Office Hours: Here's my fix for solving the labor shortage

I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.

In this episode, I break down why the old-school mentality of treating your team like “family” is actually holding you back. Look, I love my people, but a real family won’t fire you for showing up late. A restaurant, on the other hand? It’s a business. And if we want to build sustainable, profitable businesses, we need to stop running our teams on emotions and start leading with clarity, accountability, and mutual investment. I’ll walk you through the leadership shifts that changed everything for me—how setting clear expectations, constantly recruiting, and focusing on performance over sentiment will transform your restaurant from a revolving door into a powerhouse of talent. If you’re tired of losing good people and constantly hiring, this one’s for you.

Takeaways

• 80% of restaurants barely break even.
• If you can't keep people, the problem might not be them.
• Great restaurants aren't a family. They're a high-performance team.
• A players do not elevate the performance of B and C players.
• People don't leave places that invest in them.
• We need to be recruiting all the time, not just when we're desperate.
• Set clear expectations from day one.
• Externalize the rules and accountability.
• Lead from the front and invest in your team's goals.
• Build relationships with potential hires before you need them.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Restaurant Profitability Challenges
02:15 The Leadership Problem in Restaurants
03:44 Building a High-Performance Team
06:40 Mutual Investment in Employee Growth
09:34 The Importance of Constant Recruitment

If you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.