your model only works at “perfect” sales, it is not a model, it is hope.

Realistic Opportunities Still Exist

Despite some of the negatives, there is plenty of room to win. The opportunities are just more specific.

  • Focused fast-casual restaurants and QSRs with a strong value story continue to shine. Simple menus, fast throughput, and a reason to believe.
  • Small-footprint, high-productivity concepts. A footprint of 1,200 to 2,500 square feet with disciplined labor, high sales per square foot, and lower build-out costs can outperform larger venues.
  • Occasion-based concepts. Places built for specific moments like brunch culture, late-night, celebrations, and business lunch, where the guest is not comparing you to cooking at home.
  • Hybrid revenue models. A restaurant that also has a catering engine, packaged goods, a market component, a chef’s counter, or private events that deliver add-on experiences.
  • Operational turnarounds and acquisitions. In a churn cycle, buying a distressed asset with good bones can beat building from scratch, if you know how to fix the model.
  • Neighborhood loyalty plays. The public is cautious; become the trusted local go-to and you can win with frequency and reputation, even without hype.

This is not about creativity dying. In reality, it’s about creativity being protected by fundamental discipline.

Design Hospitality for a More Skeptical Guest

So, where do we start? Let’s look at the guest journey first. The first five minutes matter more than ever.

  • Improve the arrival sequence: greeting time, seating clarity, and “what happens next” cues.
  • Upgrade service pacing and check-back timing so guests feel cared for without being interrupted.
  • Ruthlessly remove the things people complain about online: noise management, restroom cleanliness, waitlist confusion, cold food, and delayed drinks.

Look for patterns during the entire guest journey: from awareness to bookings/ordering, from arrival to experience, from payment to post-visit experience.

Shift from Marketing to Conversion Systems

With consumer pullback, attention is not the problem. It’s conversion and frequency that are the culprits.

  • Own your best channels: Provide search and AI-focused profiles, reviews, email and SMS, and a simple loyalty or bounce-back offer that drives the much-needed second visit.
  • Sell occasions, not just items. Give people reasons to choose you this week, such as date night sets, lunch bundles, and fixed-price midweek menus. Curate a memorable experience that has a trackable ROI with guest data capture.
  • Build two off-premise lanes that make money (revenue and profit), such as catering for offices and small events, and pickup bundles that do not collapse food quality.

The New Definition of Winning

Moving forward from here, winners will not be the loudest or trendiest. The winners will be the operators who:

  • deliver a clean, honest value promise;
  • eliminate friction at all guest touch points;
  • run tight systems with both people and technology;
  • build consumer trust through service consistency;
  • know their numbers better than their accountant; and
  • create experiences that guests feel are worthy of leaving home to try.

This is why strategic playbooks and guidance matter more than ever. Not templates, not blind optimism, but real playbooks and guidance. Frameworks that integrate market validation, financial stress-testing, operational discipline, brand positioning, and leadership execution.

What New Entrants Must be Prepared For

This is still a great industry to enter, but the bar is higher. You need more money, more discipline, and more clarity on your lane within the industry. Building a legacy in this industry is still possible.

You must be prepared to navigate the following:

  • Slower ramps: Assume early on that it may take longer to stabilize sales and team performance, and fund that slower ramp up accordingly.
  • Higher operating precision: Guests notice inconsistency faster, and they do not give many second chances. Therefore, building intentional systems early in the process is a non-negotiable.
  • A tougher labor environment: Hiring is not the hard part; retention, training, and performance management are the real challenges. Build your brand on people, processes, and profit.
  • Vendor volatility and margin compression: Your best protection is menu engineering, purchasing discipline, and systems that control costs and reduce waste.
  • Real estate risk: A “great location” can still fail if the lease structure is wrong or the space forces too much labor.

That is exactly why the KRG Roadmap exists.

Most hospitality failures don’t happen after opening, they happen when clarity is skipped. The KRG Roadmap helps you validate readiness, numbers, and sequencing before the pressure begins.

The KRG Roadmap gives you an experienced strategic partner early, helping you think clearly, validate assumptions, and move forward without second-guessing every decision.

The KRG Roadmap clarifies if you are truly ready: financially, operationally, and personally. It defines what your project will actually cost in today’s market. It outlines what comes first, what comes next, and what can wait. And it answers what life looks like before and after opening.

Most importantly, the KRG Roadmap is designed to create a predictable outcome for you as a new or seasoned operator looking to start, stabilize, and scale in this ever-changing industry.

The Final Thoughts

This is still a great industry but the bar is higher than ever.

The good news is this: there is enormous opportunity for those willing to reinvent. Not by guessing better, but by planning better. Stress-testing faster. Executing with both intention and discipline.

The public hasn’t abandoned hospitality, they’ve just raised the standard of what they expect.

The question for operators is simple: Are you listening?

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Bar Hacks 2025: Top Episodes

Bar Hacks 2025: Top Episodes

by David Klemt

Bar Hacks Spotify for Creators Wrapped 2025 cover

Thank you to every one of our incredible guests and our amazing audience for listening to Bar Hacks and Bar Hacks: ReFire this year!

Season six, which spanned 2025, was another fantastic year for insightful and fun conversations.

Among our informative and engaging guests were Hayden Lambert, who shared his “simplexity” philosophy. Michael Suomi, the creative mind behind several award-winning designs, dropped by for a great chat.

Matty Rangel popped in to chat tending bar, dive and neighborhood bars, crafting engaging content, and more. KRG Hospitality design partner Nancy Kuemper of Mabel Design Co. shared her journey in hospitality design, and her tips for maximizing the client-designer relationship.

Bar Hacks host David Klemt addressed real-world hospitality business situations with Bradley Knebel over the course of several Bar Hacks: ReFire episodes.

Of course, that’s just a handful of the guests and topics from 2025. We’re grateful for everyone who takes the time to stop by and chat with us, and for everyone who listens, subscribes, likes, and shares.

Thank you all so much!

Below, the top episodes of 2025. We’ll see you in 2026! Cheers!

Episode 136 with Hayden Lambert

Our number one episode of 2025! Hayden Lambert, co-founder of the unique and award-winning Above Board bar in Melbourne, Australia, pops by for an incredible chat.

When Lambert would explain the reductionist philosophy behind the concept for Above Board to others in the industry, he was told it wouldn’t work. Well, nearly ten years of operation, a few appearances on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, and other accolades later, Above Board continues to prove that its unique approach works.

On this episode of the Bar Hacks podcast, Lamber discusses his journey through hospitality, traveling the world, still being tested as a bartender, “simplexity,” how brands can succeed in a bar without a back bar, the magic that is making guests feel like their experience was easy, and much, much more.

Lambert drops a ton of useful information and experience in this episode that veteran, new, and hopeful bar owners need to hear and consider.

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 141: Brand Authenticity: Robert Minucci of Talkhouse Encore

On this episode of Bar Hacks, host David Klemt sits down with Rob Minucci, CEO and co-founder of Talkhouse Encore, a premium RTD brand inspired by the legendary dive bar Stephen Talkhouse in the Hamptons. Together, they delve into the story behind the brand’s inception during the pandemic, discussing how Rob’s business partner Ruby Honerkamp (whose family owns the iconic bar), sought to bring the spirit of the Talkhouse to the masses through gluten-free vodka and tequila seltzers. Or, as Rob explains, dive bar classics in RTD form.

Rob shares insights into the challenges of launching a new beverage brand, from navigating distributor relationships to the importance of creating a standout product that resonates with consumers. He emphasizes the significance of authenticity and flavor, particularly for the Gen Z demographic, who are looking for more than just a drink;they want a story and a connection to the brand.

You’ll learn about the strategic decisions that shaped Talkhouse Encore, including its unique approach to market research and branding. Rob explains how they focused on building a strong local presence before considering expansion, ensuring that they meet consumer demands with quality ingredients and an engaging brand narrative.

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 134 with William Brooks

On this episode, host David Klemt sits down with William Brooks, the Global Brand Ambassador for Tequila Herradura. With a background from Johnson & Wales University and extensive experience in the spirits industry, William shares his fascinating journey from whiskey to agave.

Discover the unique qualities of tequila, as William dispels common myths and misconceptions. He dives into the importance of terroir, the differences between lowland and highland agave, and how these factors influence flavor profiles. The conversation also covers the innovative practices at Tequila Herradura, including sustainability efforts, and the creation of the reposado category.

Plus, William shares his favorite tequila cocktails, perfect food pairings, and tips on how to properly taste tequila (hint: replace the lime). Whether you’re a seasoned agave enthusiast or just starting to explore, this episode is packed with valuable insights and delicious ideas.

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Apple Podcasts

ReFire: Brilliant Burgers, Sloppy Service & Persnickety Perception

Guest experience drives perception, and perception shapes value. As you may have already learned, perception can be impacted on what may feel trivial to operators and their teams but is incredibly important from guest to guest.

On this episode of Bar Hacks: Refire, David Klemt, partner at KRG Hospitality, and co-host Bradley Knebel of Empowered Hospitality break down a real-world story of two restaurants offering the same menu and pricing, but with vastly different outcomes. One felt like a letdown because of disorganization and sloppy service; the other delivered a memorable experience simply by getting the fundamentals right.

The duo dig into why poor guest experience makes food and drinks taste worse; why discounting without strategy sends the wrong message; and why every detail—from lighting and music volume to greetings and check drop—matters. If your guests don’t feel good about the experience, they won’t feel good about the value. And if they don’t see value, they won’t see a point in returning for more visits.

Tune in to rethink what you’re really selling.

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 133 with Michael Suomi

Suomi Design Works is an award-winning hotel design studio dedicated to approaching every hospitality project with an exceptional level of creativity. In fact, Michael Suomi, president of the studio, actively seeks out unique, challenging projects.

On this episode of the Bar Hacks podcast, host David Klemt chats with Michael about a number of these extraordinary projects. Further, Michael shares his approach to onboarding clients, building unique teams for exceptional projects, trends he thinks may stand out in 2025 (and which he’d like to see disappear), and more.

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 139 with Matthew Rangel

We sit down with real-life bartender, actor, and social media creator Matthew Rangel (@therealmattyrangel) an hour before he needed to open one of the three bars at which he works in Wisconsin to talk neighborhood bars, dive bars, mental health, social media, and the Midwest.

For those who haven’t yet come across Matty’s bartending videos, they’re quick, funny, and relatable to anyone who has worked behind the stick, or worked at a bar or restaurant. Matty breaks down his approach to creating his videos, which is a quicker process than most would likely expect. He also explains that people don’t need to buy the most expensive recording gear or spend hours editing to make impactful videos.

Matty also discusses mental health and the hospitality space, in particular bartending. He hosts Mental Health Mondays each week, hoping for people to reach out, share, connect, and work through their struggles.

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 140 with Finian Sedgwick

Long-time listeners know we love it when previous guests return! On this episode, Finian Sedgwick, chief growth officer at BAXUS, comes back onto the podcast.

Finian and David chat about the growth of BAXUS and the BoozApp, including new features for the peer-to-peer marketplace, popular bottles and spirits categories, and the rabbit hole members can go down when searching for items to purchase and trade. They also talk about bottles that have grabbed Finian’s attention, why he’s bullish on wine, and how alcohol-free cocktail menus are more important than some operators may think.

Speaking of operators, the two also discuss the doom-and-gloom articles blaming Millennials and Gen Z for “killing” or otherwise “ruining” alcohol consumption and sales. Is that really the state of booze, or are people rage-baiting for clicks, and are some operators failing to meet their guests where they are?

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 130 with Giuseppe Gallo

Giuseppe Gallo has accomplished a lot in his two decades-plus in the hospitality and beverage spaces: he’s a respected vermouth and amaro expert, the winner of the 2014 Spirited Award for Best International Brand Ambassador, an educator and drinks historian, and a bartender’s bartender.

Among other topics, this episode explores the creation of SAVOIA Americano (and ITALICUS). Giuseppe introduces SAVOIA Orancio, an innovative new aperitivo made with natural orange wine. Throughout the conversation, Gallo
emphasizes the importance of bartender insights in shaping successful beverage brands, and the guest experience.

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Apple Podcasts

ReFire: Bad Behavior & Ridiculous Regulars

Hosts David Klemt and Bradley Knebel tackle two real-life restaurant and bar situations in the first ReFire of 2025.

The two tackle the topic of an operator who’s hesitant to believe it when multiple employees claim a culinary team member is rude, hostile, and abusive…but believes that team member when they make the same accusation against a quiet but hard-working back-of-house peer. Don’t worry – it gets worse!

Then, David and Bradley take a look at a stunning, on-the-spot termination of a bartender who had been in role since day one. The restaurant was busy, the bar was slammed, and the word of a regular got the bartender of five years fired instantly. Something doesn’t add up!

Look, firing someone is never pleasant. However, it’s going to happen. Operators and leadership team members need to have standards in place and communicated clearly, a process for terminations, and the understanding that how they fire people speaks to their credibility and reputation.

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Apple Podcasts

ReFire: “We’re Having Dinner—You’re Not”

We managed to squeeze three real-world hospitality situations into episode five of ReFire!

On the last episode, David and Bradley talked about guest perception, and how the “little” things can have a big impact. This time, they discuss brand perception, and how quickly a misstep can turn into a catastrophe.

Then, they talk about “skunking,” and how it impacts your team.

Finally, David and Bradley take a look at a restaurant’s new SOPs shared by a team member, and why they’re a problem.

Spotify

Apple Podcasts

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Project Management in Hospitality

Project Management in Hospitality

by Doug Radkey

A person reviewing project progress tracked via organized Post-It notes attached to a black brick wall inside an office

There’s a crucial element of hospitality that almost no one talks about publicly. It’s not glamorous, and it isn’t Instagram-worthy.

It isn’t the incredible plating or glassware moment, or even the lobby reveal.

It’s the part that happens long before the first cocktail is poured, before the first plate leaves the pass, before the first guest forms an opinion of your brand.

It’s the real work: the often messy, complicated, high-stakes world of project management for new hospitality concepts and brands.

And whether you’re opening a bar, restaurant, boutique hotel, or entertainment venue, what happens behind the scenes will determine your outcome far more than any design detail or menu item ever will.

This is where leadership begins. Where clarity is built, and chaos either begins or ends.

At KRG Hospitality, we’ve developed a 500-point pre-opening checklist for bars and restaurants, and a 750-point version for hotels. Both are testaments to the true magnitude of what it takes to open a hospitality business successfully.

These tasks aren’t theory, they’re scars. They’re lessons from the past 15-plus years. They’re real-world evidence of what separates the operators who crush it from those who crumble under the pressure.

Read on to learn why project management is leadership in motion, why the pre-opening phase is the heartbeat of your future, and why the way you lead this stage will shape your systems, your culture, and your guest experience directly for years to come.

The Illusion Killing new Concepts

There is a dangerous misconception in this industry that opening a hospitality business is about the vibe.

That it’s about the look, the food, the coffee. The room, or the furniture and fixtures.

People fall in love with the surface level.

But what they don’t see are the hundreds of steps below the surface: zoning, permitting, design, engineering, millwork, logistics, lead times, vendor negotiations, and inspections.

They don’t see the playbook development, constant budget balancing, financial modeling, team recruitment, and brand development.

The guest (and even many first-time operators) only ever see the top 20 percent of the iceberg.

The seasoned operators and consultants deal with the remaining 80 percent, the part that determines whether you open with strength or with struggle.

And this is why so many first-time operators get blindsided. They underestimate the workload and the decisions required. They underestimate the cost of rework.

But most importantly, they underestimate the need for leadership.

Because here’s the reality: In hospitality development, something always goes wrong, no matter how many times you’ve done this. Something always changes. Something always costs more or takes longer than expected.

This is normal. What’s not normal is having no leadership framework in place to respond to it.

Leadership is not Force, It’s Direction

Leadership during pre-opening isn’t about intensity, it’s about direction. It’s the ability to organize complexity so that people can function inside it.

A great leader creates simplicity inside the complexity. A great leader knows the difference between preferences and priorities. Greatness is anticipating friction instead of reacting to it.

A great leader protects momentum.

Without leadership, the project drifts. That costs time and money. When the money disappears, stress increases. When stress increases, decision quality collapses.

The project collapses long before the doors ever open.

This isn’t about charisma, it’s about clarity. Pre-opening leadership is the anchor that holds the entire system steady during the most difficult of times.

You Cannot Build Alone: The Power of a Support Team

A hospitality business is never built by one person.

It’s built by a support team, an often complex network of architects, engineers, designers, contractors, vendors, operators, inspectors, consultants, coaches, advisors, accountants, and legal professionals.

And here’s what every seasoned operator knows: Your support team can either elevate or drain you.

When communication breaks down between just one member of the team, the entire project feels the effect. If just one person delays, everyone is delayed. When one person misunderstands the concept, the project loses alignment and coherence.

This is why building the right team early matters so deeply. You need people with experience, people with judgment, people with accountability.

Most importantly, you need people who have clarity.

Hospitality development isn’t a place for ego, guesswork, or passengers along for the ride. Everyone must respect their lane and the responsibilities within it.

Teamwork is infrastructure. It’s the backbone of communication, and the foundation of execution.

Communication: The Number one Predictor of Success

Communication is the lifeline of any hospitality project. But communication cannot depend on memory or mood; it must be systematized.

This means having scheduled support team calls, shared documents, version control, project trackers, approval pathways, defined ownership, and deadlines.

The number one killer of hospitality development projects is not incompetence, it’s silence. Silence leads to assumptions. Assumptions lead to errors. Errors lead to rework. Rework leads to delays. Delays lead to cost overruns.

A project with poor communication becomes reactive. A project with structured communication becomes proactive.

Great communication isn’t noise, it’s clarity delivered consistently and intentionally.

Decision-Making Under Pressure

In the pre-opening stage, hundreds of decisions must be made before you generate a single dollar of revenue. The challenge isn’t the sheer number of decisions, the challenge is making decisions with intention.

Great decision-making in hospitality development is based on the concept, the budget, your market positioning, operational feasibility.

Above all, it’s centered on the staff and guest experience.

You do not decide based on emotion, comparison, pressure tactics, or impulse. You do not decide based on what your competitors are doing, or what your long-time friend might think would be “cool.”

This is where discipline comes in.

Decisions build the foundation of the business. Make quick decisions, yes, but decisions made from a position of clarity, never panic.

Tools Don’t Replace Leadership, They Amplify It

Hospitality development is too complex to track in your head. This is why communication tools and organized emails, plus project dashboards, timelines, and checklists must exist.

Our 500-point and 750-point checklists exist to prevent blind spots, anticipate missteps, and avoid costly oversights. They were crafted from real pain points experienced by real operators who learned the hard way.

But let’s be clear: technology and AI can only support you, they can’t lead for you.

AI can’t walk a construction site or negotiate with a contractor. AI can’t inspect equipment or interpret tension in a room. It can’t handle nuance, emotions, or judgment.

AI can accelerate thinking, but it can’t take responsibility. That responsibility belongs to the leader.

Responsibility is the heart of project management leadership.

Chaos or Clarity: You Choose Your Opening

The pre-opening phase of a bar, restaurant, or hotel will set the tone for everything that comes after.

If your development is chaotic, your opening will be chaotic.

If your opening is chaotic, your systems will be chaotic.

Your guest experience will be chaotic if you systems are chaotic.

Teams inherit the energy of the build-out. Guests feel the residue of your process in every detail and every decision through timing, cleanliness, flow, and service.

If your development is structured, your opening will be structured. Your team will feel your clarity, and your systems will reflect it. Your guests will experience your clarity.

Remember, opening day is not the beginning, it’s the result.

The Real Transformation of Project Management Leadership

When you lead development with discipline, communication, and intention, you reduce costs, delays, rework, and stress.

When you lead development with discipline, communication, and intention, you increase alignment, quality, team trust, operational efficiency, and long-term profitability.

This is the transformation.

This is how you open strong instead of scrambling.

It’s how you create a culture that respects clarity instead of chaos.

The businesses that succeed in hospitality aren’t always those with the most capital. Those businesses operate with the most clarity. They are guided by people who lead the development process as if their entire future depends on it, because it does.

Project management in hospitality is leadership in motion. It’s coordination, communication, and clarity repeated every single day. It determines your systems, your culture, your guest experience, and your future profitability.

Everything begins long before the first guest walks through the door.

Final Word: Lead with Intention or Risk Losing Momentum

If you’re developing a hospitality concept or planning to open one soon, here’s the greatest leadership lesson you can take from this:

Lead with clarity. Build with intention. Communicate relentlessly. Surround yourself with a team that respects the responsibility of development.

Do this, and you won’t just open, you’ll open strong. You’ll create a business built on discipline instead of chaos, a business that grows instead of reacts. You’ll create a business that lasts.

Hospitality isn’t built in the spotlight. It’s built behind the scenes through systems, leadership, and the courage to do things right long before the world ever sees it.

This is how you create hospitality brands that win. It’s is how you move from chaos to clarity.

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KRG Hospitality president and principal consultant Doug Radkey on stage with his fellow panelists at Bar & Restaurant Expo Denver 2025
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The Real Cost of Business

The Real Cost of Business: What Independent Operators Must Do to Win

by Doug Radkey

KRG Hospitality president and principal consultant Doug Radkey on stage with his fellow panelists at Bar & Restaurant Expo Denver 2025

On stage at BRE 2025 in Denver, Co.

We need to get much more comfortable having uncomfortable conversations about the reality of being a hospitality operator these days.

On a recent trip to Denver, I had the privilege of joining Ashley Bray, Chef Adrianne Calvo, and Lauren Barash on stage at The Hospitality Show and Bar & Restaurant Expo for a conversation that every operator needs to have.

The topic and panel title was “The Real Cost of Business: Economic Pressures & Policy Shocks for Independent Operators.”

This session wasn’t theory. It wasn’t sugar-coated optimism.

This session was raw, real, and filled with straight talk about what’s actually happening across the hospitality landscape right now.

And it was exactly the kind of conversation this industry needs more of, because let’s be honest: today’s operators aren’t just fighting one battle.

They’re fighting them all.

The Stacked Deck: What’s Hitting Operators Right Now

It’s no secret. Tariffs are up. Labor costs are up. Packaging and product costs are up. Rent is up.

And consumer spending? It’s currently on some shaky ground.

Margins continue to be thin for most operators, and while these operators are navigating inflation, interest rate hikes, and volatile supply chains, they’re also facing the human tolls: fatigue, burnout, and turnover at every level.

But here’s the thing: this industry is not broken. It may be bruised, and it may be tired. But it’s resilient.

The bigger problem? It’s too reactive. And reactivity is what often kills profitability.

Hospitality is built on anticipation, such as reading the room before the guest even realizes what they want. But too many owners have lost that skill.

Instead of leading, they fight fires. Rather than anticipate, they react.

To win in this era, you need a playbook supported by clarity, not chaos.

Back to the Fundamentals of Hospitality

Let’s start here, because it’s something I said on the panel. I’m going to keep saying it: Operators need to get back to the fundamentals of hospitality.

Hospitality is not a product, it’s a performance. It’s a feeling. Hospitality is how people are made to feel when they walk through your door.

This is a people-first business. This is a people-over-profits business.

That’s your anchor.

When operators start chasing trends instead of refining fundamentals, they lose sight of what this business is really about:connection.

The businesses that are navigating the challenges and winning right now aren’t necessarily the ones spending the most or cutting the deepest. They’re the ones doubling down on service, culture, and consistency.

Operators confronting today’s challenges successfully have strategic playbooks, onboarding systems, the right tech stack, SOPs, and leadership frameworks in place. Their well-developed systems turn daily operations into muscle memory.

That’s the foundation.

Lead with Strategy and Anticipation

One of the most powerful themes from our conversation was about mindset.

Operators who win in this climate are those who lead with strategy, not emotion.

They’re also the operators who anticipate challenges instead of just react to them.

It’s not strategic to wait for your accountant’s monthly report to tell you where you stand. By then, it’s too late.

You need to have real-time visibility into your numbers, your labor productivity, your inventory, and your guest behaviors.

That’s how you lead with anticipation rather than panic.

The right strategy doesn’t live on a whiteboard, it lives in your systems. It lives in your team meetings. It lives in the mindset you reinforce daily.

If your business only moves when you do, you don’t have a strategy, you have stress-induced operations.

Data is the New Cash

Here’s a truth that every operator should be repeating: Data is just as valuable as cash.

In a volatile market, your ability to make decisions quickly—based on evidence, not instinct—is your competitive edge.

You should know your key metrics at all times:

  • Guest frequency.
  • Average spend per guest.
  • Labor efficiency.
  • Food, beverage, and prime costs.
  • Revenue and profit per square foot.
  • Marketing conversion.

If you can’t track these easily, it’s time to upgrade your tech stack.

Technology shouldn’t stress you out, it should simplify your life. The tech you trust to help you run your business should help you see clearly.

It’s simple: When you understand your data, you control your business instead of being controlled by it.

Menus Built with Intention

Another powerful part of our discussion was about menus. During times of uncertainty, your menu is both your marketing strategy and your financial engine.

Here’s the shift: You need to develop your menu strategically. Focus on what sells, what tells your story, what aligns with your guest, and what aligns with your financial obligations.

Every menu item should have a purpose. Every ingredient should do double duty.

Have a menu of 12 to 15 items that are high-impact items.

Use storytelling to create perceived value. Guests don’t just buy what’s cheapest, they buy what feels meaningful to them.

That’s how you maintain profitability without discounting yourself into irrelevance.

As I said during the panel, “Focus on the guest experience first,” and “sales are a vanity metric. Profit tells your story.”

Perception of Value Without Discounts

Discounting can become a slippery slope. It’s a tactic that has closed more restaurants than it has saved.

You don’t need to lower your price to drive traffic or raise perceived value. Instead of discounting, you need to improve your storytelling.

Bundle thoughtfully. Offer curated experiences. Create tiered packages. Add personalization.

A guest who feels understood will spend more, and return more often.

Discounts train guests to expect less from you; experiences train them to expect more of you.

That’s the difference between a transactional business and a memorable brand.

Build Around People, Processes, and Profit

It always comes back to this: Your people, your processes, and your profit.

If any one of those three is off-balance, your business becomes fragile.

Strong operators know how to hire for values, not just skill. They know how to train through systems, not emotion. They know how to communicate relentlessly and delegate with trust.

That’s not “soft leadership,” that’s a non-negotiable to win in this industry.

It’s also the reason some independent operators are scaling to multiple venues while others are still trapped in the trenches. The old adage remains: Work on your business, not in it.

Culture: Your Ultimate Competitive Advantage

Labor is expensive. Recruiting is hard. Retention is harder.

But the best operators aren’t competing on wage alone, they’re competing on culture.

If your business doesn’t feel purposeful to your team, you’ll never build staff loyalty.

You need to make your staff experience more than a paycheck. Your staff experience is just as important as your guest experience.

Show them the vision. Create career paths. Celebrate wins. Encourage ownership thinking.

And here’s something I say often: You don’t need a “family.” You need a champion team; people who want to win together.

Create stay interviews, not just exit interviews. Find out why your team loves working for you, and document their feedback. Build engagement before burnout.

When people feel seen and supported, they become your greatest marketing engine. In fact, they become your brand ambassadors.

Leadership in a Time of Pressure

Leadership today requires a new kind of stamina.

Stop trying to control people; empower them. Don’t bark orders in the kitchen or on the floor; build alignment. In an age where stress levels are high and margins are thin, empathy is not weakness, it’s strategy.

The best leaders know when to listen, when to decide, and when to step aside. They know that delegation isn’t a loss of control, it’s the gaining of stabilization and scale.

If you want to build a high-performing culture, communication and accountability must be daily habits, not quarterly goals.

Clarity is the Currency of the Future

When you strip everything back—the data, the menus, the systems, the tech—what this conversation in Denver really came down to was one word: clarity.

Clarity around who you are, and what you offer. Clarity around your numbers, your guests, your team, and your future.

Without clarity, you drift. With it, you build momentum.

The operators who have clarity are playing offense.

They’re not waiting for the next trend, policy, or economic shift to tell them what to do. They’re already five moves ahead.

Intentionality in Every Decision

Another phrase highlighted during the panel was “being intentional.”

Intentionality is everything.

Every decision you make, from menu design to hiring to marketing, should serve a clear purpose.

Don’t do things because “that’s what everyone else does,” or “this is how we’ve always done it.” Those mindsets keeps you average.

You need to differentiate.

Every single touchpoint should feel deliberate. Each and every staff and guest interaction should reflect your values. Every operational decision should move you closer to your vision.

Operators who just chase volume lose vision; operators who chase clarity create longevity.

The Operator’s Wellness: You Matter Too

Here’s something I made sure to say on stage, and something I’ll keep repeating until it sticks:

You, as the operator, matter too.

You can’t lead effectively when you’re depleted, and you can’t make smart decisions when you’re burnt out. Make time for yourself.

The energy of an independent business starts with its owner and operator. If your energy is chaos, your team feels it. If your energy is grounded, they follow.

Hospitality demands everything from us, but it doesn’t have to take everything from you.

Remember, structure, boundaries, and recovery are leadership traits, not weaknesses.

From Chaos to Clarity

When you zoom out, the message from our session in Denver was simple:

The independent operators who continue to win move from chaos to clarity.

They have systems and strategy.

They anticipate rather than feel anxious.

Their costs are controlled, not cut.

They understand that technology isn’t replacing hospitality, it’s refining it.

Their numbers are balanced with narrative.

They know their financials before their accountant does.

They lead from clarity, not fear.

The 45-Minute Reality Check

We covered all of this, and more, in just 45 minutes. It was so impactful.

Because conversations like this aren’t just about sharing ideas, they’re about sparking a mindset shift across the industry.

This business is tough. It always has been.

However, when you step back, create structure, and move forward with intention, it becomes something incredible.

We’ve survived prohibition, recessions, and a global pandemic. We’ll survive this era too.

But not by chance, by design.

The Final Challenge

I’ll leave you with you with two questions. First, are you running your business from clarity, or from chaos?

Because the truth is, your numbers won’t lie. Your systems won’t lie. Your team won’t lie.

If you’re still chasing hours instead of strategy, still reacting instead of leading, still trying to outwork the problems instead of out-thinking them, you’re not ready for what’s coming next.

But if you’re ready to anticipate, adapt, and lead with clarity, then your future isn’t just secure, it’s scalable. The operators who build systems and culture today will be the ones setting the standard tomorrow.

The second question is, which type of operator will you be?

Image: KRG Hospitality

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Four neon signs that each say "waiting" in various stages of being lit up
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The Risk of Waiting Until the New Year

The Risk of Waiting Until the New Year

by Doug Radkey

Four neon signs that each say "waiting" in various stages of being lit up

Sometimes “waiting” means “waiting.” Too often, “waiting” means “…until it’s too late,” or “never”

It’s that time of year again.

The leaves are turning. The holidays are approaching. And everywhere you look, people are starting to say the same thing: “I’ll wait until the new year.”

They’ll wait to start the new habit.
To launch the business.
To fix the broken system that’s draining their energy.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: waiting is one of the most expensive decisions you’ll ever make.

The Myth of January

It seems that January has become society’s magical “reset” button.

This is when people start going to the gym more (or at all). It’s when aspiring entrepreneurs tell themselves they’ll be ready to start. When current operators say the holiday season is too busy.

It’s funny that somehow the turn of a calendar gives them permission to begin.

But in business—and in hospitality in particular—the market doesn’t wait. The competition doesn’t wait. Staff and guests don’t wait.

And the risk of waiting isn’t just lost time, it’s lost opportunity and lost momentum.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Let’s look at some numbers.

On October 1st, you still have 25.21% of the year left.
By November 1st, you still have 16.71% left.
And on December 1st, you still have 8.49% left.

That’s not scraps. That’s a quarter, a sixth, or even a full month of your calendar. This is time you’ll never get back once it is gone.

So ask yourself this question: Do you really want to burn that much equity of time waiting for a date on the calendar that somehow gives you permission to move forward?

A Familiar Story

Each year, between October and January, I take calls from operators or aspiring entrepreneurs who tell me the same things.

The aspiring entrepreneur wants to open a new concept.
A year or two after first opening, an operator wants to stabilize their operations.
The veteran operator wants to get their brand’s finances under control.

But here’s the thing: approximately 80% of them admit they already decided to “wait until after the holidays.”

By the time they wait it out until the new year, the real estate they were eyeing is gone. The investor they were courting has moved on and is backing a different concept. Or worse, a new or scaling competitor has beaten them to the punch.

The cost of inaction always shows up, 100% of the time.

The Illusion of Busy

I get it. Society and this industry seem to thrive on being busy. The closer we get to the holidays, the easier it is to convince ourselves there’s no time to think about strategy.

Well, here’s the problem: that “too busy” mindset is often just a shield. It’s easier to stay stuck in the chaos than to step back and do the real work of building clarity.

And yet, that’s exactly what separates operators who crush it from those who drift away toward mediocrity or closure.

The ones who wait? They start the new year months behind or in survival mode.

The ones who act now? They start the new year in control.

That’s why this is called “separation season.”

Momentum Beats Motivation

Motivation is fickle. It spikes in January when gyms are full and the journals or planners are fresh.

By February, it all begins to fade.

Momentum, however, is different. Momentum compounds over time.

When you take action in October, November, or December, you’re not just getting ahead. You’re strategizing and developing the foundations. Or you’re training your systems, your people, and yourself to move forward when the calendar flips.

By the time many are just warming up, you’re already moving at full speed. Think about those positive results.

The Risk of Inaction

Let’s talk about what waiting actually costs you.

  • Prime Real Estate: The space you’ve been watching doesn’t wait for January. It will be leased by the operator who had the courage to strategize and take action.
  • Capital: Investors are looking for leaders with confidence and momentum. If you show hesitation, they’ll invest their money elsewhere.
  • People: Your best staff won’t stick around forever waiting for change. If you don’t build clarity and systems, they’ll leave for a team that already has them in place.

The longer you wait, the steeper the climb is going to be in the new year.

The Power of Now

So, what happens when you act now?

  • You gain clarity. Strategic playbooks create focus for your concept, your brand, your financials, and your guest experience.
  • You create momentum. Your systems start running, your people align, and your execution gains speed.
  • You build confidence. Investors, staff, and even guests can feel when an operator is in control.

Taking action now separates yourself from the 99% who sit back and wait.

From Survival to Legacy

Let’s be clear: This isn’t about working more hours. It isn’t about grinding yourself into burnout before the holidays.

It’s about mindset. Ask yourself:

  • Do you believe long hours equal nobility or inefficiency?
  • Do you believe success is about hustle or about alignment?
  • Do you want to survive another year or build a business that outlasts you?

The entrepreneurs and operators who crush it don’t wait for January.

They strategize now. Build now. Lead now.

Why? Because survival is built on reaction. Legacy is built on clarity.

A Challenge for You

Take a hard look at your calendar.

If you start today, you still have weeks (if not months) to set the stage for the business you want to run next year, and the many years thereafter.

Lay the foundation now. Create your strategies now. Get your systems ready now.

Do it now so that when the new year arrives you’re not scrambling to catch up—you’re already miles ahead.

The Final Word

Hospitality doesn’t wait. Guests don’t wait. The market doesn’t wait.

So why are you waiting?

The real flex is proving that October, November, and December are still full of opportunity.

Because when clarity meets courage and strategy meets execution, you don’t just start the new year strong, you start it by separating yourself from others, and leading the way.

Now is the time. Take action. Build momentum. Create your legacy in hospitality.

Image: Levi Meir Clancy via Unsplash

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The Real Flex After Opening

The Real Flex After Opening a Bar, Restaurant, or Hotel

by Doug Radkey

A jewel-encrusted, gold-decorated clock inside a bank vault

Your time is a real luxury, and how you use it is a real flex. AI-generated image.

Walk into any bar, restaurant, or boutique hotel during its first year of business and you’ll see the same story play out over and over.

An owner is behind the bar on a Friday night. Or in the kitchen on a Saturday brunch rush. Or bouncing between rooms to check housekeeping on a sold-out weekend.

They’re exhausted, and they’re often proud of it.

They’ll tell you, with a weary smile: “Yeah, I’ve been pulling 70-hour weeks. That’s just what it takes in this business.”

Let me be brutally honest: that’s not a flex. That’s a warning sign.

The Illusion of Hustle

Somewhere along the way, the hospitality industry adopted the dangerous belief that working yourself to the bone is the only path to success.

Over the years, we’ve glamorized the grind. We glorified the sleepless nights. We made it seem noble to trade years of your life in exchange for a shot at breaking even.

And far too many independent operators are still buying into this story. They go into the start-up phase expecting to work 60–80 hours a week, and they wear it like a badge of honor.

Here’s the truth: burning yourself out is not a strategy.

A Story too Familiar

On a recent success session with a client, a new operator proudly told me their plan: “I’ll just work 70 hours a week for the first year. That’ll help me keep payroll costs down.”

I had to stop them. This mindset is the exact reason thousands of great concepts fail before they ever get the chance to stabilize and scale.

Allow me to provide some clarity: Time is not a substitute for strategy. Sweat is not a replacement for systems. Anguish will never be mistaken for leadership.

When you walk into your new business with the intention of being its hardest-working employee, you’ve already put a ceiling on your growth.

The Real Flex

The real flex isn’t grinding 80 hours, it’s running your business at 40 hours.

The actual flex is spending your time orchestrating people, processes, and profits instead of drowning in the daily grind.

It’s working on the business, not being trapped inside it.

Because let’s face it—the hospitality industry doesn’t reward those who simply work harder. Victory and the rewards go to those who work smarter.

If you look around at the brands that are truly winning I guarantee you their owner is not an employee within their own business.

Why Systems are Sexy

I’ll tell you what’s really impressive. Hint: It’s not the exhausted owner mopping the floor at 2 a.m. after a 15-hour shift.

What’s impressive is the owner who can leave at 6 p.m. on a Friday, knowing their team has everything under control. It’s the operator who enjoys dinner with their family while their systems ensure consistency and control inside the venue.

That’s the difference between chaos and clarity. Between “being busy” and building wealth. And the bridge between those two worlds? Playbooks. Systems. Structure.

Playbooks Before Pain

Every hospitality business starts with energy. That’s not the problem. The problem is, too many start with energy instead of a plan.

A one-page “business plan.” The infamous generic template from the bank. A few numbers scrawled on a napkin. Basic outputs from AI.

That’s not a business model, that’s wishful thinking.

Playbooks are what separate the hopeful from the profitable. They create alignment, and anticipate risk. They prepare you for staffing issues, supply chain hiccups, and margin pressures. Playbooks prepare you for everything else that will test you.

Without playbooks, your business owns you. With playbooks, you own the business.

The Psychology of Leadership

Hospitality isn’t just about food, drink, or rooms. It’s about people, and people follow energy.

If your energy screams “burnt out, stressed, unavailable,” your team absorbs that. In turn, they’ll also burn out. They’ll make more mistakes. You’ll suffer frequent and constant churn.

However, if your energy communicates clarity, presence, and balance, your team mirrors it. They’ll rise to meet the standard. They’ll take ownership, and they’ll perform.

Leadership isn’t about working the most hours, it’s about creating an environment where others can win by exceeding expectations.

No one wins in a business run on desperation and exhaustion.

The Math of Misery

Let’s get practical. Let’s say that you save $5,000 a month by cutting labor and doing the work yourself. Sounds smart, right?

Until you realize what you’ve traded for it: your time, your health, and your ability to scale.

This is because while you’re buried in the kitchen, you’re not refining the guest journey. You’re not analyzing your data, and crafting strategy. You’re not building partnerships.

All you’re doing is saving pennies while losing thousands to millions of dollars.

The real flex isn’t a lean payroll, it’s a lean operator. Being able to step away for a week—even a month—confident that the business will perform exactly as designed? That’s the real flex.

Rewriting the Badge of Honor

It’s time to retire the old badge of honor. The “I worked 80 hours this week” story doesn’t impress anyone anymore.

Now, the flex is sustainability. The flex is empowerment. The flex is financial freedom and the luxury of time.

Because if your business only survives when you sacrifice yourself, you don’t own a business. You’ve given yourself a job with terrible hours and higher risk.

True ownership is building something that can crush it without you being in the trenches.

The Power of Why

So, why does this matter?

Because hospitality is not just an industry. When you really think about it, it’s a lifestyle. And if you destroy yourself in the process, you destroy your ability to lead, to innovate, and to grow.

The “why” is simple.

This isn’t about ego. It isn’t about showing the world how much punishment you can endure. Your aim should be to show the world what happens when clarity meets courage, when strategy meets execution, and when vision is supported by systems.

That’s what sets you apart.

Results that Speak

I’ve seen it firsthand: Operators who commit to playbooks, systems, and mindset shifts.

They’re operators who don’t just open doors and settle for average, they stay open and exceed everyone’s expectations.

These operators:

  • attract investors because they exude confidence and control;
  • build teams that stick around because the culture is sustainable;
  • deliver experiences that scale because the foundation is strong; and
  • build lives worth living, lives in which family, personal health, and travel aren’t luxuries but standards.

That’s the kind of success that matters.

Final Word

If your dream is worth the investment, it’s worth doing right. And doing it right doesn’t mean grinding yourself into long-term health problems.

The real flex after opening isn’t telling the world how many hours you’ve worked. An actual flex is showing the world how little you have to work because your systems, your team, and your strategy are doing the heavy lifting.

So, let’s stop wearing burnout as a badge of honor. Let’s start showing the world what true hospitality leadership really looks like.

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Your One-Page Business Plan is Trash

Your One-Page Business Plan is Trash

by Doug Radkey

A blue dumpster covered in graffiti placed against a concrete wall, resting on asphalt

Subtle, no?

If you’re planning to open a bar, restaurant, or hotel using a one-page business plan or an AI-generated template, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Let me be clear: using an AI-generated template is the absolute worst option.

I’ve seen it too many times. A passionate operator walks in with a dream and a slick one-pager (or even a 20-page document) in hand.

There are a few bullet points. A vision statement. Some rough numbers. A bit of basic demographics. Maybe a “mission.”

They think they’re ready right then and there to pitch to investors, lease a location, and operate a successful business.

Here’s the truth: a one-page plan isn’t a plan.

What it is, is a wishlist. And wishlists don’t build profitable, scalable, legacy-driven hospitality businesses.

It might feel good in the moment to have something down on paper. But when the real work starts—the budget controls, construction delays, staffing issues, supplier negotiations, licensing hiccups, margin pressures—that one-page business plan doesn’t do one damn thing to help you.

So, let’s call it what it is: lazy, outdated, and dangerous.

The Seduction of Simplicity

One-page business plans are everywhere. They’re easy. They’re free.

Maybe they’ve become trendy because some business guru got lucky and built a unicorn business with one.

One-pagers are sold as “quick-start” tools for entrepreneurs who want clarity and speed.

Well, clarity without depth is misleading. Speed without structure is reckless.

If you’re building a side hustle e-commerce business to run out of your basement or garage, fine. Maybe a one-pager can help you validate an idea.

But if you’re investing $250,000 to $2,500,000 or more into a physical property? If you want to build a business that hires teams, serves guests, signs leases, and burns through cash every day? You need more. Way more.

This is particularly true of an industry where the margin for error is razor thin. Where failure rates still hover around 60 to 80 percent. And where the smallest mistake can cost tens of thousands of dollars in a matter of weeks.

Let’s Talk About What’s Actually Missing

A one-pager or basic template from the bank or an AI program might give you a north star, but it doesn’t show you the terrain, the weather conditions, or the pitfalls along the way.

Here’s what it doesn’t give you:

1. Financial Reality Checks

You won’t see line-by-line startup budgets. You won’t understand contribution margins. And you won’t forecast labor productivity or revenue per available guest during different dayparts or seasons.

Most one-page plans have a single line called “Projected Revenue,” and maybe a “Cost of Goods Sold” and “Profit” box, if you’re lucky.

That’s not a financial strategy. That’s napkin math.

2. Market Nuance

“Target Market: Millennials.” Oh really? Which Millennials? Urban 30-somethings with disposable income? Foodies influenced by TikTok? Business travelers who value speed and convenience?

One-pagers flatten your market. What is the projected TAM/SAM/SOM?

These one-pagers don’t unpack demographics, psychographics, or behavioral segments. They definitely don’t account for neighborhood trends, transit flow, or tourism cycles.

3. Operational Strategy

Where’s your tech stack? Your vendor procurement plan? Your SOPs?

What about your training systems, performance metrics, shift structure, and flow-of-service blueprints?

A one-pager won’t even mention these, let alone show you how they connect to your financial model.

4. Brand Experience

“Cool vibes” is not a brand strategy. “Elevated, yet accessible” is not brand positioning.

Real brand work takes introspection, data, story, and soul.

A one-pager gives you slogans. A proper strategy playbook gives you meaning, and that in-depth meaning is what drives guest loyalty and differentiation.

5. Risk Mitigation

Let me ask you something: How do you know the size of property you need? How do you know what space is available to you?

If you don’t know either of those details, how do you plan to maximize your available budget, and the opportunity?

What happens if your chef walks out before you open? If your liquor license gets delayed?

Your one-pager doesn’t know. Because one-page business plans assume success.

Real strategic playbooks prepare you for failure and build contingency into every strategy.

So, Why Do So Many People Still Use Them?

Because they’re fast. Because they’re cheap. They look nice.

Because someone on YouTube said you could launch your restaurant in 60 days with ChatGPT.

And, let’s be honest, because they’re easy to hide behind.

You don’t have to face your gaps. You don’t have to confront what you don’t know. Your free to keep pretending your dream is “almost ready,” when really, you’re coasting on delusion.

One-pagers, templates, and auto-generated AI business plans might feel efficient. Most of the time, they’re simply a distraction from doing the real work.

You Need Playbooks, Not Just a Plan

At KRG Hospitality, we don’t do templated PDFs. We don’t sell cookie-cutter plans.

What we build with our clients are playbooks. These are dynamic, connected, tactical documents that actually help you start, stabilize, and scale your business.

Here’s what that looks like with our KRG Method program:

Feasibility Study

Validate your market. Understand your guests. Assess the viability of your business. Build confidence for your investors, and for yourself.

Concept Development

Design the business experience: programming, service, space, and an introduction to design. Create the DNA of your operation with clarity and cohesion.

Prototype Playbook

Layout. Flow. Fixtures. Furniture. Equipment. Zones. Build the engine that powers your day-to-day without friction.

Brand Strategy

Voice. Story. Purpose. Positioning. No more “vibe” businesses. Instead, you’ll build a brand that matters.

Tech-Stack Playbook

POS. PMS. CRM. Ordering. Inventory. We plug you into the right systems from day one.

Marketing Playbook

We map the entire journey from awareness to loyalty. Not just what platforms to use, but how to use them effectively for ROI.

Financial Playbook

Revenue models. Labor strategies. Cost controls. Funding schedules. Pre-opening cash flow. Profitability targets. Real math. Real insight.

Business Plan

This is the final product, the operation-facing doc. It’s not the starting point, it’s the summary of all your previous thinking tied into one strategic playbook.

And guess what? It works.

We’ve maintained a 98% startup success rate since 2009. And our clients average 18-plus-percet profit margins (over 24 percent for hotels). That doesn’t happen with a one-pager.

Real Story, Real Risk

We recently had a potential client come to us after trying to launch their venue with a one-page plan, hence the inspiration for this article.

They claimed they were 60 days from opening. Lease signed. Equipment was ordered.

Well, here’s the thing: There was no brand. There was no menu strategy, no staffing plan, no leadership. The financial model? Non-existent. The only semblance of a tech stack was a basic POS built for retail.

Their one-page plan had a paragraph about “innovative food,” and how they “will use social media and build great local partnerships.”

What it didn’t have was reality.

They were behind in their schedule, already $100K over budget, and couldn’t secure any investor confidence to help with their needed cash injection.

Had we been involved earlier, they could have saved thousands of dollars and months of stress.

The Bottom Line

I bet you’ve heard this one before: If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.

If your business is worth doing, it’s worth doing right from the very start.

You don’t need a shortcut, you need a system. You don’t need a one-pager, you need a proven method.

And you don’t need a “pretty” template, you need to think deeply about your business, because that’s what leads to results.

At KRG Hospitality, we don’t sell plans. We build brands, systems, strategy, and profit.

What we sell is strategic clarity.

So, if you’re serious about this business, ditch the one-pager. Because success isn’t something you manifest, it’s something you plan for. And planning requires both depth and critical thinking.

Image: Kevin Butz on Unsplash

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Doug Radkey, KRG Hospitality, Bar, Restaurant, Hotel, Coach, Consultant
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Privilege of Being a Coach & Consultant

The Privilege of Being a Coach & Consultant in the Hospitality Industry

by Doug Radkey

Doug Radkey, KRG Hospitality, Bar, Restaurant, Hotel, Coach, Consultant

I say this with gratitude and clarity: It’s not a right, it’s a privilege to be a coach and consultant in the hospitality industry.

And I don’t say that lightly.

To be trusted with someone’s vision—their dream of building a bar, restaurant, or hotel—is one of the greatest responsibilities I’ve ever carried. I’m not just strategizing, asking the right questions, or giving advice; I’m helping people make decisions that affect their livelihood, their families, their futures, and their legacy.

Every time a client says, “We want to work with you,” they’re inviting us into their world.

And that comes with an expectation to lead with clarity, honesty, and purpose.

It Isn’t Just Telling People What to Do

There’s a massive misconception about consulting. People think we saunter into a business, point out their flaws, hand over a plan, and walk away.

That’s not what we do. At least, that’s not what we do at KRG Hospitality.

We believe the most impactful results come from a hybrid approach, where coaching and consulting work together. Consulting gives you the strategy, the systems, the roadmaps. Coaching gives you the mindset, the accountability, the clarity to actually execute.

One without the other leaves a gap. That’s why we don’t just hand over a playbook and walk away, we look to walk alongside our clients, challenging their thinking while guiding their actions.

It’s not about telling people what to do; it’s about helping them become the kind of leaders who can start, stabilize, and scale truly remarkable hospitality businesses.

That balance is where transformation lives.

The Weight of Trust

When someone hires you as a consultant, they’re not just hiring your expertise. They’re hiring your integrity, your leadership, and your judgment.

They’re saying, “I’m willing to put my future in your hands.”

That’s not something I ever take for granted. Because with that trust comes an unspoken contract: To show up, be real, and deliver results.

The truth is, I’ve seen what happens when consultants don’t take that seriously. Cookie-cutter solutions. Generic strategies. Vague advice. And clients left more confused than when they started.

That’s not coaching or consulting; that’s just collecting a check. If you’re in this industry just to sell services, you’re in the wrong business.

But if you’re here to guide transformation, you understand the privilege this role holds.

The Real Role

Hospitality is different. We’re not selling widgets or other products. We’re creating experiences. More often than not, we’re building human connections.

And in this industry, every decision, from the lighting in the hallway to the type of salt on the rim of the glass, it all matters more than you think.

As a coach and consultant, our job is to:

  • Develop the strategies and details others overlook.
  • Ask the questions others are afraid to ask.
  • Challenge assumptions at the status quo.
  • Reinforce the standards of excellence.
  • Inspire bold, consistent, and strategic action.

This is where our playbooks come in. The eight playbooks we talk about all the time, they’re not just frameworks—they’re tools for clarity, accountability, and execution.

But the truth is, those playbooks are only as effective as the leadership behind them. And that’s what coaching is really about: bringing those plans to life with you. Because strategy without execution is just theory.

This is where our coaching framework activates the plan, through a combination of project task force support plus mindset and operational coaching. We step in as partners, not just planners, to help our clients start strong, stabilize with confidence, and scale with intention.

Whether it’s managing timelines, building culture, navigating change, or staying focused when things get hard, coaching ensures the strategy doesn’t just live on paper. Instead, it lives in the daily actions that drive real, measurable results.

This is where vision turns into reality. This is where momentum is built.

A Front-Row Seat to Transformation

One of the most rewarding parts of this work? Seeing the transformation happen in real time.

Watching a client go from idea to opening their doors. To go from stuck to clear. From chaotic to systematized. From dreaming to doing.

I remember working with a restaurant owner who came to us with a vague idea. She had heart but no direction. Through clarity sessions, a series of strategic playbooks, and post-open coaching, she found her confidence. She built a brand. She hired a team. She opened on time and on budget. And now, she’s highly profitable, and mentoring others within her community.

That’s building a legacy. That’s creating impact. That’s transformational.

The Humbling Truth

Here’s the humbling truth though: I don’t have all the answers. No one does.

But what I do have is perspective, experience, and a relentless commitment to seeing clients succeed. And that’s why we do the work. Not because it’s easy, but because it matters.

Being a coach and consultant in hospitality isn’t just about business. It’s about belief. It’s about believing in people’s ability to create something meaningful and by giving them the tools and support to do it.

So to every operator, entrepreneur, and leader who’s trusted us along the way, I have two words: Thank you. Thank you for giving us a front-row seat to your story.

And to every coach and consultant reading this: Never forget the privilege of what we get to do. Lead with clarity. Listen with empathy. Execute with excellence.

Because in this industry, the impact we make goes far beyond the glass, plate, or the check-in desk.

We help shape what hospitality looks and feels like for generations to come. And that right there is an absolute privilege.

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AI-generated image of an AI-themed superhero on a laptop
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Superhuman Hospitality: A New Era

Superhuman Hospitality: Where People and AI Build the Future Together

by Doug Radkey

AI-generated image of an AI-themed superhero on a laptop

AI is here. We can adapt and learn to leverage it, or we can be left behind.

Let’s get one thing straight: artificial intelligence is not here to replace humans in hospitality, it’s here to make us better.

And let’s be honest, that’s not a bad thing.

We’re entering an era I like to call Superhuman Hospitality. This is where the fusion of artificial intelligence and human empathy creates something far more powerful than either could do alone.

The question can no longer be, “Does AI belong in this industry?” The question is, “How do we integrate AI with intention, without losing the heart and soul of hospitality?”

As we tell our clients, the brands that figure out the answer to the latter question? They’re going to be the ones leading the pack.

The Misconception: Humans vs. AI

There’s this myth floating around that AI will take away hospitality jobs (and jobs in many other industries as well). That it’s all about automation, chatbots, and robots replacing real people.

Let’s be clear. Hospitality is, and always will be, a people-first industry. I think we learned that lesson once again during the pandemic when a majority of people (not, however, the team here at KRG Hospitality) were screaming from the hills that ghost kitchens were the future of restaurants.

That didn’t quite pan out, now did it?

You can’t automate warmth, social community, and engagement.

But what you can do is leverage AI to eliminate friction points, streamline your operations, and free your people to focus on what they do best: creating memorable experiences.

This isn’t about choosing sides; this is about building a hybrid model of intelligence, where AI supports the brain, and humans lead with the heart.

What is Superhuman Hospitality?

Superhuman Hospitality is about building systems that are tech-enhanced, not tech-dependent.

There is a major difference between the two. It’s about amplifying human potential through technology.

Think about it like this:

  • AI can analyze thousands of data points to recommend menu pricing adjustments.
  • But your bartender still needs to remember a regular’s name and favorite drink.
  • AI can forecast booking trends based on seasonal data.
  • But your front desk still needs to offer a warm smile and solve problems in real time.
  • AI can power your CRM and tailor marketing messages.
  • But your server still needs to read a table’s mood, and deliver genuine hospitality.

It’s not about doing less human work; it’s about freeing humans up to do the most human work possible.

Where AI Can Shine (and Should Be Used)

We’ve come to learn that there are areas where AI absolutely dominates. Ignoring those opportunities means you’re leaving money and efficiency on the table.

  1. Predictive Analytics & Forecasting: AI can analyze past data to predict sales, foot traffic, and labor needs. This enables smarter scheduling, inventory ordering, and dynamic pricing.
  2. Smart Inventory Management: AI-driven systems can track usage patterns, expiry dates, and cost fluctuations in real time, reducing waste and theft.
  3. CRM & Guest Personalization: AI helps build personalized guest profiles, automating follow-ups, birthday messages, loyalty rewards, and upselling strategies.
  4. Marketing Automation: From email flows to social ad targeting, AI ensures you reach the right audience with the right message at the right time.
  5. Dynamic Menu & Room Pricing: Based on demand, time of day, weather, or major events, AI can help you optimize pricing for profitability.
  6. AI Assistants & Chatbots: Useful for basic inquiries, reservation confirmations, and upsells, particularly during off-hours.

And that’s just scraping the surface of the potential.

Where Humans Must Lead

AI however, can’t replace empathy, intuition, adaptability, or real-time judgment.

Hospitality thrives on emotional intelligence. You still need:

  • People who know how to defuse a tense moment.
  • Leaders who can motivate a struggling team.
  • Servers who sense when a table wants privacy or a little extra attention.
  • Front desk agents who turn a mistake into a positive, memorable moment.

No algorithm will ever replace that. That’s the core of Superhuman Hospitality: AI provides the information, and humans provide the impact.

Use Case: The Superhuman Hotel

Imagine checking into a hotel where:

  • Your room temperature, lighting, and playlist are set to your preferences automatically, and there is a bottle of your favorite red wine sitting on the table with a hand-written note addressed to you personally.
  • You’re greeted by name because AI flagged your repeat visit.
  • You then get a text offering a curated spa or dinner recommendation based on your past behavior.
  • A staff member (not a bot) walks you to your room, answers questions, and builds rapport.

AI enabled that experience but humans delivered it. That’s what we should be building.

What This Means for Leadership

As operators, your role is to create systems that empower people with the tools to exceed expectations. You need to:

  • Train your team on how to use AI tools confidently, not fearfully.
  • Design SOPs that integrate tech without replacing the human touch.
  • Foster a culture that values both efficiency and empathy.

Superhuman Hospitality doesn’t happen accidentally. It requires strategy, clarity, and intentional integration.

My Final Thoughts: The Best of Both Worlds

The future of hospitality isn’t robotic. It’s not emotionless or transactional (at least, it better not be).

The future is powered by data, and then delivered with heart.

Superhuman Hospitality is about recognizing that tech is here to support us, not replace us. The brands that win will be those that embrace AI to work smarter, not colder.

So ask yourself:

  • Are you embracing AI with purpose?
  • Are your people equipped and empowered to use it?
  • Are your systems designed to enhance, not eliminate, the human element?

Because the goal is not to remove people from hospitality; the goal is to make them superhuman.

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A classic, vintage microphone on top of a worn-in bar, next to a laptop
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Top 10 Bar Hacks Episodes of 2024

Top 10 Bar Hacks Episodes of 2024

by David Klemt

A classic, vintage microphone on top of a worn-in bar, next to a laptop

AI-generated image.

Bar Hacks has come a long way over the course of nearly five years and 130 episodes, including adding a new format toward the end of last year.

As we move forward, we’re taking a moment to look back at last year’s top ten episodes of Bar Hacks.

As with our other two KRG Hospitality-produced podcasts, Hospitality Reinvented and Turn this Way, the purpose of Bar Hacks has always been helping operators and hospitality professionals.

The original format focuses on sharing the stories of, and advice from, professionals throughout the industry: successful operators, brand founders and owners, chefs, bartenders, designers, brand ambassadors, and more. We encourage people to think differently, innovate in hospitality, and stay up to date about new ideas, new products, trends, and techniques.

ReFire‘s mission is similar in that I, along with my co-host Bradley Knebel of Empowered Hospitality, want listeners to think differently, and innovate while working on the fundamentals. On ReFire episodes, we analyze two to three real-life hospitality situations, and provide our thoughts on each matter.

Episode one kicked off ReFire by looking at second chances, onboarding, and pranking team members. On episode two, we talk about F&B influencers, reservation systems, and “firing” guests.

We’re excited to see where both formats go this year. This year is off to a great start, featuring conversations with designer Nancy Kuemper, and the founder of ITALICUS, SAVOIA, and ItalSpirits, Giuseppe Gallo. And Bradley and I have some awesome conversations coming up on ReFire.

Thank you for listening. Your support is humbling, and means everything to us. And, as always, thank you to our incredible guests for taking the time to chat with us. Cheers!

Bar Hacks Top 10: 2024

Episode 109 with Colin Asare-Appiah

Happy new year, and welcome to 2024! We wanted to kick off season five of the Bar Hacks podcast with an amazing guest.

Host David Klemt had the opportunity to chat with Colin Asare-Appiah, an industry icon he’s wanted to talk to for many years. Colin is BacardĂ­’s trade director of multiculture and lifestyle, and the brand’s LGBTQIA+ advocate. Not only does he spread the message of diversity, equity, and inclusion, he believes (as does KRG Hospitality and Bar Hacks) that diversity is necessary for our industry to thrive.

In this episode you’ll learn about Colin’s journey through hospitality, which includes saying he’d never be a bartender to becoming a bartender and creating a bartending school; his thoughts on what makes a successful operator and team; cocktail and spirits trends for 2024; the AJABU cocktail festival coming to South Africa in March of this year, spearheaded by Colin and his partner Mark Talbot Holmes; and more. Cheers!

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Episode 110 with James Grant

James Grant, World Class Global Bartender of the Year 2021 and Canada’s 100 Best Bartender of the Year 2022, stops into the Bar Hacks podcast!

As the director of mixology at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, James oversees three distinct concepts: CLOCKWORK, REIGN, and The Library Bar. As he explains, this role is quite a step up from bartending at and managing an 18-seat speakeasy in Edmonton, Alberta.

On this episode, James talks about his journey through hospitality to his current role; his approach to developing the Fairmont Royal York’s cocktail programs; tips for speakeasy operators; advice for new operators; what it means to have The Library Bar recognized by World’s 50 Best Bars; and more. Cheers!

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 111 with Michael Tipps

It has taken a while but it has finally happened! Michael Tipps, friend of KRG Hospitality and podcast host David Klemt, dropped by Bar Hacks.

The two kick this episode off by discussing the 2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo. Both Tipps and KRG Hospitality president Doug Radkey are speaking at this year’s show. In fact, they’re teaching back to back during a bootcamp on Monday, March 18. After the bootcamp, Tipps is presenting a workshop titled “Elevated Guest Experiences.”

Tipps also gives his thoughts on the state of the industry and consulting; speaks about creating cool concepts; makes a big announcement; and more. Cheers!

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 113 with Emma Sleight

Sponsored by Perrier, North America’s 50 Best Bars is returning to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, on April 23. The 2024 ceremony represents the third edition of North America’s 50 Best Bars.

And who better to share details about the upcoming ranking than Emma Sleight, Head of Content: Bars & Hotels for World’s 50 Best? Emma dropped by the Bar Hacks podcast to talk about the 2024 ceremony, the Voting Academy, special awards, and more. In fact, listeners will get to learn a bit about Emma herself, including her being a sommelier and Associate of Cheese.

We’re looking forward to this year’s list! Be sure to stream the ceremony on YouTube or Facebook if you won’t be attending in person. Cheers!

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Episode 114 with Anne Becerra

The fantastic Anne Becerra returns to the Bar Hacks podcast! Anne is also returning to the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, this year. That incredible event takes place from June 14 to June 16.

In addition to talking about the Food & Wine Classic, Anne and Bar Hacks host David Klemt chat about beer styles to check out and put on your menu now; service and turning non-beer drinkers on to beer; a few brewers you should have on your radar; whether 2024 is (finally) the Year of Lager; and more. Cheers!

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Episode 117 with Pete Flores

We love a savvy operator here at Bar Hacks and KRG Hospitality. Juan Please Drink Company co-founder Pete Flores certainly falls into that category.

For several years, Flores was sure someone would bring a simple-but-delicious drink to the RTD space: lemonade and tea with a tequila base. Yet, that prediction never did come to pass. So, as Flores says, realizing that door was open, he stepped through it with a small team and brought the TLT (tequila, lemonade, tea) to market under the Juan Please Drink Company portfolio.

During this conversation you’ll learn about Flores’ experience in the hospitality world, how his vision for an RTD became reality, the challenges he and the team have faced and overcome, plans for future expressions, and much more. Cheers!

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Episode 119 with Matthias Ingelmann

We’re excited to welcome Matthias Ingelmann, bars manager at KOL Mezcaleria in London, back to the Bar Hacks podcast! We first spoke to Matthias on episode 106, mostly about KOL, one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and his role as the bars manager. This time, however, we’re learning about mezcal.

Matthias breaks down styles of mezcal, regions (including the fact that mezcal is made in countries other than Mexico), and producers. He also dispels a number of myths and misconceptions, shares his approach to introducing guests to mezcal (and sotol and raicilla), and suggests food pairings. Of course, there’s so much more, so make sure to give this episode a listen. Cheers!

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 121 with Marybeth Shaw

Marybeth Shaw is the chief creative officer at Wolf-Gordon, an American design company that provides wallcoverings, wall protection, upholstery, paint, and more. Shaw has achieved an MBA from NYU Stern, an M. Arch. from the Ecole d’Architecture de Paris-Belleville, an MCP from MIT, and, most recently, an MBA. Further, she earned the HiP Award for Creative Direction from Interior Design in 2017, and serves on the Board of the Wallcoverings Association.

For the past couple of years, Shaw has curated intriguing design installations for HD Expo, held in Las Vegas. It was the first installation, HI > AI, that grabbed Bar Hacks host David Klemt’s attention. Since then, he has wanted to have her stop by the podcast. Finally, the two made that happen!

Shaw stops by the discuss wallcoverings, wall protection, sustainability, finding and nurturing the careers of designers, her own journey through the worlds of hospitality and commercial design, design trends (some that she’d like see go away), and much more. Cheers!

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Episode 123 with Roger Thomas

Real Las Vegas royalty stopped by the Bar Hacks podcast! That’s not hyperbole: Roger Thomas truly changed the face of Las Vegas and how people approaching gaming around the world over his 40-year career.

While Roger has made “cameo” appearances on projects for clients here and there, he really worked for a single client, building the Mirage, the Bellagio, and Wynn and Encore resorts and casinos in multiple markets across the globe.

During this conversation, Roger shares how he got his start in interior design in hospitality, his approach to luxury design, how he has mentored other designers, some of his favorite design features, his new book Resort Style: Spaces of Celebration, tips for hiring and working with interior designers, why designers flock to Las Vegas, and so much more. Cheers!

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Apple Podcasts

Episode 124 with Laura Louise Green

Psychotherapist, soon-to-be organizational psychologist, and former bartender Laura Louise Green drops by the Bar Hacks podcast to talk about a very important topic: burnout.

The hospitality industry has been taking strides to address many of the challenges that affect hospitality professionals’ physical, mental, and emotional health. Burnout is one of the many dangerous issues we all face, yet we don’t always acknowledge.

Among other important conversations we need to have that are long overdue, Green has been taking on burnout head-on. On this episode, she defines burnout, shares symptoms, explains the truth and myths about burnout, offers some ways to heal from it, and much more.

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Apple Podcasts

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A restaurant or cafe owner flipping over the "open" sign on the door
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Bars and Restaurants: How Much to Open?

How Much Does It Cost to Open a Bar or Restaurant?

by Doug Radkey

A restaurant or cafe owner flipping over the "open" sign on the door

One of the most common questions we get asked at KRG Hospitality is, “How much does it cost to start a bar, restaurant, coffee shop, or nightclub?”

It’s a loaded but valid question, one that every aspiring hospitality operator should ask before diving into this industry.

But here’s the thing: there’s no single answer. Your start-up costs will depend on a variety of factors, such as location, size, market, and whether you’re taking over a second-generation space (a previous hospitality space) or building from scratch.

However, we can provide general cost-per-square-foot estimates based on 15 years of experience with over 280 concepts developed around the world. This takes into account 45 datapoints, which we have listed further down in this article.

Square Footage Costs in 2025

What’s the general cost per square foot for each category in 2025? Let’s have a look.

To open a coffee shop, the cost is approximately $428 per square foot. That means if you’re planning a 1,200-square-foot coffee shop that provides beverages and some baked goods, your estimated total start-up cost would be, on average, $513,600 USD.

Starting a quick-serve restaurant (QSR) comes with an approximate cost of $535 per square foot. If you’re planning an 1,800-square-foot restaurant with counter service and a small dining area, your estimated total start-up cost would be, on average, $963,000 USD.

For a bar with a kitchen, assume an approximate cost of $545 per square foot. So, if you’re planning a 2,400-square-foot bar with a kitchen for a solid food program to go along with your beverages, figure on a total start-up cost of around $1.3 million USD.

To open a full-service restaurant (FSR), the cost is similar to a bar with a kitchen, coming in at approximately $555 per square foot. This will increase based on the level of finishes. That means if you’re planning a 4,000-square-foot restaurant, your estimated total start-up cost would be approximately $2.22 million USD.

The cost is approximately $480 per square foot to open a nightclub. Interestingly, this square-footage cost is less than most bars and restaurants. This is due to the larger open floor zones. If you’re planning a 12,000-square-foot nightclub, your estimated total start-up cost would be approximately $5.76 million USD, which will be allocated msotly to the bar, plus sound, video, lighting, and furnishing.

Realistic Expectations

Do the above costs sounds like a lot capital for each type of concept? It should, because it is.

Based on our in-house data, costs have increased between 40 and 60 percent since 2020. That’s a main driver for today’s operators seeking out smaller locations (and second-generation properties to leverage pre-existing infrastructure).

The key to not over (or under) spending, however, is strategic clarity.

Why Strategic Clarity Matters

Before you even think about signing a lease, you need to have a clear and calculated approach.

That means having the eight non-negotiable playbooks completed to ensure every decision aligns with your brand, budget, and long-term strategy.

You must complete a feasibility study, conceptual playbook, prototype playbook, brand strategy playbook, tech-stack playbook, marketing playbook, financial playbook, and business plan before you ever sign a lease or purchase a property.

One of the most critical playbooks? Your financial playbook. This isn’t just about revenue projections—it must include a comprehensive start-up cost analysis to prevent budgetary blind spots and financial surprises.

Below, a breakdown of what your start-up costs should include.

Pre-Opening Costs

(Ensuring legal, operational, and strategic groundwork is in place before opening day.)

  • Pre-Open Lease and Landlord Deposit Payments: Covers the rent requirements before opening, typically three to six months in advance, pending build-out requirements.
  • Pre-Open Utility Deposits: Initial security deposits for water, electricity, and gas.
  • First Month’s Lease: Your first month’s rent due the month you open officially.
  • Architect/Engineer/Design Fees: Costs associated with drafting MEP plans, structural assessments, and an interior designer.
  • Business Insurance Premiums: Coverage for build-out, liability, alcohol, property damage, and operational risks.
  • Start-Up Legal & Accounting: Initial legal setup, contract reviews, tax structuring, and financial consulting.
  • Strategic Planning: Consulting or internal resources used for feasibility studies and other strategy playbooks (the non-negotiables).
  • Consultants & Agencies: Fees for post-planning coaching and consulting, project management, menu development, and more.
  • Licenses & Permits: Alcohol licenses, building permits, and other business registrations.

Equipment, Fixtures & Technology

(Ensuring operational efficiency, and a seamless guest experience.)

  • Kitchen, Bar, Sound, Video & Game Systems: Budget for all of your bar, kitchen, service, audio-visual setups, and entertainment elements.
  • Interior & Exterior Signage: Branding, promotional, and wayfinding signage.
  • Furniture Fixtures: Chairs, tables, table bases, booths, and lounge seating.
  • FOH Smallwares: Cutlery, plating, glassware, trays, and other serving tools.
  • Branded Takeout Packaging: Custom-printed cups, bags, and other containers.
  • POS Technology & Install: Point-of-sale systems, tablets, and registers.
  • Additional Tech-Stack: All of your technology integrations (hardware and/or subscriptions) for reservation systems, inventory management, mobile ordering, and more.

Pre-Opening Inventory & Staffing

(Preparing your team, and supplies for a smooth opening.)

  • Training F&B Inventory: Food and beverage items used for staff training before opening.
  • Opening F&B Inventory: Initial stock of ingredients, prepared foods, wine, spirits, and other beverages.
  • Initial Staffing & Training: Hiring costs, onboarding, and initial training programs, plus labor costs for the first four weeks of operations.
  • Staff Uniforms: Branded attire for both front- and back-of-house teams.

Marketing & Launch Costs

(Attracting guests, and building brand awareness before and after launch.)

  • Marketing Agency Fees: Branding, digital marketing, and advertising strategy and agency.
  • Website/App Design: Custom website, online ordering, and mobile or loyalty apps.
  • Online/Social Media Ads: Paid campaigns on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
  • Soft Opening Strategies: Invite-only events to test operations and train staff.
  • Launch Month Strategies: Pre- and grand opening promotions and public relation efforts.
  • Other Marketing & Promo: Traditional advertising, influencer partnerships, and email marketing, plus other go-to-market strategies.

Build-Out & Infrastructure Costs

(Transforming the space into an operational hospitality venue.)

  • Contractor & Admin Fees: Fees for project managers, general contractors, and any other administrative or permitting processes.
  • Wall, Floor & Ceiling Structure: Installing new framing, drywall, flooring, and ceiling treatments.
  • Doors & Trim: Interior and exterior doors, trims, and moldings.
  • Glass & Glazing: Windows, glass partitions, and display cases.
  • Wall/Drywall Finishing: Final painting, wallpapering, and/or paneling.
  • Floor & Ceiling Finishing: Tiles, wood, epoxy flooring, ceiling tiles, and decorative finishes.
  • Counters & Millwork: Custom bars, countertops, display units, and cabinetry.
  • General Electrical: Wiring, panels, power outlets, and compliance updates.
  • General Plumbing: Pipe installations, water supply, and drainage systems.
  • Lighting Fixtures: Decorative, ambient, and functional lighting fixtures.
  • Plumbing Fixtures: Staff and guest restroom utilities.
  • Fire Protection Systems: Sprinklers, fire alarms, extinguishers, and emergency exit compliance.
  • HVAC Systems: Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units.
  • Kitchen Hood Systems: Commercial exhaust and ventilation systems for kitchens.
  • Other Design & Install Costs: Additional decorative, acoustic, or functional installations.

Emergency & Miscellaneous Costs

(Budgeting for unexpected expenses and securing cash flow.)

  • Miscellaneous & Contingency Budget: Extra funds for unforeseen costs and emergencies during pre-open stage.
  • Pre-Open Interest Payments: Loan interest accrued before opening.
  • Opening Day Cash Flow: Initial capital to handle early operational expenses, and buffer against slow openings (plan for approximately three to six months).

Why You Need a Detailed Cost Guide

If you’re serious about starting a bar, restaurant, coffee shop, or nightclub, having accurate financial projections is non-negotiable.

But the truth is, most operators underestimate their start-up costs. This leads to broken trust with investors, unexpected expenses, and businesses failing before they even get off the ground.

That’s why every year, KRG Hospitality provides detailed cost guides tailored to different hospitality business models, including:

✔ Coffee shops
✔ QSRs
✔ Bars
✔ Full-service restaurants
✔ Nightclubs

Our guides break down real-world cost structures so you can build your financial plan with confidence. No guessing, no underestimating, no surprises.

If you want full visibility into your start-up budget, grab our latest start-up cost guide today, and make decisions with absolute clarity.

This cost guide provides all of the details (budget percentages) for each of the 45 data points for each style of concept, plus additional planning tools.

📩 Get the Full Cost Guide Now

Access our 2025 Bar & Restaurant Start-Up Cost Guide for just $14.99 USD

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Critical Thinking: Unlocking Success

Critical Thinking: Unlocking Success in Hospitality

by Doug Radkey

Chessboard, representing the concept of critical thinking

In hospitality, where creativity meets both precision and guest expectations, the ability to think critically is not just an asset, it’s truly a non-negotiable.

Whether you’re starting a new bar, stabilizing a restaurant, or scaling a hotel operation, critical thinking forms the framework of every successful decision.

When working with clients, I always look to emphasize this mindset in everything we do together. Why? Because we’ve seen its transformative impact firsthand.

Critical Thinking: A Mindset, Not Just a Skill

Critical thinking isn’t a one-time effort; it’s a continuous state of mind.

It requires being open-minded, curious, and analytical while maintaining the discipline to question assumptions, consider diverse perspectives, get creative, and rely on evidence for decision-making.

It’s about asking some potentially tough questions:

  • Why is this the right choice?
  • What are the potential consequences?
  • How can we improve this process?

But more importantly, it’s about cultivating thinking skills such as interpretation, analysis, evaluation, explanation, and self-regulation to create strategic clarity.

Let’s explore how these skills directly impact the hospitality industry’s three critical phases: starting, stabilizing, and scaling.

Starting: Laying the Right Foundation

Starting a bar, restaurant, or hotel is an exciting venture. It’s also fueled by decisions that can make or break the business.

This is where critical thinking over the use of tools such as AI or templates becomes indispensable.

Interpretation Skills: Understanding the Market

Every business should begin with a feasibility study. This critical document is about analyzing market trends, target demographics, detailed sociographics, competitive landscapes, conceptual trends, and financial understanding.

For example, understanding your TAM, SAM, and SOM can clarify the concept’s alignment with market potential. Without proper interpretation of these data points, a great idea can fail to connect with its intended audience or market.

Analytical Skills: Evaluating Business Models

Many aspiring operators rely too heavily on emotion when choosing a concept or location. I talked about this recently on an episode of the Hospitality Reinvented podcast.

Critical thinking helps us step back, assess the market objectively, and analyze whether the chosen model can succeed.

It’s never about what “feels” right, or “I’ve lived here my whole life, I know what people want.” In reality, it’s about what I tell everyone who says either of those things: “It’s about what works based on data and evidence.”

Asking the Right Questions

  • Does this location align with my budget and target audience?
  • What assumptions am I making about guest behavior?
  • What if this concept needs to pivot?

Stabilizing: Building Consistency and Efficiency

Once a hospitality business is operational, stabilizing it requires balancing guest satisfaction with operational excellence.

Critical thinking becomes the tool to identify inefficiencies, and adapt to challenges.

Evaluation Skills: Assessing Operations

Stabilizing a restaurant or hotel often involves analyzing the flow of operations.

Are staff members supported by efficient systems? Is inventory managed effectively?

Evaluating these aspects (and others) ensures that the business runs smoothly, even during peak times.

Self-Regulation Skills: Overcoming Bias

Operators in this industry often struggle to let go of ideas that don’t work. Have you ever sat inside a bar or restaurant that used to be busy all of the time, but now you’re one of only a few guests?

They didn’t let go of the past.

Self-regulation allows leaders to examine their biases, question their own decisions, and pivot when necessary.

For example, if a signature dish that uses a family recipe isn’t selling, it’s time to evaluate why, and consider alternatives rather than holding onto it for sentimental reasons.

Key Questions

  • What operational processes are causing delays or errors?
  • Am I listening to both staff and guest feedback objectively?
  • How can we improve efficiency without compromising quality?

Scaling: Preparing for Sustainable Growth

Scaling a hospitality business requires both vision and precision. It’s about replicating success without diluting the brand, and critical thinking provides the roadmap.

Inference Skills: Predicting Outcomes

Scaling involves making assumptions about new markets, guest preferences, and operational challenges.

By questioning the evidence and forming well-founded hypotheses, operators can make informed decisions about where and how to grow.

Explanation Skills: Communicating Vision

Whether it’s presenting a pitch to investors or aligning staff with a new strategy, scaling requires clear communication.

Critical thinking ensures that every argument is backed by data and articulated with precision, thereby building trust and alignment among all stakeholders.

Key Questions

  • What do industry and market trends tell us about future opportunities?
  • How do we maintain brand consistency across multiple locations?
  • What risks should we prepare for between now and full expansion?

Critical Thinking at KRG Hospitality

At KRG Hospitality, we integrate critical thinking into every aspect of our work.

Here’s how:

  • Open-Minded Collaboration: We listen actively to our clients, and challenge conventional thinking to uncover innovative solutions or blue ocean opportunities.
  • Data Driven Decisions: By interpreting each client’s unique needs, we craft strategies that align with their vision while ensuring practicality and scalability. From feasibility studies to business plans, we rely on evidence to guide strategy, not assumptions.

We also encourage our clients to adopt a critical-thinking mindset as they navigate all of the phases of business development.

Below, a few habits we help clients develop.

Vet Information

  • Question the credibility of data sources.
  • Ask what evidence supports a specific claim, and whose perspective is missing.

Ask Questions

  • Channel curiosity by exploring deeper inquiries, such as why, how, and what happens if we encounter various situations.
  • Use follow-up questions to uncover insights and challenge assumptions.

Listen Actively

  • Understand before responding. Critical thinking requires deep listening to build well-rounded solutions. (Want to learn more about the act of listening? Check out this podcast episode on listening by Jennifer Radkey on her Turn This Way podcast.)
  • Engage with diverse perspectives to avoid groupthink that might set you back.

Seek Diversity

  • Surround yourself with diverse voices and viewpoints to gain fresh insights, and avoid echo chambers.

Action Items to Strengthen Your Critical Thinking

How can you practice critical thinking this week?

Consider taking on the two challenges below.

  1. Map the Guest Journey: Outline each touchpoint on your guest’s experience, from discovering your brand, booking or ordering, their arrival to your venue, their exit, and your follow-up with them. Identify potential gaps, and brainstorm ways to elevate guest satisfaction for each touchpoint.
  2. Challenge Your Own Assumptions: Pick one operational or strategic belief you hold about your business. If you’re just developing your concept, maybe you believe your idea is perfect for the market. If you’re operational already, perhaps you assume that your team loves working for you, or that you the systems in place to expand. Analyze the validity of your assumptions, seek alternative perspectives, and test whether they truly hold up under scrutiny.

The Hospitality Mindset: Why It Matters

Critical thinking isn’t just a business tool, it’s a way of life that empowers you to:

  • make informed decisions that align with your goals;
  • navigate challenges with confidence and clarity;
  • lead teams effectively by fostering open communication and collaboration; and
  • position your bar, restaurant, or hotel for long-term success.

In an industry where every detail matters, adopting a critical-thinking mindset ensures you can respond to challenges proactively, adapt to change, and create experiences that guests remember for a lifetime, thereby creating a true legacy.

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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

You Will Fail Without Strategic Clarity

Why Your Business Will Fail Without Strategic Clarity

by Doug Radkey

Red to purple color-shift background with splashing water droplet

Success in the hospitality industry—whether operating a bar, restaurant, or hotel—requires more than just passion, ambition, and a quality concept.

In addition to all of the above, success demands strategic clarity. Put simply, this is the ability to see the big picture while understanding the smallest details possible of how your business will operate, scale, and, most importantly, drive profits.

Without this clarity, even the most creative and exciting ideas face a high risk of failure.

In summary, without clarity, you’re just reacting; with it, you’re leading.

Let’s explore the definition of strategic clarity, why it’s a non-negotiable, and why your hospitality business cannot succeed without each of these strategic playbooks: feasibility study, conceptual playbook, prototype playbook, brand strategy playbook, tech-stack playbook, marketing playbook, financial playbook, and business plan playbook.

What is Strategic Clarity?

Strategic clarity goes far beyond writing a mission statement or setting sales goals.

Strategic clarity is the alignment of vision, goals, and actionable steps required to move a business from idea to concept to sustainable success. It’s about building a solid foundation that guides every single decision; from idea, to concept, to hiring staff, to launching and everything in-between.

Strategic clarity is the DNA of your business.

In the hospitality industry, strategic clarity ensures that every decision is cohesive and aligned with your target audience, operational capabilities, and long-term goals. Strategic clarity eliminates guesswork, reduces risk, and increases your odds of building a highly profitable business.

Why is Strategic Clarity a Must?

Without strategic clarity, businesses are left vulnerable to disjointed efforts, misaligned goals, and reactive decision making.

These issues not only waste time and resources but can also alienate your guests, frustrate your employees, and diminish your levels of profitability.

Now, let’s dive into why strategic clarity—and each of the eight key playbooks—are non-negotiable for a winning hospitality business.

1. Feasibility Study: The Foundation of Success

Why You Need It

A feasibility study lays the groundwork for strategic clarity by determining whether your bar, restaurant, or hotel concept can succeed in your target market.

This crucial study evaluates market potential, competitive landscape, and operational logistics, ensuring you make informed decisions before making major financial commitments, or signing a lease.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Due To:

  1. Lack of Market Insight: Skipping this step leaves you guessing about TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market), and SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market), risking a misaligned business model and wasted resources.
  2. Poor Location Choices: A feasibility study helps you identify the optimal neighborhood, property size, site requirements, and development budgets for a variety of scenarios, saving you from costly real estate mistakes.
  3. Data-Driven Decisions: This study offers industry trends, technical specs, and competitor analysis, ensuring your planning is backed by actionable data.
    • Example: Consider a boutique hotel targeting luxury travelers. A feasibility study explores guest demographics and psychographics, seasonal fluctuations, spending behaviors, and the region’s existing upscale offerings. This data shapes future pricing strategies, internal programming selection, operational requirements, and marketing efforts, turning assumptions into calculated strategies.

2. Conceptual Playbook: Your Vision on Paper

Why You Need It

The conceptual playbook translates your vision into a strategic framework, defining how your brand comes to life through design, experience, and operations.

This playbook aligns creative and functional elements into a unified, market-ready concept.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Due To:

  1. Lack of Clear Direction: Without precise definitions for design, fixtures, furniture, equipment, uniforms, menus, and guest experiences, your business risks becoming a fragmented idea, leaving both guests and staff unclear about the brand’s identity.
  2. Team Misalignment: You and your shareholders, support team, development team, and employees need a clear understanding of your concept to execute the vision, and deliver consistent experiences.
  3. Failure to Stand Out: A distinct concept differentiates you in a saturated market, helping carve out a memorable niche. Let’s take a look at two sample scenarios:
    • Restaurant Examples
      • A Restaurant Without a Conceptual Playbook: Generic tables and chairs, mismatched menus, and a lack of on-brand marketing leave little impression.
      • A Restaurant with a Conceptual Playbook: A coastal-inspired bistro with subtle and authentic sea-themed dĂŠcor, locally sourced seafood menus, and immersive guest experiences creates a more lasting impact, and nurtures guest loyalty and repeat visits.
    • Hotel Examples
      • A Hotel Without a Conceptual Playbook: Standard rooms, impersonal service, and forgettable interiors offer no unique appeal.
      • A Hotel with a Conceptual Playbook: A  retro yet modern boutique hotel showcasing local craftsmanship, personalized service, and a curated lobby cafĂŠ makes every stay an unforgettable one.

By defining your vision clearly and cohesively, a conceptual playbook transforms your business idea into an operational reality with market differentiation and lasting success.

3. Prototype Playbook: Testing and Refining

Why You Need It

The prototype playbook enables precise testing, refining, and scaling of your concept before making full-scale investments.

This playbook minimizes costly guesswork, instead providing a clear path from design to operational implementation.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Due To:

  1. Uncontrolled Budgets: Without defined prototypes, development costs can spiral due to unexpected adjustments in design, layout, or FFE (Fixtures, Furniture, Equipment) integration.
    • Examples
      • A Bar Without a Prototype Playbook: Custom bar counters are ordered without consideration for staff flow, causing expensive retrofits.
      • A Bar with a Prototype Playbook: Space-optimized bar counters with exact dimensions ensure smooth service operations, and controlled costs.
  1. Resource Waste: Testing workflows, layouts, and service models in a prototype phase reduces inefficiencies and operational bottlenecks.
    • Examples
      • A Restaurant Without a Prototype Playbook: Kitchen layout errors slow service, causing delays and increasing labor costs.
      • A Restaurant with a Prototype Playbook: Pre-tested kitchen zones ensure efficient service, reducing wait times and boosting profitability.
  1. Limited Scalability: A well-developed prototype ensures your concept can adapt to various property sizes, layouts, and markets, making expansion more feasible.

Testing, refining, and scaling concepts through a prototype playbook ensures businesses can develop precise start-up budgets while reducing risk, optimizing resources, and positioning themselves for sustainable, scalable growth.

4. Brand Strategy Playbook: Building Your Identity

Why You Need It

The brand strategy playbook establishes your business’ core identity, aligning every guest interaction with your values, messaging, and market positioning.

It ensures that your brand resonates with the right audience while creating lasting, emotional connections.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Due to:

  1. Lack of Clear Identity: A poorly defined brand confuses potential guests, diminishing credibility and loyalty.
    • Examples
      • A Bar Without a Brand Identity: Random dĂŠcor, inconsistent service styles, and a generic menu fail to create memorable experiences, leaving guests disengaged.
      • A Bar with a Brand Identity: A retro-inspired cocktail lounge with mid-century modern dĂŠcor, tailored music playlists, and vintage-inspired cocktails creates an immersive guest experience.
  1. Failure to Attract Guests: A distinct brand aligns with target market values, sparking curiosity, and driving foot traffic.
    • Examples
      • A Bar Without a Brand Strategy: A new bar opens with no thematic focus, minimal marketing, and a generic online presence. Potential guests pass by without interest.
      • A Bar with a Brand Strategy: A speakeasy-themed bar launches with curated social media content, influencer collaborations, and press coverage, creating buzz and becoming the city’s hottest new spot.
  1. Ineffective Marketing Campaigns: Marketing without a brand strategy leads to disjointed campaigns that fail to engage or convert potential guests.
    • Examples
      • A Marketing Campaign Without a Brand Strategy: A basic ad promoting generic happy hour specials attracts price-sensitive guests but creates no brand loyalty.
      • A Campaign with a Brand Strategy: A cinematic video showcasing mixologists crafting signature drinks boosts brand engagement, and drives repeat visits.

Your brand strategy playbook is more than just a logo. It ensures every detail, from service tone to visual identity, works in harmony to position your business as unforgettable and irreplaceable.

5. Tech-Stack Playbook: Leveraging Technology

Why You Need It

The tech-stack playbook ensures your business leverages cutting-edge tools and systems to streamline operations, elevate guest experiences, and unlock valuable data-driven insights.

In today’s digital-first landscape, technology is no longer optional—it’s another non-negotiable.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Due To:

  1. Operational Inefficiencies Causing Chaos: Without integrated technology, processes break down, leading to delays, wasted resources, and unhappy guests. The right tech stack synchronizes workflows. Think reservation systems that align with table turnover rates, or POS systems that monitor real-time inventory levels, preventing over-ordering.
    • Examples
      • Inefficient Operations: A restaurant using outdated manual inventory processes faces unexpected stockouts, leading to missed sales and guest frustration.
      • Efficient Operations with Tech: A cloud-based POS with inventory management ensures automatic reordering alerts and prevents shortages during peak hours.
  1. Failure to Meet the Guest Demand for Seamless Tech-Enhanced Experiences: Today’s guests expect convenience. From contactless payments to personalized services, technology bridges the gap between expectations and delivery.
    • Examples
      • For Restaurants: Tableside ordering tablets reduce wait times, while QR code menus provide instant access to specials and allergen information.
      • For Hotels: Mobile check-ins, room key apps, and smart room controls create frictionless stays, differentiating your property immediately.
  1. Missed Opportunities: Without the right technology, you forfeit valuable analytics that could shape your business. Actionable data reveals trends, such as best-selling dishes, total guest revenue management, or high-margin offerings, enabling smarter decisions.

By aligning the right systems with your business model, you can deliver efficiency, meet evolving guest expectations, and mine insights to fuel your growth.

The question isn’t whether you need technology, it’s whether you’re leveraging it effectively to gain a competitive edge.

6. Marketing Playbook: Reaching Your Audience

Why You Need It

Your marketing playbook is the roadmap to attracting, engaging, and converting guests through well-orchestrated campaigns across digital, social, and traditional channels.

This playbook defines your unique voice, message, and tactics that resonate with your target market.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Because:

  1. You’re Invisible to Guests: The “build it, and they will come” approach is a myth. A strong marketing playbook ensures visibility through SEO, social media, PR campaigns, and community partnerships, positioning your business in front of the right people at the right time.
    • Examples
      • A new bar without a marketing plan might rely solely on word of mouth, leading to slow growth, and unpredictable traffic.
      • A bar with a marketing playbook uses social media promotions, influencer partnerships, and a launch event to create buzz, providing immediate brand awareness, and generating foot traffic.
  1. You Waste Money on Ineffective Campaigns: A marketing playbook defines objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs), and actionable steps, ensuring every marketing dollar spent delivers a measurable return. Let’s look at a sample result:
    • Sample of Measurable Results: A bar runs a social media campaign promoting a new seasonal cocktail menu.
      • Goal: Increase weekend reservations.
      • Campaign Action: Targeted social ads with a direct booking link.
      • Result: A 35-percent increase in table bookings within 30 days, tracked through specified promo codes, POS integration, and follow-up metrics through brands such as Ovation.
  1. You Can’t Build Loyalty: Consistent messaging and guest engagement cultivates trust, fostering repeat visits and long-term brand loyalty.
    • Example
      • A restaurant with a clear marketing strategy shares behind-the-scenes content regularly, offers loyalty rewards, and sends personalized email offers, keeping the brand top of mind among their most valuable guests.

A well-defined marketing playbook is not just a promotional tool, it’s the engine that drives visibility, guest engagement, and long-term loyalty. It ensures your brand stays relevant, compelling, and profitable in a competitive landscape.

7. Financial Playbook: Managing Money Wisely

Why You Need It

The financial playbook is your blueprint for sustainable profitability, guiding budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow management. It transforms your concept from an idea into a financially sound reality.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Because:

  1. You Won’t Secure Funding: Lenders and investors need detailed projections. A financial playbook builds trust by showing profitability scenarios, ROI timelines, and realistic financial goals.
    • Sample Insight: A hospitality group secures $2M USD for a new cocktail bar by presenting a robust financial playbook that presents realistic five-year forecasts, start-up budgets, and more.
  1. You’ll Run Out of Cash: Poor financial planning is a top cause of failure. Without a playbook, unexpected expenses or under-funding can derail your project long before you look to open your doors.
    • Example: A boutique hotel underestimates renovation costs due to lack of a prototype and detailed budgets. They deplete funds before opening, delaying launch, reducing lender trust, and increasing their debt load before the first booking.
  1. You’ll Have No Financial Control: Comprehensive playbooks monitor expenses, optimize pricing, and maximize profitability with tailored start-up projections, investment scenarios, mock labor schedules, day-part/occupancy strategies, P&L statements, cash-flow forecasts, cost-channel analysis, modern revenue management strategies, and contingency plans.
    • Real-World Impact: A midscale hotel uses financial modeling to adjust day-part strategies, increasing off-peak revenue by 40 percent, and reducing operational costs by 15 percent.

A financial playbook isn’t just numbers. This playbook is a strategic tool ensuring your business remains solvent, scalable, and investor ready from day one. It prevents costly surprises, and drives long-term profitability through proactive financial control.

8. Business Plan Playbook: Day-to-Day Operations

The business plan playbook serves as the operational backbone of your hospitality business, guiding daily activities from front-of-house procedures to back-end management.

Contrary to common belief, it should be the last playbook developed. The business plan playbook should be completed only after assessing the feasibility of your idea, and defining your concept, prototype, brand, tech stack, financials, and marketing strategy. Taking this approach ensures every operational detail is driven by data, and aligned strategically.

Without It, Your Business Will Fail Because:

  1. Your Team Lacks Structure: Employees need clear roles, expectations, and procedures. Implementing Six Sigma and Kaizen methodologies within your playbook fosters a culture of continuous improvement and operational efficiency.
    • Example: A bar without defined staff roles experiences high turnover due to confusion over responsibilities. After adopting a playbook with structured roles and SOPs, turnover drops by over 55 percent.
  1. You Can’t Deliver Consistency: Inconsistent operations harm the guest experience, and lead to negative reviews. A comprehensive playbook ensures processes are repeatable, scalable, and centered around guest satisfaction.
    • Example: A boutique hotel improves its guest satisfaction score by over 70 percent after implementing SOP-driven check-in/out procedures, housekeeping standards, and personalized guest touchpoints.
  1. You Struggle to Adapt: An operations playbook allows businesses to pivot quickly when challenges arise. Whether adapting to changing guest expectations or responding to market shifts, your team will have a clear, proactive roadmap.
    • Example: A restaurant navigates supply chain disruptions by referencing its contingency plan within its business playbook, securing local supplier contracts that reduce delays.

Unlike static business plans, a business plan playbook evolves with your business. It’s a dynamic, action-oriented guide that adapts to market changes, ensuring your business remains agile, efficient, and competitive. With a playbook, you don’t just plan—you execute with precision and purpose.

The Ripple Effect of Strategic Clarity

Strategic clarity doesn’t just enhance isolated parts of your hospitality business—it creates a synchronized, efficient, and scalable operation.

Master the eight essential playbooks to not merely start, stabilize, or scale a business but to build a legacy primed for adaptability, growth, and industry leadership.

Imagine this Impact

Picture presenting a fully developed suite of playbooks to investors, landlords, or partners. You’ll exude confidence, backed by precise strategies in which they can place their trust.

This comprehensive approach distinguishes you from businesses relying on generic, templated, or AI-generated plans. (Yes, banks and investors can tell when a business plan has been generated by artificial intelligence.)

Don’t Leave Success to Chance

Success in hospitality is both challenging and rewarding. Without strategic clarity, even the best ideas risk failure.

This framework positions your business within the top 20 percent that surpass the five-year survival mark.

Why This Matters

Without strategic clarity, you risk being in the 80 percent of operators that fail. Why do that to yourself?

The industry’s high failure rate stems entirely from a lack of well-defined strategy. At KRG Hospitality, we specialize in crafting bespoke playbooks that drive clarity, confidence, empowerment, and freedom.

Want to learn more? Join our next 60-Minute Start-Up Masterclass, or contact us today for personalized consulting.

Take action now—success doesn’t happen by accident.

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by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode 1, Part 2

Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode 1, Part 2

by David Klemt

Bar Hacks: ReFire podcast "black paper" background cover

The second of three real-life hospitality scenarios discussed on the new Bar Hacks: ReFire podcast deals with onboarding.

More explicitly, I, along with cohost Bradley Knebel, client services director at Empowered Hospitality, look at a situation involving onboarding, training, leadership, culture, and potential imposter syndrome.

Our goal with every episode of ReFire is for listeners to gain valuable insights into bar, restaurant, and hotel operations.

Whether you’re a bar owner, manager, or aspiring hospitality professional, these episodes of Bar Hacks offer a wealth of knowledge and strategies to navigate the challenges of running a successful bar or restaurant.

Below, a transcript of the second part of the first episode of Bar Hacks: ReFire. For the lightly edited transcript of the first situation we addressed, click here. Bradley and I jump into each scenario cold (for the most part), so the tone is conversational rather than formal. In other words, they sound better than they read.

Cheers!

The ReFire Format

David: So, for the audience, what happened is, I sifted through… I’m basically going through online—there’s subreddits that, basically, everybody knows there’s a subreddit for everything. Good or bad, there’s a subreddit for it. Servers have a subreddit. Bartenders, chefs, bar owners, restaurant owners, hotel owners… I mean, they all have subreddits. And then there’s just, you know, forums all over the internet. You can find pretty much any topic. And so, I’m kind of sifting through these for real-world situations. And the caveat there is we’re gonna take these at face value, for the most part. Unless someone is like, “I’m just kidding,” like, “I got you all like in the comments…”

But we’re going to accept that these are really happening, because anyone in the industry knows if you’ve been in there, you know, for a few years, everything happens in this industry. So, a lot of this stuff is believable, even as outlandish as it might sound. The only thing I’m going to do, really, and Bradley’s going to do when we bring these topics up, is we’re not going to read them verbatim. We’re going to summarize. And the reason for this is I don’t want people to get doxxed. I don’t want them to, you know, get review bombed because someone decided, “I’m going to side with the server on this and let’s review bomb this operator.” You know, things like that.

So, we’re trying to be general but still get to the crux of the situation, and I’m sure they’ll get more specific as we go. I chose three to start with; hopefully, we get to all three. If we have a great conversation on, like, the first one or two, we’ll save the third one, or you know, however it works, for the next one. But that’s how this is gonna work. I’m sure it’ll evolve, ‘cause I’m not, like, a strict, like, “Oh, this is how it’s going to be” ‘cause it’s quote-unquote “my podcast,” because I’m not like that. We’re going to have fun with this.

Situation 2: Imposter Syndrome and Onboarding

David: So, situation two. This bartender, the way they phrased it, I don’t think they ever did a year straight with one employer. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Like, it’s like you just said, it’s a transient business.

Bradley: Transient.

David: The experience they had was, I’m gonna go with, like, “high-volume,” but you know, it’s a college bar, a dive bar, which I… Apologies to Travis Tober, he does not like that term. He likes “neighborhood bar,” and I agree.

Bradley: I also could have felt like something like an Olive Garden or an Applebee’s, especially because they talk about how many steps there are.

David: Good point. It could be a neighborhood chain restaurant, and they’re behind the bar. That’s absolutely possible. It’s not the Baccarat Bar, we’ll just put it that way, where their experience came from.

They got hired by a more upscale, higher-end venue. They were given one training shift. And from what I could determine, the cocktails routinely had a minimum of six ingredients. So, lots of steps, and yet it was still high-volume because it was a popular bar.

So, it’s high-volume with a lot of steps, which.. That was cool, you know, call it a dozen years ago, 15, when, like, “Wow, I’m gonna wait ten minutes for this cocktail ’cause it’s supposed to be awesome.” Where now people are like, “I don’t care if it’s 30 ingredients, I want this thing in three seconds ’cause I’m not standing here, and your team is supposed to be high volume.”

So, they got the one training shift—that was it. And the ownership and leadership team appears to like to sit at the bar. And I don’t know if this is when they’re working; that wasn’t made clear. But the person feels they’re being scrutinized. They have questions. It sounds like they asked a question, at least one question, and got a very, in their opinion, terse and impatient reply. They now perceive this culture as they do not have patience for questions. “I have to just know my job. I’ve got to get these cocktails down. I have to be perfect.”

And I’ll kick this off by saying it is possible this person is just so in their head because it’s imposter syndrome, and they got one training shift, and now they, because it’s one training shift, are in their head, saying, “I have to be perfect now; I had my training shift. I can’t ask questions because I’m going to get fired or they’re going to give me less shifts because I don’t know, quote-unquote what I’m doing.”

So, it’s possible that just they’re not confident because they’re in their own head. However, that still had to come from somewhere. So, I do believe someone maybe—and I don’t even know—they gave him a short answer or a bit of a terse reaction because they’re just, maybe they’re having a bad day or they weren’t even thinking. They just threw an answer out and to them it’s not a big deal. It wasn’t a, a short or curt answer because that’s not how they meant it. They’re just like, “Yeah, you just do this,” and they walked away.

So, I think we both agree though that this does sound like we’re rubbing up on a culture issue, within the business. But they weren’t even trying to throw the ownership under the bus. They were just like, “Do I quit this job and go for something I’m more used to, or do I stick it out because this is more money?” It’s a higher-end venue, the tips are better. And I mean, the general consensus appeared to be like, “No, you stick it out. You can figure this out.” It’s bartending: If you did high-volume in an easy call bar, that’s still brutal. If you run a high-volume college bar, you’re getting destroyed. So, you should be used to it.

Just One Training Shift?!

Bradley: If it’s just Vodka Sodas all night, with splash of cranberry, or making, yeah, or you’re making, like, Death & Co. drinks to bring Dave back into the conversation, you know, bartending is hard. And, you know, there’s a reason that most volume bartenders, usually the higher volume the bar, the less touches there are. The less, kind of, ingredients per cocktail, right? It’s built for speed and efficiency.

So, I agree with you that this sounds a little bit like this person may be in their head a little bit, and maybe second-guessing themselves, or needing to build their confidence. But there’s a lot of things about this case that I think a lot of people can learn from. And the biggest flag to me is if this is an upscale cocktail bar, and if their signature ingredients have six- to eight-plus steps, which, first off, like, combine some of those into a cheater bottle or something. Like, come on, that’s crazy. But even if all of that is true, one training shift is absolutely not… Like, that, to me, is a huge flag. If I came into a bar, no matter if I’d been bartending for six months or six years, if I walked into a new space and they said, “Great, you get one shift, and now you’re on service bar,” like, that just is not a recipe for success, you know? And so, the reason that you and I kept talking about this being a cultural piece almost more than a training piece is, why is there only one training shift?

Are they just churning through people so fast that they literally just have to be live instantly because the owners are sitting at the bar constantly critiquing everybody? And are their cocktails built for their concept? And I think that is a big issue. If you have that many steps in your cocktails, but you have 150 covers in your space, like, there’s no way that those two things are going to meet. Even if you have 30 covers in your space, there’s no way that those two things are going to meet.

If it’s a purely cocktail bar where people are supposed to be coming in, and getting a bunch of different cocktails, and ordering something different every time. And so for me, from the employee standpoint, there are a few things that I would question, and I take issue with. Well, is this place set up to support me? You know, it’s funny because the last question, we talked all about the employer standpoint, right? Like, the employer standpoint against the employee. But it is a relationship. And it is, when we talk about interviewing a lot, right, that interviewing needs to be a dialogue. It isn’t just me asking you questions, you answering questions, and then “boom,” question two. It needs to be a dialogue.

And I think employment is a dialogue, right? You’re giving just as much to your employer as they should be giving to you. And that is in training, that is in culture. And so, how are they supporting you and your growth? And it sounds like here that they’re not, from a technical standpoint. And, like, I think it’s what probably most of the people on the thread were saying is, you can learn anything. You can learn all these cocktails.

Three Months

Bradley: Like, this is going to sound really dumb, but when I first started bartending, ’cause I am a virgo and a perfectionist and a Millennial, so, like, all those things just combined into a terrible mixture. But the first time I started bartending, I literally sat home. I didn’t have any pour spouts. So, I may or may not have borrowed them from work—I’m sorry, boss, I’m telling you this 20 years later—and put them into empty wine bottles. And I just practiced, because we also had to do counts instead of jiggering. And so I was just practicing until I figured out how it all kind of worked together.

And then the next thing is, you know, I tell people this all the time, that it takes three months just to figure out what your job is, and how to be good at it. Not to be good at it, just how to be. There’s different cultures, there’s different steps, there’s different people you’re dealing with.

How do I show up on time? What is my uniform? How do I get it cleaned? Where is everything set? What is my opening side work? When is lineup? Who are the regular guests? What do people usually order? What am I recommending? There are so many pieces of a job, especially in the dining sector, that come together that it takes you three months just to figure out. “Okay, what am I actually doing? How do I actually do it? What does success look like? What is my team here? And are they supportive or not supportive? And who can I lean on? And then also how do I get better?”

And then it takes another three months to get better. Whenever I’ve promoted a server assistant to a server, a server to a sommelier or a captain, you know, prep cook to a line cook, like, garde manger to, like, flat top, or if they’re looking, working on a grill. No matter what your promotion is, and actually the biggest one is from line level into management, right? So, like, going from a server or bartender into a manager for the first time is, give yourself some grace. It takes three months just to figure out what the heck is going on. Like, who’s here, who are the players, what am I doing, what’s important, how often do things rotate, how much do I really need to know these things? And that takes you another three months just to build that skill set. And so, if you’re working for an employer that gives you one training shift and then is critiquing you for not being perfect right off the bat, to me, that’s less of a flag of you not being a skilled bartender and more of a flag of this is maybe not a place that’s going to be supportive for knowing that the restaurant industry is so transient.

And the restaurant industry is a lot of times almost like the gig economy. Before that became my thing, it was the pre-gig economy. Are they going to be there to really help your growth, and as things change, and as you either get another bartending job—because very few bartenders have one job, they tend to have two or three. So, if you get another job, if you are in school, if you’re an actor or in some sort of artistic discipline and are going to need to go on show, how supportive are they going to be in view of that lifestyle? Or if you’re a dedicated bartender full-time, then this doesn’t sound like a bar that’s going to dedicate timing to you to grow.

So, my biggest pushback to this employee is, hey, get out of your head. You’re not going to be perfect. Like, you have to learn it. But is this a place that’s going to support you, or is it time to look somewhere else? Because I’ll tell you one thing—going to the last one (the first story of this episode). So, we’re in a talent shortage, still there. There is a plethora of jobs out there. And talk about the one job that’s almost most in demand on the front of house side, it’s bartenders. Bartenders who have done it for six months. When I was bartending and when I was hiring bartenders, especially pre-pandemic, if you didn’t have bartending on your resume for two years you wouldn’t get an interview. Now, if you’ve had bartending on there for three months, great, let’s go in. I’m going to ask you what a Cosmo is, and if you can answer, that’s question one, check. Different game.

Leadership Sitting at the Bar

David: And my one of my flags was: Why is management or leadership, if they’re sitting at the bar, I’m blown away by that. Like, what are you doing?

Bradley: That’s, that’s a revenue-generating spot. Yeah.

David: You just decided to voluntarily give up money. I don’t understand that. Like, what are you doing? And then do you micromanage everybody, or is it the bar team? And again, it’s perception. Like, did this person, every time they happen to look up because they’re not confident in themselves, perhaps do they think they’re being stared at by this team that’s not even looking at them? They just re looking around, like, “Hey, you need to touch that guest. That’s a VIP; we should go say hi. Those people look new, look like they’re having a blast. Let’s go introduce ourselves.”

We don’t know exactly what that was, but if you are micromanaging, I have a big issue with that because no one performs well under that kind of pressure, really. I mean, maybe a 20-year veteran bartender who’s like, “Yeah, you can micromanage me all you want, I don’t care. I’m gonna get this done, get my tips, and get out of here. Like, watch me all you want. I’m not doing anything, so go for it.”

But I do wonder… I mean, I don’t want, I don’t ever wanna see leadership or management lean against the bar, even a little. And sitting at the bar when they’re working, like, that’s not okay with me at all. I mean, yeah, you check in with the bar team, but you can do that from the side of the bar, you can go behind the bar, but to sit there… And now guests are like, “Why? Is this person, is this bartender not doing the right thing?” It just, it leads to a lot of questions either from the guest side, which you definitely don’t want, and from the team side, like, “Wow, this team, the leadership team, doesn’t trust me. And I (ostensibly) did nothing wrong, and they just are watching me like a hawk. Like, did I do something wrong?”

Like, it’s just, to me, it’s just too many questions. And I know there are people who, they’re micromanagers, but then maybe they need to be moved or spoken to or something. You just can’t do it that way anymore. It just doesn’t, it doesn’t work. And if you, if you are behaving that way, then why’d you hire this person? If you’re just going to watch them like that, then they shouldn’t have been hired or you’re in the wrong position, to be honest. Like, maybe you shouldn’t be a manager. Like, sorry, but that could be.

Coaching, Holding People Accountable, and Setting Standards

Bradley: I think there’s a big difference between coaching, holding people accountable, and setting standards versus micromanagement, right?

David: Absoutely.

Bradley: I think a lot of that—I mean, there’s a lot of very, I mean, specific differences—but I think it really comes from, are you doing it for the employee’s benefit, or are you doing it to control the output? Right?

So, you are never going to be able to replicate yourself. And this idea of people saying, “I need to find somebody who’s just like me, who’s going to do this just like I’m going to do so I don’t have to manage them,” is a fallacy. That’s not true.

It’s all about building standards, building practices, and holding people accountable, and coaching them in the moment, but not doing it through fear or doing it through anxiety. Because what does that do with somebody being watched, but they’re being watched with a knownn critical eye? Like, if somebody’s just being watched and, like observed, that’s one thing. If somebody’s being watched and observed where they know that they’re being nitpicked and critiqued, they’re going to fumble.

Think about it: No matter how confident you are, somebody comes in and says, “I’m going to rate you today.” The nerves happen. I mean, to use the Tokyo Olympics, like Simone Biles, even people at the highest caliber can get nervous when they know they’re being watched, and they know they’re being critiqued. And so, that has a whole separate issue. I just watched that documentary. But it really shows that we as human beings, we want to know our boundaries, we want to know what success looks like. We want to be helped and given the tools to achieve success. But if you’re just constantly nitpicking and aren’t, like, really helping me get there, then you’re just creating moments for me to have anxiety and get stressed. It’s just going to make me perform worse instead of better.

David: I did an assessment not long ago. Flew in, get there, and rumors already started like, I’m there to fire people. And that’s not what I… You’d have to, like, punch me in the face for me to be like, “You need to fire this person.” Like, that’s not what I’m there for. And turned out they had a platform they were using, and the bar team was really, they weren’t all outgoing [toward me]. When I was just trying to just talk and see what their guest service is like. How chatty they were. Just kind of watch them a little bit.

And the one bartender was like, “Oh, you’re from this company, right? You’re here to test us, right?” And I was like, “Do you want me to test you?” Like, what would I be testing on, cocktail builds? I’m like, “No, that’s not why. I don’t work for that company, and that’s not why I’m here. But if you want me to test you, I will.” And, then I got him to calm down, and he then totally relaxed. The rest of the bar team relaxed. So, yeah, if they even have an inkling that someone is in there to evaluate them, that’s a lot of pressure. I feel the same. I feel the same way when the client is watching me assess their team… They’re like, “Well, why is he watching that? Like, what does he see? Like, I feel pressure a little bit. I don’t want to screw up an assessment. Like, I don’t want to interpret this wrong. Yeah, it’s just pressure that you don’t need to put on someone.

Is There Even an Onboarding Process?

David: And also, before we on to the next one, it does make me think that there isn’t a onboarding process. And if there is, you have a training shift, and then now you’re a bartender. It’s like, okay, but if you’re micromanaging, I really don’t think that you have an onboarding process. Because if you did, you would trust the process, and let these people assimilate and get in their own grooves.

They’re not gonna work exactly how you expect them to. They’re bartenders, servers, whatever; they have their experience. They do what they’re gonna do behind the bar. They hold jiggers differently. They sometimes build cocktails a little bit differently. It just happens. So, I just don’t think that you actually have onboarding, and I definitely think, “Do you have manuals? Really?”If you are going to sit there and stare somebody down while they do their job that kind of brought that red flag where I don’t think there’s onboarding.

Bradley: I absolutely agree that there’s none. And I also have to wonder about people in that sort of environment. Because we’re kind of leaning towards we think that this is a pretty, maybe, aggressive micromanaging environment, which I think it is. At least, the person who wrote this thinks it is. But in those environments, too, the staff tends to band together a little bit, for better or for worse. And so I also wonder if he’s reached out to other bartenders. It’s like, “Hey, can you help me get this cocktail? I can’t figure it out.” Or, “How did you get faster at this?” Because, especially if it’s a tip pool, and whether tip pools exist in the restaurants at large or not, a lot of them in New York City do, but most bars are pooled in general just because it’s easier. And so, it incentivizes every other bartender to want you to be just as fast as they are. And so, is either this person too nervous to ask another bartender for help, or does the bar in general have a culture of just, kind of, like, sink or swim? Which, my very first server shift in my entire life was a sink-or-swin shift, and I had never served ever before. And I’ll tell you that that was a terrifying and terrible experience. Apparently I did okay, but it felt shitty the whole time.

So, culture starts the very first day. Culture starts, actually, during the interview process. And so, this employee doesn’t feel like they were set up for success. If they were set up for success, then they’re not the right fit for the company culture, where they just aren’t the right fit for what this bar is trying to do. But it also sounds like the owners, and/or management, and/or leadership could use a little bit of a, “Hey, you have to trust the team. You have to trust the process.”

“If you can’t trust the team, it’s the process that’s wrong.”

If you can’t trust the team, it’s the process that’s wrong. The training process is wrong. Your coaching and standards process is wrong. Your communication of systems is wrong, or you don’t have any. Also, again, there should never be a cocktail—and you, some people, will disagree with me, but then you can charge $50 for them—there shouldn’t be a cocktail that has that many steps to create. Especially if high-volume has anything to do with the bar concept.

David: Yep. There’s a bartender, bar owner out here in Vegas. They don’t like all the steps for a Sour, and they have developed a technique to remove one to two steps, make it that much faster. Their whole team knows it; anyone who’s working behind the bar there knows this technique. So, yeah, adding steps is… I have zero problem with keg cocktails. I think people for some reason think they’re hilarious. I mean, look at all the pour walls. People are like, “I’m gonna come to this bar and restaurant, and put money on a card to serve myself drinks.” Like, people like this kind of stuff. So, you can take steps out. Like you said, if you can can make housemade ingredients that much faster, then those are the right steps to take. And I’m sure the bar team would be like, “Yeah, we can do this if you’ll let us do it.”

Bradley: We had a rule that a drink on our menu should never have more than three touches. Right? You have the base spirit, you have one juice, and, you know, it was always, like, the combining of other ingredients, and then either one more or a bitters or something. Maybe you had four touches at the most. But you’re not sitting there trying to like reinvent the wheel every single time. If you always have a one-to-two ratio of a ginger syrup to some other juice, then just put it in a cheater, just put it in a bar bottle, and just have that two-to-one ratio because also you know it’s already measured, right? And so, prep, absolutely, just in the kitchen and in the bar, is the best recipe for success.

Going way off tangent for this topic, but it sounds like very little process exists here, right? There’s no onboarding process, there’s no training process. It seems like there might not be a good feedback process or coaching process. There’s definitely no bar process that I think is really setting the team up for success. Or this person is just so under-qualified and over-exaggerated that they came in and just, essentially, they’re like, “Oh, you’ve got this. You can do this in your sleep,” right? And then left. So, there’s something weird happening here. But I definitely think that it’s a mismatch between employer and employee.

“It’s all solvable.”

David: Yeah. And we’re not trying to roast the owner because we don’t know how much of this is true. Again, like I said in the beginning, we are taking these at face value, just as learning opportunities, really. So, it’s not like we’re like, “Oh yeah, this operator is terrible.” There does seem to be…there’s an issue. And again, the issue could literally just be this person is convinced they faked their way into this job ,and now it’s coming home to roost. And they have zero confidence because they’re trying to mask that: “Man, I probably don’t belong here.”

Which, again, I think is silly if you can learn this. And again, like, to your point, is the bar team cool enough to be like, “Hey, this impacts all of us. It impacts the servers. If this bar is slow and our drinks are slow, like, we all need to be…we can help you improve this.” Like, “Let’s do this.” And they obviously saw something in this person to hire them. I’m hoping it wasn’t just “here’s a body” if it’s a more upscale, higher-end spot.

So, that should tell them, hey, you got the job—nice. Gotta keep it. And you’ve done high-volume, most likely. If you worked in a college bar or a neighborhood bar, you’ve probably done volume. So, now it’s steps. It does suck: There are at least six ingredients in some of these signatures. Hopefully, there’s also, you know, people drinking G&Ts and Jack & Coke, and not a big deal. But this isn’t something that can’t be solved. And it’s either on the process side and leadership side, or it’s—

Bradley: Or it’s imposter syndrome.

David: Yeah, exactly. So, it’s just, what is the actual issue? It’s all solvable, is the great part of that one.

Note: Transcript provided by Eddy by Headliner, edited by author for clarity.

Image: Canva

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Bar Hacks: ReFire podcast "black paper" background cover
by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode 1, Part 1

Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode 1, Part 1

by David Klemt

Bar Hacks: ReFire podcast "black paper" background cover

In the latest episode of the Bar Hacks podcast, I introduce an innovative format called Bar Hacks: Refire, tackling real-world hospitality scenarios.

Joined by Bradley Knebel, client services director at Empowered Hospitality, the first episode offers a fresh perspective on managing bar and restaurant challenges.

The discussion kicks off with a focus on staff management, addressing the question of rehiring former employees. What may seem like a simple question proves to be anything but when Bradley and I break down the interplay of labor shortages, cultural fit within a team, and other key elements.

Our goal, as it will be with every episode of ReFire, is for listeners to gain valuable insights into the decision-making process behind giving second chances, and the impact of such decisions on team dynamics.

Whether you’re a bar owner, manager, or aspiring hospitality professional, this episode offers a wealth of knowledge and strategies to navigate the challenges of running a successful bar or restaurant.

Below, a transcript of the first part of the first episode of Bar Hacks: ReFire. Bradley and I jump into each scenario cold (for the most part), so the tone is conversational rather than formal. Cheers!

Transcript: Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode One

David: Hey, welcome back to the Bar Hacks podcast… We’re gonna try something a little different today with the format, and I’m kind of playing around with it. I think I’m gonna call it Bar Hacks: ReFire because we’re giving people a second bite of the apple for a situation that maybe we read about that we don’t agree with, or that we can study and kind of revisit as a way to give some advice.

But my guest today is Bradley Knebel. He is the client services director at Empowered Hospitality. He worked for, I wanna say a decade, for Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group until a couple years ago. He was the GM of Tatiana, and he helped bring that restaurant to, I believe, a three-star review in The New York Times. It has also been recognized as the number one restaurant in New York City during its tenure. And we met at this year’s Flyover Conference, me and Bradley, and we were hanging out with the founders of that show, Sarah Engstrand and Greg Newman. (And just a little drive-by on Dave Kaplan, as well, was hanging out with us, of Death & Co.)

We just had some really great conversations, and some good drinks, and really good pizzas at that one spot. They were, I think, wood-fired out of a food truck. Really good. So, I was doing my second ever public speaking engagement, which was still nerve wracking for me. I know I do a podcast, but this is completely different than talking to a room full of industry experts and industry newbies who are hoping I can tell them something good. And I think, Bradley, it was your first public speaking since Empowered Hospitality and doing your thing over there, and you and Kaplan were nice enough to sit in on my session and actually ask me questions that were helpful for everyone else, and yourselves.

So, I had this idea bopping around in my head about a different podcast format, because I was like, “Well, I do interviews, but I don’t always get the chance to address, you know, operator topics and server topics, and bartender and chef topics, because I want the audience to learn from the expert that I’ve got on.” That’s my very long-winded way of saying, welcome, Bradley, and let’s try this new podcast format.

Bradley: Hi, Dave, thanks for having me. I’m super excited about this. I think it’s going to be a really fun format, and I like the Bar Hacks: ReFire because we’ve all had to refire something that didn’t come out right. Or you accidentally overcooked something because something else comes up in the moment, and you just totally forget that you have something cooking. So, I love the name. And also, for your second public speaking, I thought you did incredibly well. I certainly enjoyed your conversation, and it was also so relevant to what you do, and kind of what you and I have talked about in the past of like, how do you build successful restaurants from the ground up and where do you start? And we’ve even joked about how many people we’ve met who just say, “I have money, I want to open a restaurant. Let’s do this,” and don’t realize how hard it is. So, really excited to dive in on some of these questions we have today, and thank you so much for having me on the show today.

David: Absolutely. And hopefully we do many more of these.

The ReFire Format

David: So, for the audience, what happened is, I sifted through… I’m basically going through online—there’s subreddits that, basically, everybody knows there’s a subreddit for everything. Good or bad, there’s a subreddit for it. Servers have a subreddit. Bartenders, chefs, bar owners, restaurant owners, hotel owners… I mean, they all have subreddits. And then there’s just, you know, forums all over the internet. You can find pretty much any topic. And so, I’m kind of sifting through these for real-world situations. And the caveat there is we’re gonna take these at face value, for the most part. Unless someone is like, “I’m just kidding,” like, “I got you all like in the comments…”

But we’re going to accept that these are really happening, because anyone in the industry knows if you’ve been in there, you know, for a few years, everything happens in this industry. So, a lot of this stuff is believable, even as outlandish as it might sound. The only thing I’m going to do, really, and Bradley’s going to do when we bring these topics up, is we’re not going to read them verbatim. We’re going to summarize. And the reason for this is I don’t want people to get doxxed. I don’t want them to, you know, get review bombed because someone decided, “I’m going to side with the server on this and let’s review bomb this operator.” You know, things like that.

So, we’re trying to be general but still get to the crux of the situation, and I’m sure they’ll get more specific as we go. I chose three to start with; hopefully, we get to all three. If we have a great conversation on, like, the first one or two, we’ll save the third one, or you know, however it works, for the next one. But that’s how this is gonna work. I’m sure it’ll evolve, ‘cause I’m not, like, a strict, like, “Oh, this is how it’s going to be” ‘cause it’s quote-unquote “my podcast,” because I’m not like that. We’re going to have fun with this.

Situation 1: Second Chances? Hire Hard, and Manage Harder

David: Situation one is interesting. So, this is written ostensibly by a bar and restaurant owner, and we can all relate to this, you know, the past couple years. This one said the past year or so he’s had trouble—actually, I don’t know if it’s a he or she, I shouldn’t even say that—they have had trouble finding and keeping staff, and when they do keep them, keeping them happy.

So, the kitchen has two or three cooks. It’s a relatively small team. When it’s busy in the restaurant there are, from what I can interpret, there are two cooks on. And when it’s slow, one cook is doing everything. Pretty standard for a small operation, I would say. (These days, you’re trying to control labor costs. My business partner Doug will say, “We don’t cut costs, we control them.” You start cutting things and it can get ugly, and it’s a whole other can of worms. I’m sure Bradley would agree with that.)

They had a new hire, seemed perfect. From what I understand, they were a good fit because everybody relies on one another. Like, “Hey, I need to take this day off. Can you take this?” It’s very…it seems informal. They can just talk to each other and get things done. But because It’s a small team, they need someone reliable, which is what they thought they had. This is a part-time worker; they had another job.

Within that first month, just a slew of, just, unfortunate events struck this new hire, and they could not, they couldn’t sustain it. And so, they gave no notice—they just quit. The operator didn’t freak out in the, in the post, was just like, “That’s really disappointing that they didn’t even, you know, text me like, ‘Oh, I can’t do this for another two weeks.’” But it does seem like real life got in the way, and this person wouldn’t probably have been able to reliably give, you know, two weeks or a week.

However, a couple weeks after that happened, the person came to get, I assume, their first paycheck. Their last, but I’m assuming their only, paycheck. And I don’t think the operator was there. They talked to the lead chef, and they apologized, and they expressed that they had stabilized everything, and just a bad time all at once, basically. And they would really love to come back. And, in fact, they would like to come back full time. So, I don’t know if that means that, the job they lost, they couldn’t get that back, or they were just like, “You know what? I actually like this place. I would like to be here full time.”

And so, the whole point of the post was, do you give second chances? Or would you give second chances to someone who just quit and then shows up for their paycheck? So, because of what Empowered does, specializing in HR and things like that for this industry, I figure we’ll go with you first on this topic and see what your initial thoughts are.

Tornado People

Bradley: Yeah, I think some things that are really interesting about this question, and thanks for passing it over, is it was a really short tenure before the person left. Right? So, this cook in question was there for, I think it sounded like a month. And then because of life… And I think it’s important in this instance to state that the incidents that led to this employee leaving were outside of the workplace, and I think that’s an important distinction here. So, there were things that happened in this employee’s personal life. It was losing a job and some other pretty unfortunate situations that led to them basically leaving with no notice, which is never a great sign. That feels really terrible. As an operator, you’re now scrambling. You thought you had your plans in place. And for such a small team, as you mentioned earlier, if it’s a team of three or four people, losing one is a massive part of that labor force.

So, I think the flag here is: Do you think it’s repeatable? Do you think that that one blip and moment was a really unfortunate circumstance? We’ve all met—I like to call them tornado people, where for good or for bad, things just spiral around them. Things are just never going well. There’s always: breaking this lease; I had to leave; I had to move out of this apartment; I just lost this job; you know, my partner just said this. And so, if it’s somebody who is just a tornado person, it’s going to kind of keep revolving back. So, I would be really worried with this employee and with this hire. Is this a pattern? Just a pattern you saw a single piece of that becomes unreliable?

And also, can you trust this person again? Especially because the kitchen is run on a singular body during, I’m assuming, lunches, Sunday, Monday, Tuesdays… You know, if this person is working a Monday dinner, how confident are you now that they’re going to show up? Labor is hard right now. You’re seeing a massive labor shortage, especially in the culinary world. There’s a huge disparity in the back of house right now, and it’s real. But you also need to make sure you’re hiring the right thing. And you mentioned earlier, I worked for Union Square Hospitality Group for Danny for a long time, and one of our big tenets, when it came to talent and came to people, was “hire hard, and manage harder.” It’s finding the right fit, and sometimes it can be really challenging. That does mean having to jump in. And as anybody who’s worked in this industry long enough knows, that sometimes mean you’re washing dishes by yourself at 1 am because your dishwasher stormed out, or your dishwasher is now covering a prep station, or, you know, one of the other crazy things that just happens in this industry.

So, my big thing to question here is, do you think this is a pattern? Is this something that’s going to happen again? Do you think you can trust this employee again? And then my biggest question also was, what was it about this employee that made them, quote-unquote, a perfect fit? Was it because they just didn’t complain and did their job well, or were they adding to the culture? So, if they were adding to the culture, if they were adding to the standards, if they were really building themselves in the space, then I, I think a second chance could be warranted, knowing all the life circumstances that went into it. But if this person was a good fit just because they came in usually on time, usually did what they were supposed to do, and left the station usually clean, I just… The risk of having another month spiral out to me is a really big concern, especially for a team that small, and for a team who has to operate on their own pretty consistently.

Two Minds

David: And then the other question is, so you, let’s say now we’re, we’ll bring you back. And then the question becomes, what kind of limitations do you put on this? Because I’m of two minds.

Okay, well, the apology does go a long way, I appreciate that. Maybe the owner wasn’t on property when the person came. And then the question in the back of my head would be, did you plan that so you don’t have to deal with the owner, and you apologize to the cook because maybe you respect other chefs, but you don’t really respect the owner, or you just didn’t wanna deal with the owner, or they just happen to not be there and you want to apologize to everybody who you affected. That’s possible.

But then you start doing the, you know, okay, well, we need to do, like, a 60-day probationary period, or a 90-day. And while I do agree with those, sometimes, I do think they do affect the culture, and they affect your employees. Like, “Right, I have this constant, like, just spotlight on me. I’m afraid to make any mistake.” Or what if legitimately something just happens? Like, okay, so their car broke down, and then they went to get the bus, and that’s running late, or it’s just stuck in traffic. They try to get there and they’re still late. Are you going to listen to them and not ding them? Or is it, “Okay, well, I don’t want to hear it again. You’re out of here.”

So, I do think probationary periods make sense, but not when you are laser-focused on them. You made a huge mistake and now we’re going to put these limitations on you. That’s not healthy, I don’t think, for either side. So, I maybe would do it like, hey, you can come back, but we’re going to go part-time first, and then I really don’t want…I’m not going to give you a lone shift; you’ll always be with another one of their cooks, and hopefully they show up for every shift.

But then it’s, you know, do the cooks get input? Does the owner get to go, “Okay, look, this is going to affect you directly. This is your team, essentially. Do you want this person back?” Because I do think that these are conversations you need to have with the team affected. And it does affect the entire team, but the direct team first. And then if you wanna ask the front-of-house manager, “What do you think of the situation? Like, do you trust the kitchen if this person’s here?”

So, I don’t think there’s, a silver bullet. I think it really is going to come down to a culture. And like you said, was this person a good fit because of culture, or were they a good-

Bradley: Fit because they were a body?

David: That’s…yeah, that’s the answer. If it’s because “I need this person here,” then if there’s only a month, I think you can survive another month looking for somebody, and hopefully they work out better. And I hate saying “hopefully,” ‘cause that’s so not strategic. Like, “Oh, I hope they work out.” But that really is part of it. Like you said, you hire hard.

But still, I mean, one of our industry peers thought they hired the right general manager for a restaurant once, and turned out they were doing drugs in the office, and stealing money. And I’m not vilifying the drug part, to be honest; that’s an issue that we need to address with a lot more compassion. But they were stealing money, and committing crimes on the property, and that was the issue. And none of that had even occurred to them because the interviews were so good, and the in-person interactions were so good when they were on site. So, it didn’t even occur to them until they didn’t show up and they’d been arrested, and the cops like, “Hey, does this person work for you? ‘Cause check all this.”

There’s always the X factor, and we have to put a lot of trust in people when we hire them. But that is also why I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the standard interview questions. Like, let’s just rubber stamp this. We ask these questions, we pencil-whip the answers, they got them, alright? Most people know how to answer an interview question to get, you know, a thumbs up from somebody.

So, I think a lot of the approach of, “Let’s hang out for a shift.” (And we have to pay them for the shift.) But like, are, they a good fit? Do I want to spend 13 hours with this person a day, or am I like, “Oh, get out of here”? Like, I can’t stand you already. Or—because we can train skills, we all know that—like you said, is it a body? And if it’s a body, I think you move on. Like, I appreciate the apology, but I don’t think it’s worth the headache if that’s the case.

“Probationary Periods are Fake”

Bradley: I agree. We, at Empowered Hospitality, advise clients that probationary periods are fake. And I think there are a few things that probationary periods always worry me because, especially depending on your jurisdiction, depending on where you are in the country, they may or may not be legal, they may or may not be enforceable. Empowered Hospitality operates mostly in New York City, but we have clients all over the country. But we advise all of our New York clients that probationary periods are fake. You know, you might say that you have a 30-day probationary period that you try to terminate somebody, but if you terminate without documentation, they can still go to unemployment court. And if you’re in a very pro-labor state like New York, in a pro-labor city like New York City—which isn’t a bad thing, I think this is a great thing; like labor needs protection—but you’re going to lose that case. Even if they’re on a 30-day probationary period, even if you put it in a handbook, even if you had them sign something… Probationary periods, I think, don’t work, in my personal, professional opinion. I think it just, it’s stage shifts, it’s having trails that should be paid, and in some places need to be paid, but, like, seeing them in action.

And, I also… One of the big flags here, too, is the first three months that somebody is in a job, not only is it when they’re learning the job, they’re learning the culture, they’re learning how to be successful, but it’s also when they’re on their best behavior. So, in this first 90-day cycle when this person is supposed to be on their best behavior, and it’s usually when you get the least amount of complaints and the most amount of, I don’t want to say production, but kind of, like, positive enforcement into the company, they’ve already come in, spiraled out, left with no notice, come back and apologize, and then tried to change the initial condition of their employment, which was part-time, into full-time. So, they’re basically coming back during the window that you’re really evaluating them as a long-term employee. They have basically said, “No, I want to change what I’m doing.”

And then I also have this, like, needle in the back that’s saying are they coming back full-time because they lost their other job that they can’t get back, and they just need something, and you’re the easy target? And all of this to say, if you get along with this person really, really well, you believe that it was an unfortunate event, they’ve shown track record either through resumes or through word of mouth that, like, it was just a blip, and you’re willing to take that risk? Absolutely. There’s so much risk in our industry. Every hire is a risk. Every time you buy a new product from a new vendor, it’s a risk. There’s so much risk in this industry outside of just financial. And so, if you’re willing to take that risk, then that’s a risk you’re willing to take. But it is a risk.

You know, it’s because also, what’s one thing we say all the time? It’s not the shining employee, and it’s not the employee that’s the worst, it’s the employee that just coasts. That’s the biggest detriment to your business. The biggest detriment to your business is the person who just does enough, but doesn’t do enough to actually, like, get anywhere, either probationary or excelling. And so, if you hire this person in and then they end up being one of these tornado people, but they don’t do anything like quit again on the spot, it’s gonna be really challenging to exit this person successfully without risks of the business. And right now, you’re at a moment that there is no risk to not hire them.

The Verdict

David: I probably wouldn’t hire back. And, not to sound like I’m not compassionate, because my gut reaction, personally, with no business involved, is, yeah, they apologized. It was a month. Like, they had a string of things that did not directly involve the company go wrong. Like, let’s try it again.

But on the business side, the operator side, I’m like, what probably wasn’t even a full month of work, you already survived without this person after this all happens. So, I would just keep looking. And as far as probationary periods, you’ll never see it listed in one of our manuals. We do onboarding manuals. We do training manuals. We do checklists. We do a ton of documents for our clients when they ask us to. We have never talked about a probationary period. It’s just like, nope: this is what we expect from you, we’re gonna document it if you don’t do it, and corrective action. It’s gonna start with, “Hey, just don’t do that again,” and then it escalates. So, we don’t do probationary: it’s just, “Please don’t break the standards. If you do, we can talk about it, ‘cause maybe the standard should change.” I mean that does happen, but it’s mostly just don’t do that. And then we’re gonna keep having to escalate this if you keep doing this.

Bradley: And you mentioned something that I think is really important: the day the employee starts, they’re your employee. And by all intents and purposes they’re the same. They need to be treated the same as somebody who’s been there for five years, right?

So, yes, they’re taking more coaching, and there’s more training. They’re taking more time as you’re adapting them to your culture. But that doesn’t mean that there’s any different standard that you can hold them to because they’re new in terms of, like, paperwork, termination process if you have a disciplinary process laid out within your handbook or laid out within any sort of documents or policies, especially if they sign off on them. So, making sure that every hire is a commitment, and you should be willing to put the time and investment into them, but you also have to hold all of them accountable in the same way.

Because I also worry—and kind of diatribing on this a little bit—I worry what message is to sending to the rest of your team, right? If he would have, I’m assuming this person’s a he, but if this person would have quit and said, “I can’t give you notice because of all of these things. I can try and pick up a shift here, but right now this isn’t working,” that’s one thing. But that’s not what happened in this case, you know? This person had a bunch of unfortunate situations happen to them outside of work. But then instead of trying to work with their employer to say, “Hey, I’m working through these things, can I take two weeks to figure this out? I know I just started.” But it was, “I’m gone.” And then a month later like, “Hey, I’m back. Can I get a job?” And so, if it was one of my clients, I would be hard pressed to advise “Yes.”

David: And it was a “he.” When they wrote it, it was a “he.”

“You have to protect your entire team”

Bradley: If it was a tough labor market, I could see there were definitely extenuating circumstances that could sway one way or the other. But just at face value, this feels like a really challenging rehire. Not because they don’t care about the person. I don’t think anybody gets into this industry because they don’t care about people. And I’m super empathetic, but I’ve been in restaurants for 20 years. It’s very transient. We’ve seen people come and go.

And just the risk that I would have taken 20 years ago… And on people, I take less now. I think maybe I’ve been burned too many times, or seeing too many patterns come through, but… At the end of the day, you feel bad for this one person, but you have to protect your entire team. And so when you’re the employer, sometimes the good of the whole team makes you make some tough choices, or makes you make choices that maybe you personally don’t agree with or personally make you feel, “Hey, I feel like I might be a bad person, but I can’t do this because I have 16 other people that work for me that show up every day that have been there consistently, and they need to have a team that shows up as well.”

I’m going to go back to the biggest flag here for me is that it was only one month of, like, good behavior. If this had been somebody who had been there for, like, three months, six months, a year and then had to quit, no notice, all these things happened in their personal life, and then came back and was like, “Look, I am so sorry life spiraled.” You also have a little bit more judgment on that person’s character. One month in, you don’t know who that person is.

David: Excellent point. Yeah. There’s no way that they—well, not no way—but it’s very low odds they knew exactly who this person is after, I think they said they worked like two or three shifts a week, part-time. So, you just don’t know.

So, yeah, I think both of us are agreeing that you just move on from this, not because you’re cold-hearted, but because it is the best decision for the company, and the team. Like I said, if you really have that culture where you have a meeting, like, “Hey, this is what happened, you all have a vote.” I mean, I’ve seen that happen; it does happen. If that’s the kind of culture, maybe it’s a different answer. But I don’t think the market is so bad that you can’t do without, you know, finding another, waiting another month, two months to hire another person who will fit the same role part-time with the possibility of going full-time. I don’t think it’s that dire.

Pass them On?

Bradley: If you, if a few heartstrings pulled out for this man and you, I still don’t know if I bring him in for the culture. But nobody in restaurants also doesn’t know anybody. It’s, “Hey, I don’t think it’s a good look to bring you back here. It doesn’t set a good precedent for the team. You know, I also am not sure this is, like, going to be a great long-term fit. But if you’d like, I’m happy to talk to somebody else, and see other places in the industry that you might be able to go.”

But that’d be a risk because then you’re putting your reputation on this person’s shoulders.

David: True.

Bradley: But if you trust that they’re good… I still don’t know that bringing them back on sets the right precedent for the company. You could help them in other ways instead of just bringing them back into your space, into your business.

David: That’s a good point. Yeah. You could definitely pass them on. But like you said, now you get the phone call from the person you passed them on, like, “What did you do?!”

Bradley: After a month, they’re like, “They just quit.” Exactly, yeah. I’d say history always repeats itself. And that is long-term and short-term. So, that would be my biggest concern here, outside a few others.

Listen to Bar Hacks: Refire, episode one on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Note: Transcript provided by Eddy by Headliner, edited by author for clarity.

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The 7 Core Principles of Hospitality (And How They Shape Guest Experience)

Let’s start with a simple but important question: When you hear the term “hospitality industry,” what first comes to mind?

For many, the first thing that comes to mind is….hotels. And while hotels are a significant part of hospitality, they’re definitely not the complete picture. In fact, the true essence of hospitality often transcends what we experience in a standard hotel environment.

Bars, restaurants, resorts, and entertainment venues are all spaces where the principles of hospitality should be experienced equally. Hospitality is about how we treat people—our guests, visitors, our vendors, and even our team members—with generosity, warmth, and genuine care.

Yet, in recent years, a shift has occurred. Many people I speak with in the industry feel that we’ve lost touch with the foundational principles of hospitality in a variety of settings. Whether it’s the focus on tech integration, rush to hire due to labor shortages, lack of proper onboarding and training, or clarity in what we do—and why we do it—something has gotten lost along the way.

As we move forward, it’s time for the industry to refocus on what hospitality truly means, and realign with the core principles that make this industry remarkable.

No matter the style of concept you operate or plan to operate, the seven principles of hospitality are the foundation of exceptional service and memorable experiences. These principles aren’t just for fine dining or five-star resorts, and they aren’t just fancy buzzwords. They’re actionable insights that can elevate any hospitality business.

The seven principles below give operators a practical framework to rebuild hospitality from the inside out.

By Doug Radkey

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The 7 Principles

1. Self-Awareness

Hospitality starts with you. The first step to great hospitality is understanding how our own behavior impacts those around us—our guests and our teams.

Practicing self-awareness isn’t always easy, particularly in high-pressure situations. So, ask yourself: How aware are you of the emotions you’re instilling in others during conversations, especially under stress?

Self-awareness is more than a personality trait; it’s a skill that helps create a warm, caring environment for guests. It’s about managing how we come across to others actively, and ensuring our actions align with the culture we want to build in our business.

To create a genuine sense of hospitality, we must start with a clear sense of self.

2. Guest Awareness

Read your guest’s energy, not just their appearance. The ability to read guests and anticipate their needs is crucial, but it goes beyond surface-level assumptions.

Hospitality isn’t about stereotyping based on appearance, accents, or perceived financial status. Instead, it’s about sensing the energy and mood they bring into your space.

When we understand the energy guests bring, we can adapt our approach, tailor our communication, and build genuine connections. This is hospitality in its most fundamental form: creating a personalized experience by being attentive and observant.

3. Connection

Hospitality is about meaningful connections. When you’re both self-aware and guest-aware, you can begin to tailor your interactions to each specific guest (and your staff, too).

Authentic, unique, and genuine hospitality is what leaves a lasting impression. Building a connection with guests isn’t just about providing a service. The key is to cultivate an experience that feels personal.

In his work, author Daniel Pink talks about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, noting that connection is one of our core intrinsic motivators. We’re drawn to hospitality because of our natural desire to connect with others. It’s this connection that creates the most memorable guest experiences and fosters loyalty.

A business grounded in genuine connections will always stand out.

4. Authenticity

Be yourself. Guests can tell when you’re not—so stop the act.

Authenticity is essential in hospitality. Yet, so many teams I work with feel they need to become someone else on the floor, changing their voice or putting on a façade. Often, this stems from misguided career advice imparted early on that tells us we aren’t interesting enough as we are.

But here’s the truth: The most engaging and captivating version of yourself is the real one.

People connect with genuine personalities, not manufactured ones. Drop the façade, and bring your authentic self to every interaction. Guests sense authenticity, and it’s what will draw them back again and again.

So, next time you interact with a guest, do a reel for social media, or interview a potential team member, bring your authentic self. That’s the version of you with which people connect.

5. Anticipation & Attention to Detail

Tell guests what you’re going to do, do it, then tell them you’ve done it.

One of the secrets to providing an excellent guest experience is being prompt, responsive, and thorough in communication. A big part of managing guest expectations is being clear about what to expect. Tell guests what you’re going to do, keep them informed while you’re doing it, and follow up afterward.

Increasingly, guests want their visits to feel personalized. Whether you add small, thoughtful touches to a meal, or offering a personalized greeting in a hotel, attention to detail shows guests that they’re valued.

Anticipation of guest needs is what sets hospitality apart from other service-based industries.

6. Alignment

Help your team see how their role fits into the bigger picture. Alignment means connecting each team member’s work with their broader life goals and values. Many people in our industry might not see hospitality as their forever career, but that doesn’t mean their time with us can’t be meaningful.

Find out what matters to each team member, whether it’s professional growth, financial stability, or simply enjoying their work. Then, align their role with these values.

A team that feels connected to their work is more motivated, more focused, and more likely to deliver a higher level of service.

Alignment isn’t just about job roles, it’s about helping people find purpose and satisfaction in what they do. It’s crucial that we build team experiences just like we create guest experiences.

7. Presence

Be engaged in the moment fully with your guests. Presence means engaging completely with what you’re doing.

When you’re talking to a guest, be invested in that moment completely. Avoid distractions, scripted conversations, or rehearsed interactions. Genuine presence is about being open, honest, and interested in their experience.

For leaders, fostering a culture of presence is crucial. Every interaction you have with your team either reinforces or diminishes this value. Be mindful of how your behavior impacts others, and encourage your team to approach each guest with this mindset.

Celebrate moments of genuine connection, and provide feedback when things don’t go as planned. Presence isn’t just a skill; presence is a cultural value that transforms service.

Real-Life Example: The Solmar Resort

To illustrate these principles, I’d like to share a personal experience from the Solmar Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

After a hurricane passed near the Baja Peninsula, David and I arrived for a business retreat, only to find the resort quieter than usual. Despite the calm, the staff maintained a vibrant and uplifting culture. They were fully engaged—no one was on their phones, no one was leaning or looking board, no one was gossiping, and the team members greeted each other with genuine joy and fist pumps.

Even with more staff than guests on the property, their sense of purpose and commitment to hospitality was evident. From dancing and singing while performing side duties, to the warm, friendly interactions with us as guests, the experience was unforgettable. The Solmar team embodied the “one-house” approach: everyone worked together seamlessly to deliver an exceptional experience.

During our visit, we experienced true hospitality in action, where every interaction was meaningful an, most importantly, intentional.

Reclaiming the Foundation of Hospitality

The seven principles of hospitality—self-awareness, guest awareness, connection, authenticity, anticipation, alignment, and presence—are not just theoretical ideas. These are actionable values that can transform guest experiences, and set your brand apart in a crowded market.

At its heart, hospitality is about people. It’s about creating an environment where our team and our guests feel welcomed, seen, and valued. If we want to elevate our industry, we need to return to these foundational principles, and train our teams to embody them in every interaction.

So, let’s commit to reclaiming the true essence of hospitality. Whether you’re running a bar, restaurant, or hotel, these principles provide a roadmap to building a culture of excellence that guests won’t soon forget. By focusing on experience and connection, we can redefine hospitality for a modern audience, and make it as impactful as it’s ever been.

Remember, hospitality isn’t just about serving food and beverage, or providing a bed. Hospitality is about creating memories that guests carry with them long after they’ve experienced your brand.

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Understanding TAM, SAM, and SOM to Start, Stabilize or Scale Your Business

After working through this with a client the other day, we thought it would be a good opportunity to explain the acronyms of TAM, SAM, and SOM.

These concepts can help your business start, stabilize, or scale.

Let’s be real: in the hospitality industry, understanding your market and its potential is paramount for sustainable growth and profitability. This is where the concepts of TAM (Total Addressable Market), SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market), and SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) come into play.

For bars, restaurants, and hotels, these metrics aren’t just marketing or financial jargon. Each provides critical insights that inform feasibility studies, shape marketing strategies, and guide business decisions.

Below, we’ll break down each of these concepts, illustrate how to calculate them, and explain their role in building effective strategies for your hospitality business.

by Doug Radkey

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The Definitions

TAM (Total Addressable Market)

TAM represents the overall revenue opportunity available if your business held 100 percent of the market share. It is the entire potential market size without any constraints like geography, budget, sociographics, or operational limits.

Example: For a new bar, the TAM would represent the total annual spend of all consumers in your market who drink out, regardless of their preferences, location within a region, or budget.

SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market)

SAM is the portion of TAM that your business can reach realistically, given practical limitations like geographic location, regulatory constraints, more targeted sociographics, and operational scope. Going further, SAM also considers factors that make a portion of the TAM unfeasible for your business to serve.

Example: Using the same bar concept, SAM would represent all the people within a certain radius who are willing to visit a bar with a similar concept, who can afford your menu, and who are within your reach given your physical location.

SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market)

SOM is the segment of the SAM that your business can capture. This metric accounts for your competitors, market share estimates, and your unique ability to attract your ideal guests within your SAM.

Example: For the bar, SOM would be the percentage of patrons within your SAM that you expect, realistically, to convert into regular guests, taking into account competition, unique value proposition, and brand positioning.

Why These Metrics Matter

Each of these metrics provides a progressively more realistic picture of your business’ revenue potential.

Your business plan cannot be “targeting males and females between 25 to 45 years old.” You have to go much deeper than that to be successful.

TAM shows you the broadest possible opportunity, but SAM narrows it down based on serviceable factors. SOM gives you a realistic goal to aim for based on your most targeted factors.

Their Role in Feasibility Studies and Marketing Plans

In hospitality, feasibility studies are essential for understanding whether a business idea is viable.

When you’re assessing the potential of a new bar, restaurant, or hotel, the TAM, SAM, and SOM calculations give you quantitative data that can help you avoid common mistakes such as overestimating your market potential, or failing to identify target demographics accurately.

Feasibility Studies

  • TAM Analysis: Helps validate whether there’s a broad demand for your concept.
  • SAM Analysis: Identifies a focused portion of the market that fits within your operational range.
  • SOM Analysis: Helps set realistic revenue goals by factoring in competition and market positioning.

When preparing a feasibility study, using TAM, SAM, and SOM ensures that your projections are grounded in reality, giving potential investors or stakeholders confidence in your plan.

Marketing Plans

Once you’ve established a feasible market, TAM, SAM, and SOM inform your marketing strategies.

  • TAM helps you understand the entire universe of potential guests, useful for broader brand awareness campaigns.
  • SAM directs you to specific geographic or demographic segments for targeted campaigns.
  • SOM guides the creation of highly focused, competitive strategies to capture and retain market share in a specific segment.

By utilizing TAM, SAM, and SOM, your marketing plan becomes tailored, efficient, and likely to generate a higher return on investment.

How to Calculate TAM, SAM, and SOM for Your Hospitality Business

Step 1: Define Your Target Market

Before calculating TAM, SAM, and SOM, it’s essential to understand and define your target market. This includes analyzing demographics (age, income, education) and psychographics or sociographics (lifestyle, preferences, values).

For a local bar, restaurant, or hotel, understanding these details about your audience is crucial because your business’ reach will likely be local or regional.

If, for example, you’re opening an elevated cocktail bar, you might define your target market as:

  • Travelers aged 30 to 50 with disposable income between $70,000 and $90,000 per year.
  • Downtown business professionals who are interested in after-office food and beverages.
  • Individuals and tourists seeking upscale F&B and unique guest experiences.

Did you know? In Canada and the US specifically, there are over 65 sociographic or “tapestry” profiles that make up the fabric of our neighborhoods.

Step 2: Calculate TAM

To calculate TAM, consider the total market demand for your type of service.

  • Formula: TAM = (Total number of potential customers) × (Average annual spend per customer)
  • Example for a Bar: If the estimated number of people in your city who visit bars is 200,000, and the average spend per person is $500 annually ($41.67 per month), the TAM would be 200,000 × $500 = $100 million.

Step 3: Calculate SAM

To calculate SAM, refine TAM by narrowing down to the guests you could reach realistically based on your location, budget, and other factors. Use your sociographic/tapestry profiles to help.

  • Formula: SAM = (Total number of reachable guests within your service area) × (Average spend)
  • Example for a Bar: Out of 200,000 potential guests, suppose only 50,000 are within a 10-mile radius who are between 25 and 45 years old, who drink, and who make between $50,000 and $70,000 per year. SAM would be 50,000 × $500 = $25 million.

Step 4: Calculate SOM

Finally, to determine SOM, evaluate how much of the SAM you believe you can capture realistically. This often depends on your competitive positioning, your marketing effectiveness, and operational capacity.

  • Formula: SOM = (Total number of targeted guests you can convert realistically) × (Average spend)
  • Example for a Bar: If you believe you can capture 10 percent of your SAM, SOM would be 5,000 guests × $500 = $2.5 million.
  • Now, compare that to your daily, weekly, and monthly traffic projections and your daily, weekly, and monthly revenue projections. How close are you?

Sample Calculations for a Boutique Hotel Business

To illustrate these calculations, let’s imagine a boutique hotel in a medium-sized city:

  1. TAM Calculation:
    • Target market: All tourists visiting the city annually.
    • Estimated annual visitors: One million.
    • Average annual spend per tourist on accommodations: $1,000.
    • TAM = 1 million × $1,000 = $1 billion.
  2. SAM Calculation:
    • Focused market: Visitors who prefer boutique hotels versus chain flags who are between 22 and 42 years old.
    • Estimated visitors who prefer boutique hotels: 20 percent of TAM (200,000).
    • SAM = 200,000 × $1,000 = $200 million.
  3. SOM Calculation:
    • Realistically, the hotel expects to capture five percent of SAM based on its operations, the number of rooms, its daily rates, and expected occupancy rates.
    • SOM = 10,000 guests × $1,000 = $10 million.

Why Defining Your Target Market is Crucial

All that said, calculating TAM, SAM, and SOM is only effective if you have a clearly defined target market. Hospitality businesses must understand their audience’s demographic and sociographic details, which is why initial market research is so essential.

For instance, if a new restaurant targets health-conscious millennials, knowing their spending patterns, dining preferences, and local competition will make the calculations more accurate.

With detailed sociodemographic insights, you can more precisely estimate TAM, SAM, and SOM, creating a feasibility study that reflects realistic market conditions.

The Benefits of Using TAM, SAM, and SOM in Your Business Planning

By incorporating TAM, SAM, and SOM into your feasibility studies and marketing plans, you can make data-driven decisions that increase your business’ chances of success.

Here’s how each metric adds value for you and your business:

  • Informed Decision-Making: These metrics offer clarity for market potential, helping you avoid costly mistakes.
  • Financial Confidence: TAM, SAM, and SOM provide stakeholders with measurable data, increasing confidence among investors or lenders.
  • Efficient Marketing: Focusing on SOM in marketing efforts allows you to deploy resources effectively, targeting guests you are most likely to convert.
  • Adaptability: These metrics aren’t static; you can adjust TAM, SAM, and SOM as market dynamics change, ensuring your business stays relevant.

Why Now is the Time to Embrace TAM, SAM, and SOM

In a competitive hospitality landscape, using TAM, SAM, and SOM can provide a strategic advantage. By understanding your true market potential, you can design a feasibility study and marketing plan that align with realistic growth goals.

While TAM shows you the big picture, SAM and SOM bring clarity to your specific opportunities, helping you prioritize resources and strategies that will yield the best return.

As you move forward with planning, remember: calculating TAM, SAM, and SOM is not a one-time task. Updating these metrics regularly as your business and the market evolve can provide insights that will keep your brand relevant and profitable.

My final thoughts: Before you dive into launching a new bar, restaurant, or hotel, take the time to do a deep dive into TAM, SAM, and SOM. It’s not just about understanding your market; it’s about maximizing your opportunity to stabilize and then scale within it.

By leveraging TAM, SAM, and SOM, you’ll be equipped to create a hospitality concept that doesn’t just survive but sets a new standard for success.

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