Office Hours: Profit Comes First, Not Guest Experience.

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’m breaking down one of the most important—and often overlooked—truths in the restaurant industry: profit has to come before hospitality. Without a sustainable business model, there’s no way to deliver great guest experiences in the long run. I’ll walk you through how to rethink your menu as a business model, why focusing on high-margin items is non-negotiable, and how to optimize profit per guest. Plus, I’m sharing practical, no-BS steps you can take right now to boost your profitability and set your restaurant up for long-term success.

Takeaways

• 80% of restaurants barely break even.
• Profit comes first, not guest experience.
• Hospitality is a luxury you can only afford when your fundamentals are rock solid.
• Your menu is a business model, not a list of dishes.
• Profit per guest is greater than revenue per shift.
• Audit your top 10 best-selling menu items.
• Set a profit per guest goal.
• Stop waiting for our accountants.
• You can't serve great hospitality if you can't afford to stay in business.
• This will change your business and it will change your life.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Profitability in Restaurants

02:09 The Importance of Profit Over Hospitality

04:06 Menu as a Business Model

05:59 Maximizing Profit Per Guest

07:53 Action Steps for Restaurant Owners

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.