Four pillars. Every client. No exceptions.

— Pillar 01 — Concept —

Is the idea actually the right size?

Every concept sounds reasonable in a conversation. It's much harder to tell if it's reasonable on paper — for this location, this budget, this team. Most owners fall in love with a version of the idea that's bigger, more ambitious, or more complex than what the space or the numbers can actually support.

What I check, every time

• — Seat count against realistic kitchen output
• — Menu complexity against the staffing plan you can actually afford
• — Price point against the neighborhood and the competition around you
• — Whether the concept can be delivered consistently at volume — not just on a good night

The most common failure I see here isn't a bad idea. It's a good idea, built at the wrong size.

— Pillar 02 — Team —

Is the structure built for your concept, or copied from somewhere else?

Most first-time owners build their team structure based on what they've seen elsewhere, not what their specific concept actually needs. A structure that works for a 40-seat neighborhood spot will quietly bankrupt a 90-seat volume restaurant — and the other way around.

What I check, every time

• — Whether the org structure matches the complexity of the concept
• — Hiring timeline against your opening timeline
• — Whether role definitions are clear enough that people aren't duplicating or dropping responsibilities
• — Labor cost assumptions against realistic staffing needs for your actual service style

Owners either over-hire out of fear or under-hire out of budget pressure. Both come from not knowing what the concept actually requires.

— Pillar 03 — Kitchen & Flow —

Will the space create costs you can't see yet?

A floor plan that looks fine on paper can quietly add labor hours, slow down service, and cap your revenue every single night — and you won't find out until you're already open and paying rent on it.

What I check, every time

• — The physical path between kitchen and dining room during service
• — Equipment placement against what the menu actually requires
• — Prep space against your real volume, not your opening-week volume
• — Back-of-house efficiency — extra steps, extra hands, extra minutes the layout quietly demands

Beautiful dining rooms, sitting on top of kitchens that were never built for the menu on top of them.

— Pillar 04 — Financial Model —

Do the numbers survive contact with reality?

Most financial models are built to justify a decision that's already been made, not to test whether the decision is sound. I'm not looking for optimism. I'm looking for what happens when the numbers are wrong in the direction they usually are.

What I check, every time

• — Revenue projections against realistic seat turns, not best-case ones
• — Cost of goods assumptions against your actual menu and supplier reality
• — Labor cost as a percentage of revenue, compared to what similar concepts actually run
• — Whether the budget accounts for the real cost of opening, including a contingency buffer

The spreadsheet says breakeven in month four. The real number is almost always later, and the buffer for "later" is usually missing.