Breaking Out of the Funk of this Unusually Flat Market

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 practical steps his clients are taking to boost guest counts, improve service, and position their operations for a successful 2026.

Key Topics Covered

• Why taking specific action in a flat restaurant market is critical for survival and growth
• How to learn from independent restaurants and chains that are winning despite tough conditions
• Essential questions restaurant owners and senior management teams must ask themselves
• What successful multi-unit restaurant clients are doing to address service, marketing, and leadership gaps
• Planning strategies to regain control of your business heading into 2026

Links Mentioned

• The Value of Making Radical (and Not-So-Radical) Changes At Your Restaurants: https://surrender.biz/the-value-of-making-radical-and-not-so-radical-changes-at-your-restaurants/
• Alert! Restaurateurs You're Missing a Step in Your Steps of Service: https://surrender.biz/alert-restaurateurs-youre-missing-a-step-in-your-steps-of-service/

Resources Mentioned

• Website: www.surrender.biz
• Free initial consultation available

Connect with Matthew Mabel

Matthew works with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to improve:

• Profit growth
• Sales optimization
• Guest count increase
• Unit expansion
• Employee engagement
• Brand loyalty

How to Support the Show

• Subscribe to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter
• Rate and review the show
• Visit www.surrender.biz for additional resources

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the Restaurant Success Podcast. I'm Matthew Mabel, veteran restaurant advisor, coach, consultant, and speaker devoted to multi-unit independent restaurant unit, profit and revenue growth, internal harmony and ownership freedom and flexibility.

This is your weekly entree of the advice, strategy and tactics that I currently provide to my best clients.

Today, we're going to talk about breaking out of this unusually flat market we're all experiencing. I'll share why taking specific action right now is essential, what you can learn from restaurants that are winning despite the conditions, and the tough questions you need to ask yourself and your team as you plan for twenty twenty-six.

I'm often asked whether people seek my help more when the market is up, to support rapid growth, or when it's down, because everyone's trying feverishly to correct deficiencies.

The answer?

Neither.

In this flat-as-a-pancake market, I've never been busier.

Today, no one can afford to sit on their hands on a bus of survivors. Taking specific action is the key to sustaining and flourishing.

Here's the thing.

Some restaurants win in today's flat market and your job is to figure out how to be one of them.

You can start to figure that out, by eating meals in your area's busy, vibrant independent restaurants that are doing really well.

Every restaurant-meal comes with an interesting lesson-learned.

Dining in someone else's packed restaurant inspires you to do better.

You might even visit pace-setting and pace-beating chains like Chili's or Texas Roadhouse.

Let me give you an example. On a road trip over Thanksgiving, I stopped at a Chili's and something stood out to me.

Their value meal, called "three for Me," which starts at ten dollars and ninety-nine cents, is credited for driving staggering success.

Surprisingly, I found it buried so deeply in the menu that you have to go through just about everything else in order to find it.

This placement was obviously intentional. 

Now, chastened by that experience, I want you to pull your senior management team together and question everything that holds your guest count down.

Ask yourselves these questions.

What have you not been willing to do that will make a difference?

What have you not been willing to admit and face that will make a difference?

How does your guest experience truly stand up to the competition?

And, what action will you take with management, operations, employee education, and level of expectations and accountability?

Let me finish, by sharing what my clients are doing to address these challenges.

They acknowledge that their service level does not rise to what guests expect or demand, so they hire learning-and-development coordinators who work in restaurants, not in an office.

They review whether marketing amplifies the strongest aspects of their restaurants, the ones that guests want to use, and they pivot marketing appropriately.

And they accept that where senior managers or general managers are not leading people and units to their full potential, they must make necessary, though stressful, personnel changes and close those gaps.

As you finalize your twenty twenty-six plan, if you feel like a victim who does not have control over the business or future due to economic conditions and low consumer confidence levels, follow these steps to get out of your own way, snap out of it, and have a great twenty twenty-six.

Now, if you found today's discussion valuable, I've written a couple of articles that connect to what we've talked about. 

The first is called "The Value of Making Radical and Not-So-Radical Changes At Your Restaurants," where I explore what independent restaurant owners can learn from Southwest Airlines' dramatic shifts in strategy, and how you can be your own activist investor.

I mentioned earlier how important it is to take action to be sustainable, and to flourish, and this article goes into more detail about what action you can take. 

The second article is about how your steps-of-service can carry messaging beyond the basics to make more money and give your guests a better experience.

You can find links to both these pieces, in the show notes.

Let me tell you about how we might work together. I work with owners of successful, independent, multi-unit restaurants to grow their profit, sales, guest count, and unit count. My unique approach bonds employees and guests to restaurant brands and allows owners to enjoy the freedom and flexibility they have earned.

To schedule a call with me to discuss how to achieve your biggest goals, follow the link in the show notes. The initial consultation is complimentary, and we can discuss which big moves might be right for your operation.

Thanks for listening. If you haven't already subscribed to the Restaurant Success Podcast and Newsletter podcast, please do so, and rate and review the show. Find more information in the show notes at Restaurant Success Podcast dot com.

Also find tons of information you can use in print, audio and video form at my website, www dot surrender dot biz. Thanks again and see you next time.