O’Dell Restaurant Consulting Blog

Who are we?
What do we want our restaurant to be known for?
What style of service do we offer?
What kind of food do we cook?
What can our customers get from us that they can’t get anywhere else?
How can we make our customers FEEL?
What is our color scheme?
These are all questions you should ask yourself about your [...]

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Calculating how much the food you sell costs you to sell is a very important practice in running a profitable restaurant. Knowledge is power, and knowing your food cost compared to your sales and your ideal food cost is very empowering information. By figuring your food cost percentage, you have an early warning system to alert you [...]

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That’s an important question. There isn’t enough reporting and record keeping in the restaurant business. Many chain restaurant can see by the end of the week whether they made money or not. Most independents have to wait until their account returns the monthly numbers anywhere from 4 days to 4 weeks after the end of [...]

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Question:
When you work in an excuse-driven culture, how do you change the mindset and teach others to become accountable?
Answer:
Unfortunately, the most effective method for me to implement quick changes in attitude is through forcing it. That almost always requires “executing a hostage in front of the firing squad”.
Words are the first step. Accountability has to [...]

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If you don’t already have 2 to 3 primary colors you use in your logo, signage, marketing, and indoor and outdoor decor, then pick some! A color scheme will help people identify you. If you keep the same color scheme congruent in all facets of your restaurant, new customers will find you more easily, and [...]

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A great way to make your menu stand out, and to draw people to certain items, is through the use of color. When you add color to your menu, use the color scheme you’ve chosen for your restaurant. Use other colors to highlight, surround, or shade menu items you want people to notice. Color icons [...]

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Large menus have a lot of downfalls. Large menus require excessive prep, cause long ticket times, are hard to educate service staff on, need too much storage space, and generally drive down the profitability of your restaurant. Keep your menu as small as you can, focused on your concept, and easy to produce.

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A good way to make your food stand out, and to communicate what your food is all about is by creating a signature item in each of your menu categories. These items should be your highest gross profit earners, and the centerpieces of your direct marketing efforts. They help define you and your restaurant. You [...]

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One of my favorite shows is Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. If you haven’t seen it, and you’re in the restaurant business, you’re missing out on a lot of free lessons.
Gordon Ramsay is a bit of bully. He likes to push people’s buttons. I think one of his other shows, Hell’s Kitchen, is just a stage [...]

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How to make sure your products will sell
Pretty confusing main title, isn’t it? I’ll bet you’re wondering exactly what I’m talking about.
Along with the other biggest mistakes restaurants owners make, offering customers what the owner thinks is good, instead of what the customer thinks is good, is a surefire way to lose money in the restaurant business.
Here’s [...]

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