The Restaurant Success Podcast

How to Overcome the Dark News About Our Industry

• Matthew Mabel • Season 1 • Episode 45

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In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, restaurant entrepreneurship expert Matthew Mabel addresses the damaging negative press plaguing the restaurant industry and provides a strategic roadmap for independent restaurant owners to thrive despite the doom-and-gloom narrative. Matthew challenges recent media stories claiming restaurants are empty and struggling, arguing these narratives discourage guests from dining out and create unnecessary panic among restaurant business owners. Instead of focusing solely on cost management, Matthew presents a compelling case for why guest count is now the single most critical metric for restaurant success. He delivers five actionable strategies that successful multi-unit restaurant entrepreneurs can implement immediately to attract lapsed guests, increase dining frequency among current customers, and capture greater market share. This episode offers essential business insights for restaurant owners ready to take control of their growth and stop worrying about factors beyond their control.

Key Topics Covered

  • The harmful impact of negative media narratives on the restaurant industry and guest behavior
  • Why guest count has become more critical than cost management (PPA) for restaurant profitability
  • Five specific actions to increase guest traffic and market share in today's competitive landscape
  • How to truly understand guest perceptions through focus groups and actionable research
  • Optimizing restaurant experience, offerings, execution, and service to premium levels
  • Strategic hiring and retention practices to support growth objectives
  • Implementing effective incentive programs focused on guest count and online ratings
  • The importance of bold, noticeable marketing and brand positioning

Links Mentioned

Resources Mentioned

Connect with Matthew Mabel

Matthew works with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to improve:

  • Profit growth
  • Sales optimization
  • Guest count increase
  • Unit expansion
  • Employee engagement
  • Brand loyalty

How to Support the Show

  • Subscribe to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter
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  • Visit www.surrender.biz for additional resources

Hello, and welcome to the Restaurant Success Podcast. I'm Matthew Mabel, veteran restaurant advisor, coach, consultant, and speaker devoted to multi-unit independent restaurant unit, profit and revenue growth, internal harmony and ownership freedom and flexibility.

This is your weekly entree of the advice, strategy and tactics that I currently provide to my best clients.

Today we're going to talk about something that's been bothering me lately - all this negative press about our industry.

We're going to look at why these doom and gloom stories are hurting us, what's really happening out there, and most importantly, what you need to do right now to overcome this narrative and actually thrive.

Plus, I'll give you five specific actions you can take to focus on what really matters - getting more guests through your doors.

So, here's what happened.

A friend sent me a YouTube video with the title "Restaurants are Empty" and a subtitle of "Why Restaurants Are Empty and Overpriced in Twenty Twenty-Five."

And by the way, the words "a friend sent me a YouTube Video" might be the seven most dangerous words in the English language 

The video was total click-bait for doomscrollers, and a real downer for someone in our industry.

But it gets worse. Last Sunday, my hometown paper, The Dallas Morning News, chimed in with their headline saying "North Texas restaurants are struggling to survive."

Now, neither of these narratives is doing us any favors. They're causing guests to wonder whether they might be missing something that everyone else knows about, and maybe they should stay home tonight and cook instead of going out.

Here's another problem with the narrative of those two stories - I haven't seen even one of these empty restaurants. They don't exist!

Let me tell you what's really going on out there. If you suffer from occasional feelings of helplessness as a restaurant owner, you do not want to read or hear that message.

But what's really happening? Well, some restaurants are doing well, others are doing okay, and some will fail - more than have failed recently.

Unfortunately for content creators and news organizations, though, the lousy headline "Some Restaurants Do Great and Others Don't" will sit over an article that no one will ever read, or video that no one will watch.

The story that goes with that headline isn't easy to sell to a consumer with a short attention span.

So, I'll keep telling you that you can either sit around and worry about things you can't control, or you can get to work on your restaurants today, next week, next month, next quarter, and next year.

Let's talk about where to focus your energy.

It feels odd that PPA, which I have previously encouraged my clients to use to boost bottom lines by millions of dollars, doesn't even show up on the radar right now.

Cost management remains a means to an end to preserve your bottom line, but the only way for you to truly win today is to focus on guest-count. 

How will you attract lapsed users and non-users? How will you increase frequency among current guests?

Here's the six things you must do.

Start by really understanding what your guests think about your brands - and I mean truly understanding their perceptions. Figure out the questions you want answered, and use focus groups to get those answers. 

Then you've got to take action to make the experience in your restaurant worth it - and more than worth it. Hone your offerings, execution, and service to the highest level in your history. 

Next, you need to move away from people who are unable to support your strategy and move toward those who get it. Labor supply looks healthy right now - take advantage of that. 

And, make sure you're incentivizing the right behaviors. Put guest count and Google and Yelp ratings into your bonus program. Give people the tools to earn that bonus. 

Finally, when the choice remains between going small and going big, pick the latter and be noticed. 

So, I'll end with this.

One of my friends who owns thirty restaurants says I excel at pep talks.

That's nice to know.

Well, this episode feels more like a call-to-action than a pep talk. 

So start now.

In today's episode I spoke about the importance of guest count and how critical it is to really understand your guests. There's two articles from my archive which will help you go deeper on these topics. 

The first one is about how to find the guests that your restaurants deserve.

In that piece, I share the story of a client with thirteen units who was facing declining sales year after year. The owner was planning to retire within five years and was starting to panic.

Through new branding, messaging, and social media that highlighted what people really wanted to eat, sales started to increase. Eventually, my client sold for the price he wanted and retired. The key lesson there is that most owners overestimate the size of their true competitive set. You compete with a very small number of restaurants in your segment that have offerings similar to yours.

The second article I want to point you to talks about what successful restaurant growth looks like now.

This one really drives home why guest count is so critical. You see, today we live in a guest count business. Market demand remains inelastic, and for most operators, the inventory of quality real estate looks less than expected. The winners in twenty twenty-four and beyond are the ones who focus on better revenue and profit from existing units. They ensure that culture lives and is measured every day at every unit, on every shift, and for every table. They elevate management technique to focus first on guest experience. Our guests' dining budgets are limited, and they're eating in restaurants less often. But here's the good news - when people go out, they still pay for great experiences because they feel they deserve that. So you must grab a bigger share of the existing market.

You'll find links to both of these articles in the show notes.

Let me tell you about how we might work together. I work with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to grow their profit, sales, guest count, and unit count. My unique approach bonds employees and guests to restaurant brands and allows owners to enjoy the freedom and flexibility they have earned.

To schedule a call with me to discuss how to achieve your biggest goals, follow the link in the show notes. The initial consultation is complimentary, and we can discuss which big moves might be right for your operation.

Thanks for listening. If you haven't already subscribed to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter podcast, please do so, and rate and review the show. Find more information in the show notes at Restaurant Success Podcast dot com.

Also find tons of information you can use in print, audio and video form at my website, www dot surrender dot biz. Thanks again and see you next time.