Blog
Articles, guides, and field notes on food cost, menu engineering, supplier strategy, and the operational habits behind great restaurants.
Food and labour now each take roughly a third of every sales dollar. A healthy food cost percentage can still sit on top of an unprofitable P&L.
Read articleProtein and produce moved sharply through 2025–26. Blanket price rises are the riskiest response — here is the targeted version.
Read articleA percentage measures performance. Cash contribution measures outcome — and the two regularly disagree about which dish to promote.
Read articleTraffic is uneven and household budgets are tight. Discounting is the fastest way to answer that — and the most expensive.
Read articleWhat food cost % actually tells you, why 28–32% isn't a universal target, and how to move it without touching prices.
Read articleA practical walkthrough of the classic 2x2 — with real examples of what to reprice, redesign, or retire.
Read articleA repeatable workflow to normalize units, spot the true cheapest supplier, and stop overpaying on the boring SKUs.
Read articleAn honest look at what LLMs are good for in F&B ops — recipe scaling, market briefings, categorization — and what still needs a human.
Read articleWe publish new pieces on restaurant economics, back-office automation, and menu strategy every few weeks. Want an article on a specific topic? Email hello@lemezon.com.
