Restaurant Management: The Math

This an excerpt from Bruce Nelson's Restaurant Management: the Myth, the Magic, the Math.

Part Three - The Math“The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God.”

—Euclid of Alexandria

Oh yes, the math. This is usually the part that throws most restaurateurs for a loop. A while back, I was enjoying a nice breakfast with the minister of my church one day when he looked at me somewhat slyly and said, “You know why I got into ministry? There is no math in ministry!” 

I have come to understand that a lot of people get into the restaurant business under the same notion. I mean, when you think about the people you know in the restaurant business, they are by and large the academic nonconformists. You can spot a future restaurateur in elementary school. They are the ones with “doesn’t play well with others” checked on their report cards. Future restaurateurs are the young charges in school who struggle sitting still in their seats, standing patiently in…