The Restaurant Success Podcast

Epizode

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  Three Ways Fantastic Bosses Make Restaurant GMs Great 20.04.2026 8min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel tackles one of the most overlooked opportunities in multi-unit restaurant business growth: developing the bosses of your general managers. While most restaurant entrepreneurship focuses on training GMs, the real breakthroughs in guest count, profit, and culture happen when owners invest in their operations directors, area managers, and district managers. Matthew shares the three pillars that separate exceptional multi-unit leade...
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  The Key to Fantastic Growth? Knowing What You Don't Know 30.03.2026 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel explores why even the most successful multi-unit restaurant entrepreneurs can hit a growth ceiling — and how to break through it. Matthew reveals that the key to fantastic business growth lies in identifying and addressing what you don't know. Drawing on decades of experience advising independent restaurant companies generating tens of millions in sales, he explains how first-time multi-unit owners often develop blind spots that...
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  How to Actually Increase Guest Count and Lead the Industry 23.03.2026 7min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, restaurant business consultant and advisor Matthew Mabel breaks down exactly what it takes to grow guest count and lead the restaurant industry. Drawing on real-world observations from top-performing restaurant groups, Matthew reveals the specific behaviors that are quietly holding restaurants back from reaching their full revenue and profit potential. From front-of-house accountability to employee training and steps of service, this episode ...
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  Six Beautiful Improvements Can Happen When You Take a Break 16.03.2026 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, veteran restaurant business advisor Matthew Mabel makes the case for why every restaurant entrepreneur needs to step away from their operation. Rather than focusing on revenue growth or management strategy, Matthew shares six powerful improvements that happen when independent restaurant owners take a real vacation. From stress-testing your business systems and discovering hidden operational gaps, to breaking old habits and returning with fres...
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  Remembering Ed Murph, America’s Only Cafetuer 09.03.2026 6min

  In this special episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, veteran restaurant consultant Matthew Mabel pays tribute to Ed Murph, the owner and driving force behind Norma's Café in Dallas. Rather than the usual business strategies, Matthew reflects on thirty years of friendship and collaboration with a man whose restaurant career spanned from the legendary Beggar and Bell Ringer clubs in the seventies, through the groundbreaking Café Cancun in the eighties, to building Norma's Café into a true...
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  Why Avoiding Risk Isn’t Actually a Great Strategy 02.03.2026 5min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel tackles a critical question facing many restaurant entrepreneurs today: is playing it safe actually the riskiest business strategy of all? For multi-unit independent restaurant owners navigating a flat market, the comfort of stability can mask the slow deterioration of brand strength, business performance, and net worth. Matthew provides the context restaurant operators need to calm their nerves, explains why the downside risk o...
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  Increase Guest Count Now by Doing These Five Things 23.02.2026 6min

  In today's challenging restaurant industry, many operators are watching revenue hold steady while their guest count quietly erodes. In this episode, restaurant business advisor Matthew Mabel breaks down why guest count is the most critical metric for independent restaurant entrepreneurs—and why menu price increases have been masking a deeper problem. Drawing from his recent presentation at the DFW Restaurant-and-Bar Conference, Matthew shares five actionable strategies restaurant owners can i...
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  How To Wake Up Your Brand and Increase Guest Count 16.02.2026 6min

  Is your restaurant brand showing signs of fatigue? In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, veteran restaurant advisor Matthew Mabel tackles what he calls "Sleepy Restaurant Syndrome" — the slow decline that happens when independent restaurant groups defer updates to their branding, marketing, menu design, culture, and physical spaces. Matthew walks through the warning signs that your restaurant business may be falling behind the competition, from outdated logos and stale menu forma...
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  The Best Ways Restaurants Activate and Retain Excellent Management 09.02.2026 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel tackles one of the most pressing challenges in the restaurant industry today: how to activate and retain excellent management talent. With restaurant owners and entrepreneurs across the business struggling to find and keep great managers, Matthew breaks down what managers truly want from their organizations, including professional development, inspiration, and pride. He explores two competing approaches to building strong restau...
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  Why You Miss the Biggest Hidden Opportunities in Your Restaurants 02.02.2026 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel reveals why successful restaurant entrepreneurs often overlook their greatest business opportunities. Drawing from his extensive consulting experience with multi-unit restaurant owners, Matthew explains how focusing solely on problems can blind operators to the untapped potential hiding in the parts of their business that already seem to be working. Through two compelling client examples, he demonstrates how a production-focused...
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  Only 3 Worthwhile Places to Look When Developing a Healthy Restaurant Business 26.01.2026 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel cuts through the noise of restaurant entrepreneurship to reveal the three essential areas every restaurant business owner must examine when developing a healthy, profitable operation. Whether you're running a single location or scaling a multi-unit restaurant group, Matthew shares the critical questions that should occupy your attention as a restaurant entrepreneur—from guest satisfaction and financial health to company culture ...
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  Improve Your Restaurants Big Time by Taking a Buyer's Perspective 20.01.2026 5min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, Matthew Mabel shares one of the most powerful mindset shifts a restaurant owner can make: viewing your business as if you just bought it. This entrepreneurial approach helps restaurant operators identify hidden opportunities for profit growth, improved guest experience, and operational efficiency. Matthew explains the difference between "store blindness" and "owner blindness," and offers practical questions to help multi-unit restaurant owner...
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  How to Conquer My 3 Stages of Restaurant Business Growth 12.01.2026 4min

  Every successful restaurant entrepreneur must understand where they stand in their business journey. In this episode, Matthew Mabel breaks down the three critical stages of restaurant business growth that every independent restaurant owner experiences. Whether you're in the high-energy startup phase proving your concept, the strategic refinement period perfecting your operations, or facing the pivotal decision of whether to sell or continue expanding, knowing your stage brings clarity to ever...
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  The Five Best Things I Told You This Year…and Why 29.12.2025 8min

  In this special year-end episode, restaurant business advisor Matthew Mabel shares the five most impactful articles and episodes from 2025 that helped independent restaurant entrepreneurs achieve success in a challenging flat market. Matthew reflects on how multi-unit restaurant owners can navigate unprecedented business conditions by identifying whether their company falls into the Winners, Stable, or Floundering category—and taking strategic action accordingly. From avoiding the "Superhero ...
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  How To Take The Right Steps Toward Mastering Your Restaurant Financials 22.12.2025 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, veteran restaurant advisor Matthew Mabel tackles the critical yet often overlooked topic of mastering restaurant financials for entrepreneurship success. Whether you're running a single-unit business or managing a multi-unit restaurant group, understanding your financial statements is essential to sustainable growth and profitability. Matthew explores how proper financial tracking impacts restaurant business performance, reveals four common c...
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  Breaking Out of the Funk of this Unusually Flat Market 15.12.2025 5min

  In this episode, restaurant business advisor Matthew Mabel tackles the challenges independent restaurant owners face in today's unusually flat market. With consumer confidence low and economic conditions uncertain, many restaurateurs feel stuck—but taking strategic action is essential for business growth and sustainability. Matthew shares entrepreneurship insights on how to break out of the funk, including lessons from thriving restaurants, tough questions to ask your leadership team, and pra...
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  How Creating a Culture of Trust Benefits Top Restaurateurs 08.12.2025 6min

  In this episode of the Restaurant Success Podcast, veteran restaurant advisor Matthew Mabel reveals why mastering your financials is one of the most powerful levers for increasing restaurant profit. Whether you're running a growing multi-unit restaurant business or looking to scale your entrepreneurship journey, understanding your numbers is essential. Matthew walks through critical self-assessment questions every restaurant owner should ask, explains why many successful restaurant groups sti...
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  How to Conquer My 3 Stages of Restaurant Business Growth 24.11.2025 5min

  Discover the three critical stages every restaurant entrepreneur must navigate to achieve sustainable business growth and long-term success. In this episode, Matthew Mabel breaks down his proven framework for restaurant business development, from the intense "Adrenaline-Espresso years" of proving your concept, through the strategic "chill out and reflect" phase of perfecting your brand, to the pivotal "should I stay or should I go" decision point. Whether you're an independent restaurant owne...
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  How to Overcome the Dark News About Our Industry 17.11.2025 7min

  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. In...
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  How to Clarify the Best Way Forward for Your Restaurants 10.11.2025 6min

  Navigating restaurant entrepreneurship has never been more complex, and understanding where your business stands is crucial for success in today's challenging market. In this episode, restaurant business consultant Matthew Mabel reveals a strategic framework that helps multi-unit restaurant operators identify exactly where they fall among three distinct categories of performance—and more importantly, what specific actions each group needs to take to move forward successfully. Whether you're e...