Recover the 20–30% of revenue quietly leaking through your kitchen and floor operations.
25+ years running restaurant operations — not consulting. An operating system that turns the same revenue into real profit — and lets you step away. I work with independent restaurants and groups of 2–10 locations: cost control, SOPs, KPI & motivation, food safety, and franchise readiness.
operations — not consulting
teams of 600+ people
all still trading
to a written audit
at any point
Tatyana Mikheenkova Before you read anything else — see who you'd be working with.
Twenty-five years of running restaurant operations, not consulting. The short version:
- Networks of up to 24 locations, teams of 600+ people.
- Started in the kitchen of a McDonald's — trained in Chicago and Munich.
- Four franchise formats packaged from scratch — all still trading.
- Six-plus years building these systems remotely, for owners like you.
“You don't need another consultant. You need a system.”
Read the full background ↓- 4–10% of revenue lost to food waste alone
- 65%+ prime cost (food + labor) is the danger zone — most leaks live here
- ~30% of restaurants don't survive year three — usually from margin, not sales
I don't have a framework I apply to everyone
Every consultant will sell you their system. Mine doesn't exist yet — because it comes out of what is actually happening in your restaurant, not out of a folder I reuse.
You describe the problem in your own words. I work out what is behind it, ask what I need to ask, and tell you what I would do about it — in your restaurant, with your numbers, your team and your market.
What you end up with is a system. What you start with is a conversation.
The 7 restaurant pains I solve
You don't need another consultant. You need someone who has been in your shoes and knows exactly where the profit is hiding. Most owners I talk to are dealing with the same seven problems — and every one of them is fixable.
Revenue is up — but profit is down.
Sales are growing, yet the bottom line keeps shrinking. You're working harder for less money — and you can't see where the money is going. That sentence starts more of these conversations than any other.
You're working 70 hours a week — and can't take a day off.
The business doesn't run without you. Every decision, every emergency lands on your desk. You're not the owner — you're the operating system.
Food cost and labor are eating your margin.
Prime cost has crept past the 65% danger zone, and waste takes its share before anything reaches a guest.
Quality is different at every location.
One location runs smoothly. Another is a constant fire drill. Standards live in people's heads instead of in repeatable systems — and where they are written down, nobody follows them. Service quality slips with them.
Your managers solve emergencies instead of running the business.
Every shift brings a new crisis. The team is reactive, not proactive — and you're the one they call when something goes wrong.
You've tried consultants before — and nothing changed.
They delivered a long report, gave recommendations, and disappeared. The problems came back within weeks. You needed a system, not advice.
You're ready to grow — but your operations aren't.
Scaling without systems is just scaling chaos. You want another location or a franchise package, and you know the current operation won't hold up.
Tatyana Mikheenkova 
Tatyana Mikheenkova
I started in the kitchen of a McDonald's. Grill, cashier, shift manager — I worked every position. Ten of those years were inside the McDonald's system, and I finished them as an operations director, with corporate training in Chicago and Munich. That's where I learned the difference between running a restaurant and running a system.
Over 25+ years I've run chains of up to 24 locations and teams of 600+ people as an operations and managing director — across Russia, Turkey and the CIS. I cut food waste by 50%. I brought prime cost down from 71% to 66%. I opened a new location in 20 days — during the pandemic. I built four franchise formats that are still trading today.
I don't give advice. I build a system that works without my constant presence — and without your manual control. I've been doing this work remotely for more than six years: video walkthroughs with checklists, POS data analysis, structured written questionnaires completed by your managers, and local mystery guests. Everything is documented in writing — you can always go back to it.
Today I work remotely with restaurant owners across the US. You don't need another consultant. You need a system.
Past project numbers are shared as proof of method, not as a promise. Food safety (HACCP) validation is done by a certified specialist; franchise legal work (FDD, contracts) is coordinated with a licensed US franchise attorney.
Where Tatyana operated before founding this practice
Not client references — companies where she personally carried the P&L, the standards and the openings.
Companies where Tatyana held direct operating or franchise-development roles. Brands Tatyana has worked inside, across the US, France, Italy and Russia. The logos identify former employers — these companies are not clients of this practice.
How remote consulting works — and why it beats on-site visits
"How can you fix my restaurant if you're not standing in it?" It's a fair question, and here's the honest answer: remote isn't the compromise. It's the reason the diagnosis is accurate.
I see what's actually happening
When a consultant walks through the door, the restaurant is ready for them — spotless, smiling, everything under control. You never see the real operation. Video recorded on an ordinary day, with no preparation, shows me the shift as it actually runs.
Numbers don't perform for visitors
POS exports, waste logs, labor and prime cost — a P&L can't be tidied up for my arrival. Most of the leaks are already visible in your data before I watch a single minute of video.
You don't pay for flights and hotels
Travel days are the most expensive and least productive part of on-site consulting. That money goes into building the system instead of moving me around the country.
You get a system, not an opinion
Advice fades the week the consultant leaves. A written operating system stays with you — and it doesn't need me in the building to keep working.
| On-site visits | Working remotely | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Flights, hotels, travel days | The system itself |
| What gets observed | A restaurant prepared for a visitor | An ordinary shift, on video |
| What you're left with | Advice that fades within weeks | A written operating system |
| Weekly rhythm | Meetings in everyone's calendar | A short written check-in |
| Dependency | On the consultant showing up | None — it runs without me |
The step-by-step version of this — from the free Express Audit to a system your managers run — is further down: see the five steps and timelines ↓
I don't sell advice.
I build operating systems.
Most consultants give you recommendations. I give you an operating system. Their recommendations stop working the moment they leave — that's the whole difference, and it's the reason owners end up solving the same problems every year.
Most consultants
- Deliver long reports.
- Recommend industry best practices.
- Leave implementation to your managers.
- Measure success by finished presentations.
- Disappear after the engagement ends.
How I work
- Find the operational bottlenecks.
- Redesign workflows around your business.
- Build systems your team can actually follow.
- Reduce how much depends on the owner.
- Measure success by operational numbers.
Different concepts.
Different operational problems.
I don't believe in generic restaurant consulting. Every format loses profit for different reasons. That's why my work starts with operational bottlenecks, not with presentations or theoretical recommendations.
2–10 Locations Full-Service Restaurants
Growing restaurants often don't fail because of food. They fail because operations stop scaling.
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Full-Service Restaurants
Growing restaurants often don't fail because of food. They fail because operations stop scaling.
- Margins keep shrinking despite strong sales.
- Every location performs differently.
- Managers constantly solve emergencies.
- The owner becomes the operating system.
- Profit depends on who's working that day.
The business has outgrown informal management. Standards exist in people's heads instead of inside repeatable operating systems.
- Create scalable operating systems.
- Standardize execution across locations.
- Reduce management dependency.
- Improve labor and food cost control.
- Give owners visibility into daily performance.
Fast Operations QSR & Fast Food
In quick service, seconds become labor costs, guest satisfaction and lost revenue.
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QSR & Fast Food
In quick service, seconds become labor costs, guest satisfaction and lost revenue.
- Rush hours become operational chaos.
- Drive-thru speed keeps falling.
- Labor costs continue climbing.
- Training new staff never ends.
- Managers spend shifts putting out fires.
Speed problems usually aren't caused by employees. They're caused by inconsistent workflows, poor station design and weak operational standards.
- Increase throughput without adding labor.
- Reduce ticket times.
- Improve kitchen flow.
- Simplify daily execution.
- Build repeatable operating routines.
High-Volume Beverage Coffee Shops
A busy café isn't automatically a profitable café. Long lines, inconsistent execution and low repeat business quietly drain revenue every day.
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Coffee Shops
A busy café isn't automatically a profitable café. Long lines, inconsistent execution and low repeat business quietly drain revenue every day.
- Morning rush overwhelms the team.
- Customers leave because service is too slow.
- Average ticket remains flat.
- Regular guests stop returning as often.
- Staff turnover makes consistency impossible.
Most coffee shops don't have a coffee problem. They have a workflow problem. Small operational inefficiencies repeated hundreds of times every day become significant profit loss.
"Our team just needs to work faster."
Faster employees rarely solve broken systems. Better processes allow average employees to perform like great ones.
- Optimize bar workflow and station layout.
- Reduce wait times during peak hours.
- Increase average transaction value.
- Improve labor scheduling.
- Create systems that encourage repeat visits.
Production Driven Bakeries
Every unsold product represents labor, ingredients and margin that can never be recovered.
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Bakeries
Every unsold product represents labor, ingredients and margin that can never be recovered.
- Daily production is based on guesswork.
- Waste keeps increasing.
- Popular products sell out too early.
- Slow-moving inventory gets discarded.
- Production staff work overtime too often.
Production planning isn't connected to actual demand. The business relies on habits instead of measurable forecasting and standardized planning.
"Waste is just part of running a bakery."
Some waste is unavoidable. Uncontrolled waste is usually an operational problem—not an industry requirement.
- Improve production forecasting.
- Reduce avoidable waste.
- Balance inventory with demand.
- Standardize production planning.
- Protect margins without sacrificing quality.
Experience & Dessert Concepts Cafés & Confectioneries
Beautiful products and loyal customers don't guarantee healthy margins. Small operational leaks compound into significant profit loss over time.
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Cafés & Confectioneries
Beautiful products and loyal customers don't guarantee healthy margins. Small operational leaks compound into significant profit loss over time.
- Average check has stopped growing.
- Premium desserts don't generate premium profits.
- Inventory spoilage quietly eats into margins.
- Demand swings from one day to the next.
- The owner is involved in every operational decision.
Growth has outpaced operational discipline. Decisions are based on experience rather than reliable data, repeatable systems and measurable performance indicators.
"We're too small to need operational consulting."
Businesses rarely become easier to organize as they grow. The right systems are most valuable before operational complexity becomes expensive.
- Increase average guest spend.
- Reduce spoilage and inventory loss.
- Create repeatable daily operating standards.
- Improve staffing efficiency.
- Build a business that runs consistently without constant owner involvement.
This is a good fit if...
- You own 2–10 locations.
- Your business is profitable but operationally inconsistent.
- You're tired of solving the same problems every week.
- You want systems instead of constant supervision.
Best fit: owner-led US restaurants — 2–10 locations, $2M–$30M annual revenue, 30–250 employees.
You're looking for marketing, social media management, menu design, or someone to temporarily manage your restaurant.
The system works the same way for every concept. The only thing that changes is where the leaks are.
Profit hides in your processes, not your revenue
The problem is rarely too few guests. It's internal leaks: inflated food cost, waste, inconsistent portioning, inefficient scheduling. I fix the places where profit lives — cost, labor, and standards.
This illustrates the approach, not a specific client result.
I solve many different operational problems.
Under your situation — a specific scope.
I don't sell fixed packages you have to choose between. After the free Express Audit, I propose a scope and price under your specific business — a single unit or a group, one leak or a full system.
Diagnostic & Turnaround
Find the leaks. Get a prioritized plan with owners, timelines, and dollar impact.
- P&L deep-dive: food cost, labor, prime cost
- SOP and KPI gap analysis
- Executive summary + 30/60/90-day plan
Operating System
SOPs, cost control, KPIs, food safety, and training so quality holds when you're not there.
- Service, kitchen, BOH standards
- HACCP module + audits
- Train-the-Trainer & financial model
Monthly Support
Weekly KPI & standards check via photo/video. Ongoing tune-ups so the system holds.
- Weekly green/yellow/red zone report
- Marketing-support templates
- Live document updates
Franchise Packaging
Operations manual, opening guide, and legal-block coordination — after a readiness gate.
- Franchise Operations Manual (200+ pages)
- Legal coordination with US franchise attorney
- Opening guide + "10 mistakes" checklist
Prices are estimates and depend on format and current state. Results depend on your team's execution. No business result guarantee. This is general information, not financial or legal advice.
Not sure where to start?
Get a free review of your operations and a clear action plan.
Key control points where profit leaks hide
The free Express Audit is not a vague overview — it's a specific check of every critical area. You get a written report with a clear diagnosis of where profit is disappearing.
Every control point I inspect: Food Cost — spoilage before use · Inventory — food sitting too long · Portioning — inconsistent portions · Waste — spoilage & overprep · Voids — lost sales at the register · Scheduling — overstaffing or gaps · Labor — inefficient floor flow.
Before → After
The first one is my own operating result — the numbers I'm known for. Numbers show potential, not guaranteed results.
Situation: Prime cost running at 71%, food waste around 8% of food sales, and no shared standards between the two locations — every shift ran a little differently depending on who was on the floor.
Action: SOPs, purchasing renegotiation, scheduling system, inventory and portion controls.
Result over 4 months: Prime cost 71% → 66%, food waste cut in half — 8% → 4% of food sales, owner on-site hours down from 55 to 30 per week.
Situation: Strong plates, inconsistent portioning night to night, and a kitchen team running recipes from memory instead of a written standard — food cost swung by several points week to week.
Action: portion control, waste tracking, chef bonus plan tied to margin.
Result over 5 months: Food cost 34% → 29%, plate waste down 40%, kitchen overtime down about a third.
Situation: Three locations, three different ways of running service — no shared reporting, so small problems went unnoticed until they showed up on the P&L.
Action: unified SOPs, weekly P&L reviews, manager training program.
Result over 6 months: Group revenue up 18%, manager turnover down by a third, food-cost variance across locations narrowed from 6 points to under 2.
Reviews from the restaurants Tatyana has worked with
Owners, general managers and head chefs from the restaurants, cafés and bakeries where these systems were actually built.
“We ran 19 locations and 19 different ways of doing everything. Tatyana rebuilt the prime-cost model and standardised purchasing across the group. Within two quarters food cost was down 4.2 points — without touching a single menu price.”
“Our labour cost looked fine on paper and was quietly killing us. She rebuilt the shift schedule against actual sales by hour, not by habit. Same team, 11% less payroll, and the lunch queue stopped.”
“We had a working café and a very rough idea of a franchise. Tatyana turned it into a real package — Operations Manual, opening checklist, training programme, unit economics a franchisee could actually read. Those formats are still trading.”
“Cinema foodservice is its own animal: twenty minutes of demand, then nothing. She rebuilt prep timing and stock rotation around the screening schedule. Concession write-offs fell by more than half.”
“With trucks, a bad site takes eight months to show up in the P&L. Tatyana built the unit-economics model we now run before signing any location. Two sites we were about to open failed it — that alone paid for the year.”
“She held eight restaurants in one region to the same standard without turning it into a police operation. What she left behind was a checklist managers actually use and a shift report I can read in four minutes.”
“We reopened after the pandemic with half a team and a season we could not afford to miss. She opened a new location in 20 days — hiring, menu, purchasing, standards. It broke even in its first full month.”
“I resisted the menu engineering — it felt like accountants telling chefs what to cook. It wasn't that. We cut nine dishes nobody ordered and reworked four. The kitchen got faster, and average check rose 7%.”
“We were writing off pastry every night and calling it the price of freshness. She put in production planning against real sell-through by hour. Write-offs down 38% in six weeks; the product never changed.”
“Turnover was the problem sitting behind every other problem. Onboarding, a shift-lead checklist, a training path. A year later I still had the same shift leads — first time in four years.”
“Delivery orders were up and the money was gone. She rebuilt packaging cost, the aggregator commission mix and the promo calendar. Same order volume, delivery margin from −6% to +14%.”
“What I actually bought was the ability to see. One weekly report per location, same lines, same definitions every week. I stopped hearing ‘it was a slow week’ and started seeing why.”
These are operators Tatyana worked with before launching this practice in the US — the systems, and the results, came from those kitchens. Reviews are published with the operator's permission; company names appear only where the operator agreed to be named.
From Express Audit to system — five steps with clear timelines
Every stage has a deliverable and a date. You always know what is being built this week, what your managers have to do, and what lands at the end of it. Week 1 is the free Express Audit. Everything after it is paid work — scoped and priced before it starts.
Express Audit
Free. From your questionnaire and public data — where profit is leaking, in writing. Five business days.
Cost control
Purchasing, waste, portioning — bring food cost back to target.
SOPs
Kitchen and front processes, quality control, food safety.
KPI & training
Motivation and training so quality holds without you.
Scale
Ongoing support and, when ready, franchise packaging for growth.
I may not be the right fit.
Operational consulting only works when both sides are solving the right problem. I'd rather tell you I'm not a fit than promise results I can't deliver.
We're probably not the right fit if...
- You're looking for marketing or advertising.
- You want someone to temporarily manage your restaurant.
- You only need new menu ideas.
- You're expecting overnight results without changing operations — if the situation is genuinely acute, start with the turnaround page instead.
- Your business isn't ready to implement operational changes.
We're probably a good fit if...
- You operate between 2 and 10 locations.
- Sales are solid, but profits don't reflect the effort.
- You spend too much time solving operational problems yourself.
- Every location performs differently.
- Labor, food cost or execution feel harder to control every year.
- You're looking for long-term operational systems, not quick fixes.
FAQ
Everything owners typically ask before starting. If your question isn't here, put it in the Express Audit request form.
How restaurant operational problems typically get solved — and where we differ.
| In-house Ops Director (full-time hire) | Restaurant Systems Pro-type consultant | The Kitchen Architects | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $110K–$180K/year salary + benefits | $500–$1,500/mo subscription | $8K–$150K project scope |
| Depth | Deep, but 1 person's judgment | Templated, generic | Deep, custom, senior operator |
| Time to first impact | 3–6 months onboarding | Immediate but generic | 30–60 days (cost changes visible) |
| Owns implementation? | Yes | No | Handoff + oversight, your team executes |
| Best for | Groups of 8+ locations | Solo owners on a budget | 2–10 locations, owner-led, wants system |
Different tools for different stages. If you're 15+ locations, hire in-house. If you're one location on a tight budget, use a template product. If you're in the 2–10 range and want a real operating system — that's what I do.
What happens after you request the Express Audit
No calls at any point — that's the format, not a limitation. You get analysis you can re-read, forward to a partner and act on, instead of forty minutes you'd have to take notes on.
You send the request
Name, restaurant, how many locations — and, in your own words, what's going wrong. No documents, no numbers, no reports. Two sentences are enough to start.
You get a reply within 24 hours
Mon–Fri, Eastern Time. You'll hear back with what I already see in your description — and a few questions. No forms to fill in at this stage.
I read your answers and your numbers
Then I come back with a written read: the main places profit is leaking and where I'd start. Five business days from your answers.
You decide what happens next
If it's a fit, I propose a scope and a price. If it isn't, I'll say that plainly. No obligation, no sales pressure.
Where are you right now?
Most owners arrive here in one of three situations. They need different first steps.
Not open yet — and every early decision costs twice to redo
Concept, location, layout, equipment, menu engineering and the opening budget get locked in before the first guest walks in. The opening page shows the route from idea to launch and what it realistically costs.
See the opening plan →The problem isn't growth — it's the margin slipping
Revenue holds, profit doesn't. Prime cost past 65%, waste nobody tracks, standards living in one manager's head. The turnaround page walks through what's actually leaking and how it gets stopped.
See the turnaround →Thinking about franchising your restaurant?
Franchise packaging is a different discipline from operations consulting — Operations Manual, legal FDD coordination, brand book, and an honest readiness check before you pay for anything. Tatyana Mikheenkova leads it personally.
See franchise packaging →I guarantee the quality of diagnostics, standards, processes, and controls. Final results depend on your team's execution. HACCP validation is performed by a certified food safety specialist; franchise legal work (FDD, contracts) is coordinated with a licensed US franchise attorney. Case study numbers and illustrations are based on past projects — they are not a promise or guarantee of specific results for your restaurant. This is general information, not financial or legal advice.
Food cost, labor, waste, purchasing.
Quick wins with clear impact.
Where to begin the cleanup.