Our Story
Built from the
inside out.
CUL wasn't built in a boardroom. It was built on the line, in the walk-in, and across the P&L reviews of operators who needed enterprise infrastructure but couldn't afford a full-time COO.
20+
Years on the Ops Floor
From line cook to fractional COO
The Founding Story
We've sat in every seat at the table — including the one where the numbers don't add up.
CUL was founded by an operator who spent two decades inside restaurants, cafes, and multi-unit hospitality groups — not as a consultant watching from the outside, but as the person responsible for making the numbers work.
After building operational infrastructure for enterprise groups with 40+ locations, the same pattern kept appearing in smaller operators: real potential, real revenue, and a ceiling they couldn't break through because they lacked the systems that enterprise groups take for granted.
CUL was built to close that gap. Not with generic advice or off-the-shelf frameworks — but with the same operational rigor that national groups use, embedded directly into your business at a cost that makes sense for operators at 2–15 units.
The name reflects the philosophy: Culinary Thinking Lab. Every engagement is a structured experiment — diagnose, design, deploy, measure.
Team Credentials
Operators first. Consultants second.
Every person on the CUL team has held operational accountability — not just advised on it. We've managed P&Ls, hired and fired managers, rebuilt service flows under pressure, and sat across the table from investors explaining why the numbers moved.
That experience is the credential. It's why our clients trust us to embed in their business, not just observe it.
20+
Years in Hospitality Operations
22+
Units Optimized Across Concepts
$2M+
In Recovered Food & Labor Cost
3
Continents of Operational Experience
Operational Philosophy
Four principles that guide every engagement.
Diagnose Before Prescribing
Every engagement starts with a deep operational audit. We never walk in with a pre-built solution — we surface the actual constraints first, then build the roadmap around them.
Systems Over Heroics
Great operators shouldn't have to be in the building every hour. We build the infrastructure — scorecards, playbooks, accountability rhythms — so the operation runs without you holding it together.
People Execute Systems
The best process in the world fails without buy-in. We train your managers to own the system, not just follow it — creating a leadership layer that multiplies your capacity.
Measure What Moves the Business
We cut through vanity metrics and focus on the numbers that actually predict profitability: labor efficiency, food cost variance, ticket throughput, and manager retention.
Ready to Work Together?
Start with a conversation.
Every engagement begins with a 30-minute discovery call. We'll identify the top three constraints in your operation and outline exactly what a CUL engagement would look like for your business.