— Restaurant consultant & fractional COO for Dallas–Fort Worth
Control your prime cost. Control your future.
Prime Cost Group gives independent and multi-unit restaurants the experienced operator they can't justify hiring full-time: someone who has run the numbers, built the schedules, negotiated with suppliers and opened new locations.
- Audit
- $3,500
- Retainers
- $2,500/mo
- In ops
- 15 yrs
01 — The margin squeeze
The food is good. The guests come back. The margin isn't there.
You're the owner, the GM, the bookkeeper and the backup line cook. And you can't quite work out where the money goes.
- No. 01Ticket
Food cost drifts
A point at a time. Invoices get paid without anyone checking them against the order guide or the agreed price. - No. 02Ticket
Labor runs on habit
The schedule is last week's schedule, not what the sales forecast says you'll do. - No. 03Ticket
The POS knows, nobody looks
The answers are in your reports. Nobody has time to pull them, let alone act on them. - No. 04Ticket
Busy isn't accountable
Managers work hard all day, and you still can't tell what actually got finished this week.
A full-time COO costs a six-figure salary. A typical consultant hands you a binder and leaves.
You need something in between: an experienced operator who works in your business every month and is accountable for the numbers.
02 — Restaurant turnaround
When the numbers are going the wrong way, act on facts, fast.
Every restaurant hits a tough stretch: a new competitor, a lease that got more expensive, a key manager leaving, a slow season that ran long. We move quickly to find where the money is going, stop the biggest leaks, and rebuild a routine your team can hold.
What it costs
Audit credited toward a retainer signed within 30 days. All prices
03 — Prime Cost Health Check
What is your prime cost, right now?
Food, beverage and labor as a share of sales. It's the biggest number you control. Your figures stay in your browser.
What's a good restaurant prime cost?04 — Restaurant consulting services
Published prices. Operator-led work.
Every engagement starts with the audit. Retainers have a 3-month minimum, then run month-to-month.
See full pricing05 — How we work
Audit. Plan. Implement. Sustain.
- No. 01Order
Audit
One to two days on site plus your P&Ls, POS data, invoices and schedules. Every finding gets a dollar figure. - No. 02Order
Plan
A prioritized 90-day plan with an owner, a deadline and a number to track for every fix. - No. 03Order
Implement
We work the plan with you and your managers: schedules, order guides, supplier calls, recipe costing, Toast setup. - No. 04Order
Sustain
Weekly numbers, a manager meeting with a real agenda, and follow-up until the new habits hold without us.
06 — The founder
An operator, not a theorist.
Zack Hutchins has spent 15 years in restaurant operations, specializing in Texas barbecue: rising to General Manager, then serving as a Founding COO and opening new locations. Prime Cost Group brings that operating experience to restaurants of every concept.
- Years in operations
- 15
- Minimum-wage employees, with strong labor cost
- 0
- Based in
- North Texas
- Operations Audit, flat
- $3,500
- Credited toward a retainer within
- 30 days
- Retainer minimum
- 3 months
07 — Results
Case studies coming soon.
We publish results only with a client's written permission and real numbers behind them. As engagements wrap up, they'll appear here.
- 01 Independent full-serviceIn progress
- 02 Multi-unit groupIn progress
- 03 New location openingIn progress
How is this different from hiring a restaurant consultant?
Most consultants deliver recommendations and leave. We stay and do the work with you: reviewing numbers, running manager meetings, calling suppliers and following up until the change holds.
Why does every engagement start with the audit?
Because we won't sell you a plan for a restaurant we haven't seen. The audit gives us both a shared set of facts: where prime cost is going, what each fix is worth, and which offer actually fits. If it turns out you don't need us beyond the report, you'll still have a plan you can run yourself.
What are the minimum terms?
Retainers (Operator Advisor, Fractional COO and Multi-Unit) have a 3-month minimum, then continue month-to-month. Real operating change takes at least a quarter to show up in a P&L. The audit and projects are one-time engagements.
Do you only work with barbecue restaurants?
No. Our founder's background is in Texas barbecue, but we work with every concept: quick service, fast casual, full service and bar-forward. The fundamentals are the same: what you buy, what you pay people, what you sell, and who's accountable.
→ Next step
Find out where your prime cost is going.
Thirty minutes, no pitch deck. Tell us about your restaurant and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help and which offer fits.
We respond within one business day. Serving Dallas–Fort Worth.