Most restaurant owners are unknowingly overpaying for five expense categories that can drain thousands from their bottom line each month.

From hidden distributor markup schemes to the productivity-killing effects of overstaffing, these profit leaks are quietly sabotaging your financial success.

The good news is, each one can be plugged quickly with the right knowledge and systems - especially when you know how to lower restaurant expenses without affecting quality.

In this episode, Nathan Voulgaris shares battle-tested restaurant cost-cutting strategies from managing 700+ employees across seven locations, generating $90 million annually.

You'll discover:

✅How to reduce food cost in your restaurant by 20-40% by switching to branded equivalents and negotiating better prime vendor agreements

✅The cash flow killer hiding in your restaurant inventory… and how to fix it with smarter restaurant inventory management

✅Why adding extra staff can reduce total productivity and increase labor costs far beyond what most operators realize

✅The TRUE cost of employee turnover, and how better onboarding and training can save you thousands

✅A simple restaurant expense audit strategy using just your bank statement that can immediately free up hundreds each month

✅Plus, we reveal the sales per labor hour benchmark you should be hitting - and how to schedule your team for both efficiency and performance.

Ready to finally take control of your restaurant profitability and stop bleeding money from the inside out?

Listen now to uncover the five expense categories secretly draining your margins - and the exact systems to fix them fast.

Key Points

00:00:50 Food purchasing secrets
00:04:00 Rebate programs explained
00:05:50 Inventory management strategies
00:08:40 Labor productivity principles
00:11:00 Daily labor tracking
00:15:50 Employee turnover costs
00:19:30 Exit interview importance
00:21:10 Controllable expense audit
00:24:00 Two-question expense test

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✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Claim your FREE Restaurant Weekly Financial Tracker to uncover thousands in hidden profits and optimize your costs (in less time than it takes to finish your morning coffee): https://ghl.ownershifttraining.com/weekly-tracker-lp

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✅About Us✅

The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training.

Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too.

✅For Restaurant Owners✅

Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call:
👉 Restaurant Assessment Call

✅Connect With Us✅

https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/
https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott
https://ownershifttraining.com/

Your most reliable employees might be planning their exit right now, but you can still keep them if you know the warning signs.

In this episode of the Restaurant Growth Accelerator podcast, hosts Andrew Scott and Dave Doyle tackle one of the most frustrating challenges restaurant owners face: employee turnover.

Drawing from their combined decades of experience, they reveal that most employees start thinking about quitting 4-6 weeks before they actually leave, giving owners a critical window to intervene.

The hosts share a powerful system of meetings that not only helps identify issues early - but actually saves time in the long run.

Andrew and Dave also discuss reasons why good employees leave, the importance of tracking when and why people leave, and implementing proper feedback systems.

You’ll hear about how to decide how much to pay your team - along with practical examples from their own businesses.

Key Points

00:02:55 The emotional impact of losing trusted employees
00:06:45 Who drives away good employees
00:11:05 Warning signs before quitting
00:11:55 The power of one-on-one meetings
00:15:00 Regular communication
00:19:50 Track retention & conduct exit interviews
00:23:25 Relationship-based management
00:26:30 How much to pay
00:29:45 Giving feedback

If your restaurant staff turnover is through the roof, you’re sick of hiring and firing, and you want a stable, loyal team - listen now to discover the specific strategies that’ll help you retain your best people and create a healthier restaurant culture.

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✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Thinking of opening another restaurant? Avoid costly mistakes with my free guide:
👉https://hs.ownershifttraining.com/optin-mupb

-

✅About Us✅

The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training.

Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too.

✅For Restaurant Owners✅

Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call:
👉 Restaurant Assessment Call

✅Connect With Us✅

https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/
https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott
https://ownershifttraining.com/

Most restaurant owners work IN their business when they should be working ON their business - one franchise owner flipped that script in just 120 days.

Brad Morton’s transformation of a failing Sonic franchise reveals the brutal reality most restaurant owners face, and the proven path to restaurant turnaround success.

Starting with a $10,000 investment in a store he'd never visited, Brad discovered broken equipment, 25-minute lunch tickets, and employees carrying switchblades.

Yet within four months, he achieved 20% profit margins and was ready to expand to multiple units - proving that growing a restaurant business doesn’t require massive capital or perfect conditions.

The secret wasn't complicated systems or massive capital investment.

Instead, Brad focused on three fundamental pillars: people, sales, and profit.

By prioritizing speed of service over food quality and implementing aggressive hiring practices, he transformed customer experience and drove sales growth.

His restaurant hiring and staffing strategies became a critical foundation for turning around operations and scaling fast.

This episode is a must-listen for multi-unit franchisees and restaurant leaders aiming to improve restaurant profitability, build lasting teams, and create scalable systems. If you're working long hours and stuck in survival mode, Brad’s story will show you how to shift from operator to true owner.

Key Points:

00:03:30 Investing $10,000 unseen (disaster)
00:11:00 People first strategy
00:15:00 Spotting hidden talent
00:17:20 Speed of service
00:24:00 The multiple unit mindset
00:29:30 Creating profit systems
00:39:00 120-day transformation
00:47:30 Guest experience formula

Tune in to discover the specific restaurant management strategies that transformed a failing franchise into a profitable multi-unit restaurant operation… and how you can apply these lessons to your own business.

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✅Tools For Restaurant Owners✅

Claim your FREE Restaurant Weekly Financial Tracker to uncover thousands in hidden profits and optimize your costs (in less time than it takes to finish your morning coffee): https://ghl.ownershifttraining.com/weekly-tracker-lp

-

✅About Us✅

The Restaurant Growth Accelerator Podcast is hosted by Andrew Scott - founder of OwnerShift Training.

Andrew Scott successfully scaled his restaurant business to 4 locations while working a handful of hours each week. He’s since helped over 1,000 restaurant owners increase their sales, profits, and free time - and he’d love to help you too.

✅For Restaurant Owners✅

Interested in growing your restaurant business while working less? Book your free assessment call:
👉 Restaurant Assessment Call

✅Connect With Us✅

https://www.facebook.com/groups/multiunitempirebuilders/
https://www.instagram.com/andrewrichardscott
https://ownershifttraining.com/