The Operator's Edge: Restaurant Operations Newsletter

By Rob Bruni, founder of OpsEdge Hospitality, twenty years running restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts.

The Operator's Edge is a short weekly email for people who run restaurants, bars, hotels and clubs. Each issue gives you one number to watch, one free tool to use and one routine to run with your team this week.

It is written the way operators talk at the end of a shift: the formula, a worked example in dollars, the benchmark, and what to do on Monday. No trend pieces, no recycled listicles.

Free, weekly

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What every issue includes

01 / THE NUMBER

One metric, done right

The formula, what goes into it, a healthy range by concept and the mistakes that make it lie. Prime cost, pour cost, SPLH, variance, RevPASH and the rest.

02 / THE TOOL

One free resource

A calculator, checklist or template you can open and use the same day, from the free tools and guides library.

03 / THE ROUTINE

One thing to run this week

A routine for your managers, with the words to use at pre-shift, the time it takes and what to check on Friday.

What an issue looks like

Here is the format, using prime cost as the example topic.

Subject: Your prime cost is a weekly number, not a monthly surprise

The number

Prime cost is cost of goods sold plus total labor, divided by sales. Most full-service restaurants aim for 55 to 60 percent. If you only see it when the P&L closes, you find out about a bad month three weeks after you could have fixed it.

The tool

The free Weekly Prime Cost Check Sheet and the prime cost calculator.

The routine

Every Monday: pull last week's purchases and payroll, run the check, and share one number with your chef and bar manager. Ten minutes.

Example of the format. Topics change every week.

Who it is for

General managers and owners of independent restaurants and bars
Chefs and kitchen managers responsible for food cost and prep
Bar managers and beverage directors who own pour cost and inventory
F&B directors at hotels, resorts and private clubs
New managers in their first year who want the numbers explained plainly

Start with these while you wait for the next issue

GuideRestaurant prime cost CalculatorFood cost calculator GuidePour cost CalculatorLabor cost calculator Reference40 operating benchmarks ReferenceRestaurant glossary

Questions

How often does The Operator's Edge go out?

Once a week. Each issue is short enough to read before a pre-shift meeting.

Does the newsletter cost anything?

No. It is free. Some issues mention an OpsEdge template or service when it fits the topic, and every issue is useful without buying anything.

Who is it written for?

General managers, owners, chefs, bar managers and F&B directors at independent restaurants, bars, hotels and private clubs.

Can I unsubscribe?

Yes. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link, and we never sell or share your address.

One email a week

Run on systems, not heroics