Most restaurant owners focus on revenue growth, but the biggest profit opportunities are often hiding in plain sight. In this fast-paced, real-world session, Doug Marschke, CEO of Underdogs Restaurant Group, shares the systems and strategies his team uses to improve profitability across multiple restaurant concepts.

Learn why contribution margin matters more than food cost percentage, how open-book management can transform employee behavior, and why prime cost is the single most important number every operator should track. Doug will also share practical applications of AI, labor-saving technology, online ordering optimization, and third-party delivery strategies that can improve financial performance without sacrificing the guest experience.

Attendees will leave with actionable ideas they can implement immediately to increase profitability, improve accountability, and build stronger restaurant operations.

Key Takeaways:

• Stop focusing solely on food cost and start managing contribution margin

• Use menu engineering to drive higher-profit sales

• Implement open-book management to create an ownership mindset throughout the organization

• Identify labor efficiencies that improve operations without reducing hospitality

• Apply AI and technology to eliminate administrative work and increase productivity

• Understand and benchmark prime cost to improve profitability

• Optimize online ordering and third-party delivery channels while protecting margins

• Build a simple financial dashboard that drives better weekly decisions