Restaurant consulting: what it is and why it is needed

What restaurant consulting is

Restaurant consulting is professional support for the restaurant business at every stage: from idea to stable profit. It is not just advice — it is systematic work with clear KPIs, a measurable result, and accountability for every step.

A consulting company takes on what an owner most often lacks the time, experience, or objectivity for: market analysis, concept development, process design, team building, and financial control. This makes it possible to avoid typical mistakes that cost tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

According to market data, 60-70% of new restaurants close within the first 3 years. The overwhelming majority — because of mistakes that could have been avoided with professional support. Over 15+ years, RENOVA Hospitality has delivered 100+ projects — and not a single one of them repeated this statistic.

Who needs a restaurant consultant and when

A new project

You are planning to open a restaurant, café, or bar — and you want to do it right the first time. A consultant helps:

• Develop a concept that resonates with the audience of a specific location
• Create a financial model with real figures (not optimistic assumptions)
• Choose the right premises — with an analysis of traffic, competitors, and technical capabilities
• Design the kitchen and dining room for the real flow of guests
• Recruit a team that works to standards from day one

An operating business that is not reaching profit

The restaurant has been operating for 6-12 months, but profit is below expectations or even negative. Typical causes:

• Food cost above 30-32% — no control over purchasing, write-offs, or portion cards
• Labor cost above 28-30% — a suboptimal staffing schedule, overpayment for inefficient shifts
• The average check is not growing — waiters do not know how (or are not motivated) to sell
• Low repeat rate — guests come once and do not return

A restaurant audit from RENOVA reveals these and dozens of other loss points in 3-5 days.

Scaling and chains

You want to open a 2nd, 3rd, or 10th venue. Here you need not just a copy of the first — you need a system: standards, centralized procurement, a training center, a management structure. RENOVA has experience building the MAFIA chain (41 restaurants, a TOP-3 chain in Ukraine) and Casta — and knows how to scale without losing quality.

Renovation and rebranding

The restaurant has "worn out": traffic is falling, the concept is outdated, competitors have pulled ahead. A systematic refresh is needed — not just a repair, but a rethinking of the business. From a new concept to a relaunch — without halting the venue's operation.

What restaurant consulting services include

Strategic consulting

The foundation of any project. It includes:

• Market analysis — competitors, trends, niches, the potential of the location
• Concept development — positioning, target audience, value proposition, format
• Business model — revenue structure, unit economics, a payback forecast
• Financial model — P&L, cash flow, break-even, ROI for investors

The result: a 20-30 page document that becomes the project's road map. RENOVA has developed concepts for Nam (modern Vietnamese cuisine, chef Héctor Jiménez-Bravo), BAO Lviv (an Asian restaurant), Georgia (authentic Georgian cuisine), and dozens of other venues.

Operational consulting

Optimizing all of a restaurant's processes:

• Technological design of the kitchen and bar — ergonomics, flows, equipment
• Development of SOPs (standard operating procedures) for each position
• Setting up the accounting and automation system (iiko, Poster, R-keeper)
• Organizing procurement, warehouse accounting, and stocktakes
• Quality control — checklists, standards, a feedback system

Financial consulting

Money is the lifeblood of the business. We set up:

• Management accounting — P&L, Cash Flow, Balance every month
• Food cost control — recipe cards, portion cards, write-off analysis
• Labor cost — an optimal staffing schedule, shift schedules, the payroll fund
• Budgeting — monthly budgets with plan/actual and deviation analysis
• KPIs for managers — dashboards that show the health of the business in real time

Working with the menu and product

The menu is a restaurant's main sales tool:

• ABC analysis: the popularity × margin of each item
• Menu engineering — the right placement of items to maximize the check
• Optimizing food cost without losing quality — working with suppliers, seasonality, ingredient cross-utilization
• Developing new items with a set margin

A typical result: +15-25% to the average check and a 3-7 p.p. reduction in food cost.

HR and team building

RENOVA uses the Performia technology for staff selection — a system that determines the productivity, motivation, and potential of every candidate before hiring. This makes it possible to:

• Reduce staff turnover by 40-60%
• Build teams that deliver results from the first days
• Develop motivation systems tied to the business's KPIs

Marketing and promotion

A strategy for attracting and retaining guests:

• Positioning and brand communication
• An annual marketing plan with a budget by channel
• A PR and media strategy for the opening
• Digital marketing: SMM, Google Ads, local SEO
• Loyalty programs and CRM

The results of restaurant consulting: real figures

With a systematic approach, consulting pays for itself within 2-4 months. The specific results depend on the state of the business, but here are the benchmarks across our projects:

• Profit increase: +30-50% within 3-6 months (through comprehensive optimization)
• Food cost reduction: by 5-10 p.p. (from 35-38% to 28-30%)
• Average check growth: +15-25% (menu engineering + staff training)
• Repeat visits: +20-40% (service standards + loyalty programs)
• Opening a new venue: in 30-45 days instead of the typical 3-6 months

These figures are real results of RENOVA projects, including the MAFIA chain (41 restaurants, reaching the TOP-3 chains in Ukraine), BAO Lviv (opened in 35 days), and Gra z Vognem (a concept meat restaurant in the center of Kyiv).

How to choose a restaurant consultant

The consulting market in Ukraine is still young, and it is important to distinguish real practitioners from "theorists". What to look out for:

• Portfolio: not slides, but specific venues that can be visited and checked
• Hands-on experience: whether the consultant has their own restaurants or experience managing venues
• Specialization: whether they work with your format (fine dining, casual, fast casual, chains)
• Team: whether there are specialists in finance, design, HR, and marketing — or whether it is a one-man show
• Transparency: clear stages, timeframes, cost, and KPIs in the contract
• Reviews: recommendations from real owners who can be contacted

How much restaurant consulting costs

The cost depends on the scope of work and the format of cooperation:

• A one-off consultation (2-3 hours) — for a specific question or a second opinion
• An audit (3-5 days) — a full diagnosis with recommendations
• Project support (1-6 months) — from concept to launch or to the achievement of KPIs
• Retainer support — ongoing support for an operating business

An investment in consulting usually amounts to 3-7% of the total project budget — but it allows you to avoid mistakes that cost 20-40% of the budget.

Why RENOVA Hospitality

RENOVA are not theorists. We have our own restaurants and know this business from the inside:

• 15+ years in restaurant consulting
• 100+ delivered projects in Ukraine
• The full cycle: from idea to operational management
• A team of practitioners: financiers, designers, marketers, HR specialists
• A result you can verify: Nam, Gra z Vognem, Casta, Georgia, BAO, MAFIA — venues that operate and turn a profit