Choose a consultant when you need experienced judgment about a decision, concept or performance problem. Consider a management company when you need an organization to accept defined operating responsibilities. The right choice depends on who will run the business and what authority they need.
Key takeaways
- Begin with the responsibility that is missing, not the title on a proposal.
- Separate advice about a decision from authority to run daily operations.
- Check who directs managers, approves changes and answers for service.
- Consider a leadership hire when the central problem is an unfilled operating role.
What problem are you actually trying to solve?
An owner can say “I need help running the restaurant” and mean several different things. The business may lack a general manager. The team may disagree about the concept. The reporting may be too weak to explain performance. Each problem calls for a different response.
Describe the missing responsibility before contacting providers. Write down the decisions that are not being made, the work that is not happening and the consequences for guests or staff. Avoid combining every frustration into a single request for help.
The useful distinction is between a gap in judgment and a gap in operating responsibility. A restaurant can have both, but they should be addressed explicitly.
What does a consultant usually contribute?
A consultant can examine the problem, challenge assumptions and help ownership choose a course of action. That may involve concept decisions, operating standards, leadership requirements or the interpretation of performance information.
The recommendation should make a decision easier to assess. It should explain what the evidence supports, what remains uncertain and what the owner or leadership team needs to decide next. A lengthy presentation is not a substitute for that clarity.
In reviewing any provider, ask which tangible materials are needed. A hiring brief, an operating manual or a bar bible can make a recommendation usable. The document should support an identified need rather than simply add to the volume of material the team receives.
What does a management company usually take responsibility for?
A management company typically takes on agreed operating duties through its leadership structure. Those duties can include directing the management team and overseeing daily performance, with the precise authority established by the arrangement.
Do not assume the company name tells you what is included. Ask who employs and supervises people, who approves purchases and who decides how the business responds when service fails. Have qualified advisers review the agreement and its allocation of responsibilities.
The owner also needs to know which decisions remain reserved for ownership. A management arrangement with unclear approval rights can leave both parties believing the other is responsible for the same unresolved problem.
How can an owner compare the responsibilities?
Use a responsibility table during the discussion. Complete it for the actual business rather than accepting generic descriptions of “support” or “oversight.”
| Question | Advice-focused role | Operating management role |
|---|---|---|
| Who evaluates the problem? | Reviews evidence and recommends decisions | Reviews evidence within assigned operating duties |
| Who directs daily service? | The owner’s designated operating leader | The leader named in the management structure |
| Who approves a new standard? | Recommends a standard for owner or leader approval | Acts within agreed authority and approval limits |
| Who addresses a manager’s performance? | Helps ownership assess requirements and evidence | Supervises as assigned by the agreement |
| Who answers to ownership? | The person responsible for the advice | The person responsible for the operating arrangement |
These are useful starting distinctions, not legal definitions. Write down the real responsibilities and test them against ordinary situations the restaurant faces.
What does operating experience tell you about an advisor?
My background includes front-of-house and back-of-house management at Hillstone, Vice President of Operations at Joe’s Stone Crab and Chief Operating Officer at Kiki Group. Those are operating roles with different perspectives on the relationship between standards, people and ownership.
At Kiki Group, I built corporate infrastructure across HR, events, marketing, reservations and development. That experience makes me cautious about recommendations that do not name the person responsible for a handoff. An organization chart only helps if people understand the decisions that come with each role.
Ask an advisor to explain their own responsibilities in previous roles. Recognition and employer names can provide context, but they do not answer whether the experience fits your current problem.
When is recruiting a leader the more direct answer?
If no one owns the daily operation, start with the leadership requirement. A capable team still needs someone who can prioritize, make decisions and hold standards. Bringing in more opinions can make that absence harder to see.
Define the role before writing the job description. Identify the authority the leader will have, the support available and how the owner will evaluate performance. Recruiting someone into an unresolved ownership disagreement is unlikely to resolve the disagreement.
Leviathan’s capabilities include recruiting key leaders and creating critical operating documentation. Those tools are useful when the underlying responsibilities have been defined clearly enough to guide the search or the manual.
Can an independent advisor and an operator work together?
They can, with a clear purpose and reporting arrangement. An owner may want a separate assessment of a concept or proposed operator, while the operating team remains responsible for the business.
Agree on access to information and how questions reach the team. Avoid asking staff to follow competing instructions from people with different roles. Recommendations should reach the person authorized to decide, with enough context to judge the tradeoff.
The IMC USA Code of Ethics offers a useful reference on competence, confidentiality and conflicts of interest. Ask any advisor how those issues would be handled in your situation. A referral relationship should be disclosed rather than discovered later.
What should you prepare before comparing options?
Prepare a short description of the business, the problem and the current reporting structure. Include what you have already tried. Separate observations, such as recurring delays, from conclusions, such as assuming a particular manager is the cause.
For a new business, the SBA’s planning resources can help organize the concept and operating assumptions before you ask others to assess them. For an existing business, bring current records and explain where you do not trust them.
Use this checklist for the first comparison:
- Who will be the owner’s main contact?
- Which decisions require recommendations, and which require daily authority?
- Who will direct the existing managers?
- What information is needed to assess the problem?
- Which responsibilities will remain with ownership?
- What would indicate that a different leadership structure is needed?
The questions to ask before hiring offer a fuller interview guide.
How do you make the final choice?
Compare the proposed responsibility with the gap you identified at the start. If the business has leaders who can act but needs a clearer decision, assess the quality of the advice. If there is no organization able to run the agreed operation, evaluate who can accept that responsibility.
For a development project, read how to choose a restaurant operator or tenant before treating an operating partner as interchangeable with an advisor.
Leviathan’s restaurant and bar guidance starts with the owner’s question and the team around it. The title of the outside provider matters less than understanding who will decide, who will act and who will be accountable afterward.
What else should you know?
What is the main difference between a consultant and a management company?
A consultant generally helps ownership evaluate decisions and improve the plan. A management company generally accepts agreed responsibilities for operating the business through a defined management structure. Titles vary, so confirm the actual duties and authority in the agreement.
Can a consultant replace a general manager?
Advice does not fill a vacant management position by itself. The restaurant still needs someone responsible for the daily decisions assigned to that role. If the main problem is missing leadership, define the position and hiring need rather than assuming outside recommendations will cover it.
Can an owner use both a consultant and a management company?
Yes, when their responsibilities are distinct and understood. An owner may want an independent view of concept, performance or operator selection while a management company runs agreed operations. Establish how information is shared and who has authority to direct the team.
Does hiring a management company remove the owner’s responsibilities?
No. Ownership still needs a clear way to oversee the business and the agreement, with qualified advice on legal and financial responsibilities. Specify reporting, approvals and how disagreements are resolved. The precise allocation of duties depends on the arrangement.
What if the restaurant has a good team but inconsistent results?
Start by identifying the source of the inconsistency. Unclear standards, poor information or conflicting priorities may call for focused review rather than a change of operator. Confirm the diagnosis before changing the leadership structure.
To discuss a decision for your business, start a conversation with Daniel.
About this guidance
This article provides general operating guidance, not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice. Requirements and business conditions vary by location and project. Verify current requirements with the relevant agencies and qualified professionals before acting. Contact us about a correction.