Why setting fewer, smarter goals, writing them down and holding yourself accountable can make next year your restaurant's best year yet.
By Jamie Galler | Restaurant Advisor
There are fewer than two months remaining in 2026.
For restaurant owners, particularly those of us in South Florida heading into our busiest season, this is an easy time to become consumed by the day-to-day demands of the business.
There's always something that needs attention. Employees to manage. Customers to serve. Problems to solve.
And before you know it, another year has passed.
But here's a question worth considering:
What do you want your restaurant to look like at the end of 2027, and what are you going to do differently to get there?
I'm not talking about New Year's resolutions.
We all know how those tend to go.
Every January, people enthusiastically resolve to lose weight, exercise more, save money or develop better habits.
And by the end of the month, many of those resolutions have already been forgotten.
Restaurant owners aren't much different.
We resolve to increase sales, reduce food costs, improve service, develop our managers or spend less time working in the business and more time working on it.
All worthwhile aspirations.
But aspirations aren't goals.
And setting goals without establishing a system for achieving them is little more than wishful thinking.
Over the years, I've developed a personal approach to goal-setting that has served me well, both professionally and personally.
It's not particularly complicated.
But it requires thought, discipline, accountability and, perhaps most importantly, a willingness to make your goals genuine priorities.
Here's how I approach it.
1. Start by Deciding What Really Matters
One of the biggest mistakes people make when setting goals is setting too many.
It's tempting to create a long list of everything we'd like to improve.
Increase sales. Reduce food cost. Lower labor expense. Improve employee retention. Upgrade technology. Redesign the menu. Increase catering sales. Improve customer satisfaction.
All worthy objectives.
But when everything becomes a priority, nothing really is.
Personally, I prefer to identify just three to five meaningful goals.
Why?
Because achieving important goals requires more than good intentions.
It requires time, attention, resources and the willingness to say no to activities that don't support those priorities.
For a restaurant owner, that might mean deciding that improving profitability is more important than increasing sales volume.
Or that developing a stronger management team is more valuable than personally solving every operational problem.
Or that improving customer retention deserves more attention than constantly chasing new customers.
The point is to be selective.
Your goals should reflect the few things that, if accomplished, would make the greatest difference to your business.
Before deciding what you want to accomplish in 2027, take an objective look at 2026.
What worked?
What didn't?
Where did you make progress?
Where did you fall short?
And what opportunities would have the greatest impact on your restaurant's performance?
Start there.
2. Turn Good Intentions Into SMART Goals
I've long been a believer in the SMART goal-setting framework.
It's simple, practical and effective.
A SMART goal is:
Specific: Clearly defined, rather than vague.
Measurable: Supported by numbers or other objective indicators of progress.
Achievable: Challenging, but realistic given your resources and circumstances.
Relevant: Directly connected to your most important business priorities.
Time-bound: Attached to a clear deadline.
Consider a common restaurant objective:
"I want to improve food cost next year."
That's a good intention.
But it doesn't tell you what success looks like, when you expect to achieve it or how you'll measure progress.
Now consider this:
"Reduce food cost from 36% to 33% by June 30, 2027, through standardized recipes, portion controls, improved purchasing practices and weekly inventory reviews."
That's a goal you can manage.
It establishes a starting point, a target, a deadline and the principal actions required.
The same approach applies to other priorities.
Instead of "Increase sales," consider:
"Increase average guest check from $32 to $35 by September 30, 2027, through menu optimization and sales-driven service training."
Instead of "Develop better managers," consider:
"By the end of the second quarter, train all shift managers to independently prepare schedules, conduct pre-shift meetings and complete weekly operating reviews."
Notice the difference.
These goals provide direction.
They also create a basis for measuring whether you're actually making progress.
If you can't clearly describe what success looks like, how will you know when you've achieved it?
3. Write Your Goals Down and Keep Them Visible
This is one of my most important personal practices.
I write my goals down.
And then I put them somewhere I'll see them regularly.
Not buried in a notebook.
Not saved in a computer folder that I'll rarely open.
Somewhere conspicuous.
Why?
Because restaurant owners are constantly being pulled in different directions.
The urgent has a way of crowding out the important.
An equipment problem, an employee callout or an unhappy customer demands immediate attention.
Meanwhile, the important work of improving profitability, developing employees and building a stronger business gets postponed.
Written, visible goals provide a regular reminder of what you've decided matters most.
They help you distinguish between simply being busy and making meaningful progress.
Consider posting your three to five goals in your office.
Review them during your weekly management meeting.
Include them in your monthly financial review.
Make them part of your regular operating rhythm.
Goals that remain visible are much harder to ignore.
4. Find Someone Who Will Hold You Accountable
Here's another practice I've found valuable.
I share my goals with other people.
Not necessarily everyone.
But with people whose judgment I respect and who are willing to ask difficult questions.
I think of them as accountability partners.
That might be a business partner, a trusted manager, a mentor, a fellow restaurateur or an advisor.
Someone who will periodically ask:
"How are you progressing?"
"What have you accomplished?"
"What's getting in the way?"
"And what are you going to do about it?"
There's something powerful about knowing someone else is aware of your commitments.
It's easy to rationalize missed targets when you're the only person who knows about them.
It's harder when you've committed to reviewing your progress with someone else.
For restaurant owners, I recommend making accountability a regular part of management.
Assign responsibility for each important goal.
Establish scheduled progress reviews.
Discuss obstacles openly.
And make sure those conversations result in specific actions.
Accountability shouldn't be about assigning blame.
It should be about keeping commitments, solving problems and maintaining momentum.
5. Learn to “Chunkify” Your Goals
One of my favorite approaches to accomplishing ambitious objectives is something I call "chunkifying."
It's simply the practice of breaking a large goal into smaller, more manageable pieces.
You've probably heard the old question:
How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time.
The same principle applies to achieving business goals.
A 12-month objective can seem overwhelming.
But four quarterly milestones?
Twelve monthly targets?
A handful of specific actions each week?
Those are much easier to manage.
Let's return to our food-cost example.
Suppose your restaurant is currently running a 36% food cost, and your goal is to reach 33% by the end of June.
Instead of waiting six months and hoping the numbers improve, break the project into stages.
First quarter: Establish the foundation.
Cost and standardize your best-selling recipes.
Establish portion standards and train employees.
Implement consistent physical inventory procedures.
Review purchasing practices and identify opportunities.
Second quarter: Execute, measure and refine.
Monitor actual versus theoretical food costs.
Identify and correct recurring variances.
Review recipe compliance and portioning.
Adjust purchasing, pricing or procedures as necessary.
Then establish monthly and weekly measures.
Are portion standards being followed?
Are inventory variances declining?
Are purchasing costs improving?
Is the reported food-cost percentage moving toward the target?
Instead of one large objective, you now have a series of manageable actions.
And each completed action moves you closer to the result you want.
Big goals become achievable when you break them into small, consistent steps.
6. Measure Progress, Not Just Results
Here's an important distinction.
Most restaurant owners are accustomed to reviewing results.
Sales.
Food cost.
Labor cost.
Profit.
Those numbers matter, of course.
But they're generally measures of what has already happened.
If your goal is to reduce food cost, you shouldn't wait until the end of the month to discover whether you've succeeded.
You should also measure the activities that influence the result.
Are recipes being followed?
Are portions being controlled?
Are inventories being completed accurately?
Are managers reviewing variances and taking corrective action?
These are the activities that help produce the financial outcome.
The same applies to sales growth.
If your goal is to increase average check, track whether employees are making appropriate recommendations, whether targeted menu items are selling and whether training is being reinforced.
Measure the outcome, but also measure the actions that produce it.
I recommend establishing a simple scorecard for each major goal.
Nothing elaborate.
Just enough information to answer three questions:
Where are we now?
Where should we be?
What are we doing to close the gap?
Review progress weekly where practical, and conduct a more comprehensive assessment monthly or quarterly.
The objective is to identify problems while there's still time to do something about them.
7. Stay Committed to the Goal, but Be Willing to Adjust the Plan
There's one final part of my approach that's especially important.
I periodically reassess my goals.
Not because I want an excuse to abandon them.
But because circumstances change.
A new competitor opens.
Ingredient costs increase.
A key manager leaves.
Customer preferences shift.
An unexpected opportunity emerges.
A goal that made perfect sense in January may need to be reconsidered in July.
That's not failure.
That's good management.
The important thing is to distinguish between a goal that's become less relevant and one that's simply proving difficult to achieve.
Don't abandon an important objective just because progress is slower than expected.
Instead, ask:
Is this goal still important?
Is the target still realistic?
Are we measuring the right things?
Do we need to change our approach?
What have we learned?
Be disciplined about your priorities, but flexible about how you achieve them.
And when a goal genuinely no longer serves the business, have the courage to change it.
8. Don't Wait Until January 1
There's a little more than a month and a half remaining in 2026.
That's enough time to accomplish something meaningful.
It's also enough time to begin preparing for 2027.
In fact, I would argue that waiting until January 1 to begin planning puts you behind before the year even starts.
Use the remaining weeks to review this year's performance.
Identify your greatest opportunities.
Decide which three to five objectives matter most.
Establish your targets.
Break them into quarterly milestones.
Determine how you'll measure progress.
And identify who will help hold you accountable.
Then consider one more question:
What can you do before December 31 that will make achieving your 2027 goals easier?
Perhaps you can complete your recipe costing.
Begin training a manager.
Clean up your POS reporting.
Establish a weekly operating scorecard.
Or simply block time on your calendar for regular management and financial reviews.
You don't have to wait for a new year to begin making improvements.
The Operator Challenge
Before Thanksgiving, set aside 30 uninterrupted minutes.
Not to work on the day's problems.
To work on the future of your business.
Ask yourself:
1. What are the three to five most important things I want to accomplish in 2027?
Be selective. Focus on outcomes that will make a meaningful difference.
2. Are these SMART goals?
Can you clearly define success, measure progress and establish a realistic deadline?
3. How can I break each goal into quarterly milestones and manageable weekly actions?
Remember: one bite at a time.
4. Where will I keep these goals visible, and how often will I review progress?
Put the review dates on your calendar now.
5. Who will hold me accountable?
Share your goals with someone who will challenge you, support you and expect you to follow through.
Finally, ask yourself:
What is the first step I can take this week?
Then take it.
Because the difference between another year of good intentions and a year of meaningful accomplishments isn't the quality of your resolutions.
It's the discipline with which you pursue them.
2027 won't be different simply because the calendar changes.
It will be different because you decide what matters, establish a plan, measure your progress and consistently follow through.
And that's what working on your restaurant, not just in it, is all about.
Jamie Galler
Restaurant Advisor | Former Multi-Unit Restaurant Operator
The Practical Creative
Practical Solutions. Creative Approaches. Measurable Outcomes.
Helping independent restaurants and restaurant groups increase profitability, grow sales, build better operations and develop stronger leaders.
Want a clearer view of the numbers driving your restaurant's profitability?
The Practical Creative helps restaurant operators build practical measurement systems, identify performance gaps and turn operating data into measurable financial results. Schedule a complimentary discovery meeting at thepracticalcreative.com.