The Restaurant Prosperity Formula

In the fast-paced, often chaotic world of restaurant ownership, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed — constantly putting out fires, answering questions and making every decision yourself. If this resonates with you, there’s a way to reclaim your time, empower your team and find true freedom. It’s to define and share your why . In this episode of my “Restaurant Prosperity Formula” podcast, I discuss this...

My guest for this episode of The Restaurant Prosperity Formula is Avery Ward, CEO of Little Italy Pizza in Ohio and a mentor in my coaching program for restaurant owners. Our discussion highlights Ward's journey from working directly in his restaurant to leading a thriving multi-unit business with a team of 80 employees. He shares key insights into leadership, building a strong management team and...

My guests this week on The Restaurant Prosperity Formula podcast are two restaurant owners who've turned their business around and found their definition of success. Angie and Doug Brown, owners of The Cove Restaurant and Peninsula Golf Course in Long Beach, Washington, came from Big Tech careers. They both worked at Microsoft, spent time raising a family and then looking toward retirement, follow...

In this special “Flipping the Table” episode of my podcast, “The Restaurant Prosperity Formula,” Jonathan and Brianna Cowan, multi-unit restaurant operators, take control, turning the tables on me for an insightful interview. Here's a glimpse of our conversation, full of takeaways on leadership, persistence, and what it takes to thrive in the restaurant industry. I’ve known the Cowans for going on...

Building a strong restaurant team isn’t about luck — it’s about being intentional, setting the right tone and leading by example. Hire the right people, train them well, hold them accountable, and recognize their efforts. When you invest in your team, they’ll invest in you and that’s when your restaurant will truly prosper. In this episode of “The Restaurant Prosperity Formula,” restaurant coach D...

As a restaurant owner, you won’t want to leave your restaurant’s future to chance, but it can be overwhelming to set goals and develop the plans you need to achieve them. One proven way to get clear on your goals is to put them in writing. and share them with your team. This kind of vision, or a vivid vision, can give you the direction you need to drive sales, build a strong culture and ultimately...

Running a restaurant is no easy task. For Daniel Herrero, taking over his family's 48-year-old restaurant business in Panama meant inheriting four restaurants, a bakery, and a commissary — and all the chaos that came with them. It’s a familiar story for many restaurant owners, one of hard work, long hours and personal sacrifice. In this episode of the restaurant podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity...

This episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, launches a segment I call Flip the Table where a restaurant owner takes over the podcast and interviews me. Today’s Flip the Table features a longtime member of mine who is not only a top operator but over the years has coached and consulted with me: David Militello. He owns four different restaurant formats in a tourist town in Michig...

In the restaurant industry, success is defined by more than just the quality of food — it's about having control over your business and achieving financial freedom. One of the most crucial aspects of this journey is mastering food inventory management. In this episode of season two of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I’m sharing five advanced tips that can transform how you manage yo...

When it comes to managing your restaurant’s cost, you absolutely can’t ignore labor. It is the second biggest expense in a restaurant – after an empty seat in the restaurant. Labor cost management is an essential topic for achieving restaurant prosperity and financial freedom. The last few episodes of The Restaurant Prosperity Formula podcast have been a collection of some of my best and most popu...

Leadership is not just a buzzword; it’s the driving force behind every successful restaurant. By combining leadership with action, systems and training, you can create prosperity for yourself and your restaurant. In this episode of The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I’m sharing some of my best leadership insights from past podcast episodes to highlight the critical importance of leadership in the...

Today's special recap episode of my restaurant podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, is focused on systems and why they’re so important in restaurant management. You’ll learn what I mean by systems, why they are crucial and how you can use them specifically in the kitchen to safeguard your restaurant when you lack a culinary background. We'll also discuss how systems impact your restaurant a...

For this special episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I’m sharing some of the best tips from previous episodes, focusing on key areas such as food cost systems, leadership, and labor cost. This episode is dedicated to food cost. We’ll explore how high food costs are often self-inflicted, provide a quick walkthrough on calculating food cost, delve into the concept of ideal food...

Achieving prosperity in the restaurant business means gaining financial freedom and the freedom to enjoy your life beyond the restaurant. It’s not just a dream; it’s a reality you can attain by following a specific formula. In this episode of my restaurant podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I take you through a critical component of that formula: the power of a professional attitude. Inco...

You might have heard the saying, "People don't quit jobs; they quit managers." This is particularly true in our fast-paced, high-stress industry. A toxic manager can create a negative atmosphere and fail to lead by example, significantly affecting morale and productivity. In this episode of my restaurant podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I am breaking down undeniable impact toxic manager...

A lot of restaurant owners think the secret to making money is marketing, but so often it ends up costing way more money than it ever generates because there is a right way and many wrong ways to do it. Since I focus on teaching restaurant owners how to make money through operational systems, I like to bring in outside experts to talk about restaurant marketing. This episode of The Resta...

When it comes to being profitable in the restaurant business, it’s important to maximize your efficiencies. One way to do that is to upgrade how you track your food cost, making food costing software a critical component of running your restaurant. Food costing software isn't just an upgrade; it's a revolutionary shift in how you approach your operation from managing expenses to optimizing each di...

If there's one thing I've heard time and again from restaurant owners, it's, “I love your stuff, David. I've read your book, seen you speak, listen to your podcast and watch your YouTube videos, but I just don't know where to start.” If you want to take action and start to improve your restaurant and your life, and you’re asking the same question, you're in exactly the right place. For this episod...

Four years after the pandemic, I’m working with restaurant owners who are still suffering whiplash and struggling to find a path forward for their restaurants. I don’t have to tell you, but it was an intense time. Restaurant owners went from a complete shutdown of their restaurants and sending employees to the unemployment office to the frantic offer of money from the government and the incentives...

I recently had a coaching call with a restaurant owner whose business was struggling. He and his wife needed an outside perspective, and they turned to me to help them review their options. The call we had highlights the transformative power of resilience, strategic planning and the courage to embrace change. In this episode of my restaurant podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, learn more a...

As a restaurant owner, there are many things you have to do right to be successful. It really is a business of spinning many plates at once. One thing I’ve found in the most successful restaurant owners I know is how they approach their role as a leader and how their mindset makes all the difference. In this episode of my restaurant podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity Formula, I’m sharing 10 critic...

A successful restaurant is one that delivers on the promise to it guests. That's hot food hot, cold food cold, a clean safe work environment for your guests and employees, WOW customer service and providing an incredible product. That's what restaurant owners are put on this earth to do, right? To create memories. We have the pleasure and the privilege to create memories in people's lives. In this...

I tell restaurant owners all the time that their POS system is the most important piece of equipment they will ever purchase for their restaurant. The POS system is much more than a glorified cash register; it’s data central. It holds the key data you can use to change your business, prevent theft and make meaningful changes to your operations. In this episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosper...

There’s a little known and underutilized tool that can reduce a restaurant’s food cost by potentially 3% or more. All that is required is for a restaurant to gather some simple data and take a little action. How would you like to reduce your food cost by simply gathering data? Does this sound too good to be true? I promise you, it’s not. In this episode of my podcast, The Restaurant Prosperity For...

When it comes to following restaurant systems every day, restaurant owners are notorious for falling down on the job. They are just too busy in other areas and they lose sight of the daily routine things that are required to keep systems working properly. Besides, the job of a restaurant owner isn’t to be buried in the day to day; it’s to be strategic and to think bigger than daily tasks. If it’s...