Capabilities

Narrow. Deep. Operator-Grade.

Six capabilities, organized around the situations founder-led and multi-unit food businesses actually face. Every capability is delivered by a senior operator who has run the equivalent work as a principal — paired with AI-enhanced operating intelligence built specifically for multi-unit food businesses.

01 · Diagnostic 02 · Intervention 03 · Operating Intelligence 04 · Multi-Unit 05 · Growth 06 · Transaction
Capability 01

Operating Diagnostic & Decision Document.

"The starting point for most engagements. Two to four weeks. One decision document. No deck."

The diagnostic is a defined operating review of where the business actually is — unit-level economics, four-wall performance, food and labor cost discipline, throughput, cash conversion, the management cadence, and the operating system that produced them. The output is a single short decision document the owner, board, lender, and capital partner can act on.

Engaged when:
  • The owner suspects the business is not performing to its real potential
  • A lender, board, or capital partner has asked for a clear independent read
  • The next chapter is unclear and the operating story needs to be sound first
  • An owner wants an independent operator view before a transaction
Deliverable:
  • One short decision document — where the business is, paths forward, what we recommend
  • Unit-level and four-wall economic teardown — daypart, store, region
  • Labor efficiency, throughput, and food cost discipline assessment
  • Management cadence and operating-system assessment
  • Capital and transaction implications, where relevant
Capability 02

Operator-Led Intervention.

"A senior operator inside the business until it is performing to its potential — then we step back."

When the diagnostic points to operating intervention, a senior principal steps into the business in an interim CEO, COO, or operating partner role. The engagement is run from inside the operation — not from a slide deck — and the operator is supported by AI-enhanced operating intelligence the entire time.

Engagement shapes:
  • Interim CEO or President of a restaurant group, coffee operator, bakery group, or specialty food business
  • Interim COO running multi-unit operations through margin and management recovery
  • Operating partner role alongside an existing CEO who needs operator depth
  • Concept and four-wall reset where the operating problem is also a concept problem
What it produces:
  • Four-wall economic recovery — margin, throughput, labor and food cost discipline
  • A management cadence that produces the results the owner can sustain
  • Daily operating visibility for the owner, board, and capital partner
  • A business positioned for sustainable growth, recapitalization, transition, or transaction
Capability 03

AI-Enhanced Operating Intelligence.

"Daily unit-level visibility a consultant report cannot give — built for multi-unit food businesses."

Operating intelligence is a distinct capability of the platform — not an afterthought. It is an AI-enhanced operating layer built specifically for multi-unit food businesses, designed to give the operator, the owner, and the capital partner daily visibility into the unit-level economics that actually move the business.

What it covers:
  • Unit-level and daypart performance — daily, not quarterly
  • Labor efficiency, deployment, and accountability
  • Food cost, throughput, and four-wall economics
  • Cash conversion, working capital, and discipline metrics
  • Management cadence — who is accountable for what, and what was actually delivered
Engaged as:
  • The operating layer that runs alongside an operator-led intervention
  • A stand-alone operating intelligence engagement for owners who are not yet ready for intervention but need real daily visibility
  • The daily operating layer a lender or capital partner requires during a recovery or recapitalization
Capability 04

Multi-Unit & Franchise System Support.

"Multi-unit and franchise system work — the kind that only operators who have lived in the system can do."

Multi-unit operations and franchise systems are operationally different from single-unit work. Our principals have operated multi-unit restaurant groups, coffee operators, and bakery groups — including engagements inside national franchise systems such as Burger King, IHOP, Del Taco, and Palenque Group — and have acquired and operated distressed multi-unit businesses as principals.

Engaged when:
  • A multi-unit operator or franchisee group is underperforming and the franchisor or lender is watching
  • A multi-unit operator is approaching succession or recapitalization
  • A franchisor needs an independent operator view on system-level performance or franchisee quality
  • A buyer needs operating diligence on a multi-unit acquisition
Capability 05

Growth Complexity & Scale Discipline.

"For founder-led groups crossing 5, 10, or 25 units — installing the operating system the next chapter requires."

Founder-led restaurant groups, coffee operators, and bakery groups grow until the operating system that worked at the prior scale breaks. Crossing 5, 10, or 25 units does not just require more units — it requires a different management cadence, financial discipline, and operating system than the founder built to get there.

Engaged when:
  • A founder-led group has grown faster than its management depth
  • The operating system that worked at the prior scale is no longer producing results
  • Capital is on the table — or coming — and operating discipline has to be installed first
  • Leadership accountability has to be installed without losing the founder's edge
Capability 06

Transaction-Aware Operating Strategy.

"For owners eighteen to thirty-six months out: the operating moves that compound into defensible enterprise value."

Most owners do not begin operating like a transaction until the transaction is already in motion — which is too late. Engaged eighteen to thirty-six months ahead, we work with the owner on the operating moves that produce a defensible enterprise value when a transaction actually arrives.

Engaged when:
  • The owner is planning a sale, recapitalization, or family succession within 18–36 months
  • A lender or capital partner has requested an operating plan with teeth
  • The operating story needs to be improved before the business is shown to buyers
  • The owner wants the operating numbers to defend the price they have in mind

The right capability depends on the situation. Tell us the situation.

Initial conversations are confidential. We will tell you which of the six capabilities — if any — actually fits.

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All conversations are confidential
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