Restaurant Expert: How We Work

Working with a : Will We Click?

Being choosey isn’t a bad thing – especially when it comes to selecting a restaurant expert. We believe in taking a phased approach that methodically leads down a path of larger development. Each phase is self-sufficient and beneficial by itself, but all stages connect and culminate seamlessly. You don’t want to launch into a major consulting relationship without first taking a few test spins, right? At the same time, we want to make sure our relationship is a good fit, too.

Here’s how we work.

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Restaurant Expert

1. Tell Us About Yourself. For Real.

As one of the most sought-after restaurant experts in the business, we get more than 800 inquiries a year from clients all over the world. We appreciate each and every one of them. But, unfortunately, we can’t work with everybody. To help us figure out if we’re right for you, tell us about yourself, your business and what you’re looking for. Be specific.

Please don’t send us a “Request for Proposal” form letter. We’re appreciative of the interest, but we work largely with referrals, returning clients or new clients that seem like a tailored fit. Many details need to line up for both parties – timing, scope, chemistry, budget, etc.. So we request a little more information about a project to help in the mutual screening process.

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Restaurant Expert

2. Are We the Restaurant Expert You’re Looking for? Circle YES or NO.

Our team will review your information, and then we’ll ask a few additional questions. Now we’re getting there — exchanging a bit of information. If it looks like a good fit, it’s time for a complimentary phone consultation. We’ll exchange a little more information (under a confidentiality agreement) to get a better idea of what you need and how we can help. There is no charge, and it’s not a sales pitch.

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Restaurant Expert

3. Field Trip! A Friendly Visit from Your Restaurant Expert.

If we’re a match made in heaven, let’s spend some time together. With an existing operation, we’ll do a field visit, reviewing the facilities, operations and the people. If it’s a new venture, we’ll find someplace quiet and private in the market you’re exploring.

We take our role as your restaurant expert seriously – our team does a lot of homework. Send us as much information as you can; we’ll pore through it, analyze it, identify some initial key findings and add to that our own pre-visit research about the market, competition and other pertinent factors.

Our main goal is to understand where you are, where you want to be and how we can combine our collective resources to get you there. Give us a list of your toughest and most pressing questions – anything that’s keeping you awake at night regarding business challenges and opportunities. Let’s hit the ground running and get to work. We are restaurant experts. This is what we do.

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Restaurant Expert

4. A-Ha! Here’s what We Found.

After completing the initial analysis, on-site audit (if warranted) and a full day planning session, we’ll summarize key findings and recommendations in the core topics we discussed as well as additional considerations we believe are important for you in the development phases ahead.

The most meaningful value from such a report is netted from our discoveries, those ah-ha! moments, collective ideation, collaboration and combined passions – all aimed tightly on defining and creating your vision for the future. It’s an approach no other restaurant experts take. Typically the investment for a one-to-two-day planning session and report starts at $10,000.

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Restaurant Expert

5. What Next?

The restaurant business is complex — so many moving pieces and parts to consider. We help break down the steps of development into phases to make it easier to digest. You’ll have questions – questions for a restaurant expert. We’ll answer all of them and give you a sense of direction you didn’t have before. We’ll give you an outline based on the big picture. As appropriate or requested, we’ll also diagram the specifics of how we can help in each phase moving forward. Our advice isn’t dependent on you hiring us, either.

If you do hire us, though, you’ll get a team of professionals dedicated to your project — restaurant experts who believe in your direction and goals just as much as you do.

And that’s why a good fit is so important to both of us.

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Short of that initial planning session investment, we invite you to take a look at the free resources we provide on the site. All of the information is compiled by our world-class team of restaurant experts. There’s a ton of information that will most likely answer a lot of the questions you have. Another option is to come to one of our workshops or Aaron’s seminars and guest speaker appearances.