I spent 15 years as a chain CFO. This is the P&L math I used, written for independents and small franchisees.
One email a week. Worked examples, real benchmarks, no vendor pitches.
The 4-Wall Series
Deep-dive on unit economics
Latest
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A 300-Unit Wendy’s Franchisee Just Went Bankrupt. Beef Was Only the Excuse.
Meritage Hospitality Group, operator of 314 Wendy’s locations across 15 states, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on September 18. The company blamed…
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Starbucks-Chipotle: the only CEO who could price this deal correctly happens to run one of them
A tie-up between Starbucks and Chipotle surfaced in the trade press this week. Chipotle reportedly hired bankers to fend off a possible…
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Cracker Barrel up 5 percent on a zero-growth quarter. McDonald’s down on a spending plan. That is the whole story.
Two restaurant giants reported this week and the market’s reaction told operators everything about which capital allocation strategy Wall Street wants right…
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McDonald’s investor day preview: Three questions the CEO has to answer, and one he probably won’t
The stock is at a 52-week low. The CEO called out execution problems on the last earnings call. Tomorrow he takes the…
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Blackstone Took Chips Off the Table at Jersey Mike’s. It Did Not Exit.
Blackstone sold a slice of Jersey Mike’s at a below-entry valuation and kept the majority stake. What that means for restaurant operators.
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Prime Cost Recovery Playbook: When You’re Above 65% and Need to Get Back
The sequenced levers to pull when prime cost creeps above 65 percent. Real numbers, real examples, no filler.
Where to start
Start with The Model for how a restaurant P&L is built, then Expenses and Sales for the lines that move it.
Free tools
The spreadsheets
Five Excel templates I’d set up in your first week if you hired me: a P&L with benchmarks on every line, a labor schedule tied to your forecast, food cost variance, break-even, and a 13-week cash forecast. 1,077 formulas, no macros, $67 once. 30-day refund, no questions.
See the Toolkit →The weekly email
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