May 7, 2026
Why I Regret Leaving Corporate Dining for Restaurant Work
Corporate dining vs restaurant work: I left the first for the second twenty years ago, and I regret it. A former chef on the fork that defines a career.
Section
Industry
Restaurants, hospitality, and the business of food.
May 6, 2026
Is Becoming a Chef Worth It? A Former Chef's Honest Answer
Is becoming a chef worth it? An honest answer from someone who did. What culinary schools and food TV don't tell you, what the trade actually costs.
May 4, 2026
How Restaurants Set Menu Prices
Food cost percentage, anchor pricing, the math behind a $35 entrée — and what diners are actually paying for when they pay restaurant prices.
May 3, 2026
The Real Reason Restaurants Charge for Bread
Bread used to be free. Now it's $6 a basket at the table. The labor, ingredient, and operational economics that turned bread from a courtesy into a billable line item.
May 1, 2026
The Economics of Wine Markups
Why restaurants charge three to four times retail for wine, what diners are actually paying for, and where the value sits on a typical wine list.
April 30, 2026
Why Most Restaurants Don't Take Reservations Anymore
The walk-only model is spreading across casual and mid-tier restaurants. The math behind it, what operators gain from it, and what diners lose.
April 30, 2026
Tips Are Going Away. What Comes Next?
Service charges, hospitality fees, automatic gratuity, and built-in pricing — the math behind the menu changes that are quietly ending tipping in American restaurants.
April 28, 2026
The Hidden Economics of Tipping Pools
How tip income is actually distributed in modern restaurants — the legal framework, the accounting, and who wins or loses depending on the pool structure.
April 26, 2026
The Lease Is the Recipe
Most restaurants don't fail because of the food. They fail because of the rent — and the lease terms that locked in their fate before the doors opened. A primer for diners and operators alike.
April 24, 2026
Why Restaurants Keep Closing in Their Second Year
Year one is the honeymoon. Year two is the bill. A look at the structural reasons independent restaurants disproportionately fail in their second year — and what the survivors do differently.