RESTAURANT STRATEGY Podcast

Episode 500: Celebrating Episode 500 with Six Pieces of Wisdom
Host: Chip Klose
Release Date: November 20, 2025

Episode Overview

In this milestone 500th episode, Chip Klose, host of Restaurant Strategy, shares six foundational pieces of wisdom for independent restaurant owners. He identifies the "six constraints" that commonly hold restaurant businesses and owners back from achieving the profitability and freedom they desire. The episode is structured as a deep, practical mindset guide, urging listeners to examine not just their operations, but their personal visions and leadership styles.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction: Setting the Stage

• Chip marks the 500th episode, reflecting on the show’s mission: “to help independent restaurant owners build more profitable restaurants.” (00:10)
• The episode’s theme: Recognizing and overcoming six common constraints that block restaurant owners from success.

The Six Constraints (and How to Overcome Them)

1. Inability to Properly Manage Expenses

[05:14]

• Key Point: Most restaurant owners lack a consistent, accountable system for managing their two biggest expenses: Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and labor (prime cost).
• Quote:

  "If you don't have a plan to manage that, you're absolutely screwed. You're flying by the seat of your pants with a wing and a prayer just trying to hope." — Chip Klose [06:20]

• Solution: Implement strict budget setting and accountability measures—oversight for both ordering (COGS) and scheduling (labor).
• Action: Start tracking and capping these costs; introduce accountability for managers/team.

2. Chasing Higher Revenues as the Only Solution

[07:34]

• Key Point: Many owners believe that more revenue will solve their profitability issues, but fail to control expenses first.
• Quote:

  "Revenue does not necessarily cure all sins." — Chip Klose [07:41]

• Example: Even with declining revenue in 2024-25, some clients had their most profitable years because they targeted profit, not just sales.
• Message: Don’t rely on growth to fix inefficiencies—profitability is about margins and systems, not just top-line sales.

3. Not Having Enough Time: Working IN vs. ON the Business

[11:30]

• Key Point: Owners often spend all their time running daily operations, leaving no time for big-picture work or personal life.
• Quote:

  "If you don't manage your time, then everyone's going to manage your time for you." — Chip Klose [12:09] "Your business is really good at telling you what it needs from you. Are you just as good at telling your business what you need from it?" — Chip Klose [13:02]

• Solution: Define your desired role in the business; build systems and teams so the restaurant doesn’t rely on you for everything.
• Life Reminder: Time is the most precious resource—don’t burn it all in the business at the cost of personal fulfillment.

4. Not Having the Right Team

[16:55]

• Key Point: Complaining that “my team sucks” is an indicator of leadership issues, not just hiring mistakes.
• Quote:

  "When your team sucks, it is a reflection on leadership and it goes all the way up. Buck has to stop somewhere. It stops with you." — Chip Klose [17:23]

• Solution: Take accountability for hiring, training, and retaining quality team members. Replace, train, or invest in people so you’re surrounded by capable, passionate staff.

5. Lacking the Knowledge to Level Up

[19:07]

• Key Point: Owners often get stuck because they don’t know what they don’t know—there’s a knowledge gap about how to scale, franchise, sell, or optimize.
• Quote:

  "If you don't know something, you need to go somewhere where you can learn...You need a group of peers who can also be mentors." — Chip Klose [20:51]

• Advice: Seek out communities, coaches, consultants, and masterminds (like P3). Always keep learning from those ahead of you.
• Realization: Community and peer learning are transformational, not just “venting sessions.”

6. Lack of Proper Vision for Life and Business

[22:53]

• Key Point: The fundamental constraint is a missing or unclear vision—for what you want your life and business to look like.
• Quote:

  "If that hits you like a gut punch now, I want you to pull over, I want you to close your eyes and I want to think through this." — Chip Klose [22:59] "Build a business, build a life that looks like [what you want]. If you put down in your life, 'I want this, I want this, I want this', and you put a dollar amount...that's going to help you shape a vision for your business. Because your business has to make your life come true." — Chip Klose [23:57] "Why build a bridge if it's going over the wrong river? You got to figure out which river you want to cross and then build a bridge that actually gets you across the river you want to cross." — Chip Klose [25:16]

• Steps: Write down your ideal life, cost it out, then engineer your business to serve that vision.
• Mindset: The business is a vehicle to create the life you want, not the other way around.

Notable & Memorable Moments

• Big Picture Reminder:

  "Life is short. We are given what, 60, 70, 80 years if we're lucky...If you’re not spending it the way that you want to spend it, I think you’re missing the entire point of life." — Chip Klose [14:51]

• Encouragement for Builders:

  "If you are a restaurateur, then you are an entrepreneur. You are a builder, you’re a maker, you’re a creator. You put something out into the world that did not exist before, and that is incredible." — Chip Klose [25:30]

• Full-circle Mission Statement:

  "What you do is too hard and what you do is too important to not make money doing it." — Chip Klose [28:13]

Timestamps to Important Segments

• [00:00] — Introduction, show mission, significance of episode 500
• [05:14] — Constraint 1: Expense Management
• [07:34] — Constraint 2: Chasing Revenue
• [11:30] — Constraint 3: Time Management
• [16:55] — Constraint 4: Team Building & Leadership
• [19:07] — Constraint 5: Knowledge Gaps/Community
• [22:53] — Constraint 6: Vision for Life & Business

Tone & Style

Chip speaks with candor, tough love, and encouragement. The episode is practical, honest, and at times philosophical—insisting that owners step back to see the big picture and take control, not just of their business, but their lives.

Final Takeaway

Episode 500 is a touchstone for restaurant owners seeking greater profitability, personal fulfillment, and freedom. Chip Klose emphasizes that while the restaurant business is challenging, the biggest roadblocks are internal and surmountable with self-examination, community, and clear vision.

“If you’re going to build something, why not build it exactly the way you want it?” — Chip Klose [25:57]