02/06/2026
Hi friends, I'm Anne Shadle, Mayan Cafe’s general manager and co-owner for the last 19 years. Often, younger or aspiring restaurant owners ask me how many hours I work these days. They ask me if I take vacations.
They want to know if there is light further down the tunnel of their entrepreneurial journeys.
Here’s what I tell them:
I work on Mondays and Tuesdays at the restaurant. I have weekly meetings with all my managers during those days.
The rest of the week, I pop in from time to time and am always available by phone if folks have questions. And when the alarm goes off, I get texts. (Yes, this happens!! A bird flew inside the dining room when it was really cold and set off the motion detector last week. 🤣)
But that’s it.
So yes, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
How did I get here? It’s two-fold.
First, I spent a good chunk of time putting strong operating systems in place. Financial systems to understand what my numbers were telling me and where I needed to make changes to save money. HR processes to improve how I was hiring, training, developing and handling conflict with our staff. And marketing strategies to invest our time and marketing dollars into efforts that actually paid off.
After my business partner and I implemented these systems, we could consider my partner’s ideas for new lines of revenues or ways to grow the business. (He’s the visionary so he can’t help but dream up new ways to do things!)
But it wasn’t until we had these foundational systems in place that we both had the capacity to actually invest in growing the business.
And this is one of the main reasons I teach the class I’m sharing with you - to help other restaurant owners find a stable path to growth. Because it’s the growth that we’ve experienced - adding a strong second line of revenue and doubling our seating capacity - that has allowed me to afford to be in my business as little as I am these days.
So, if growth is on your mind, take the time to build a solid foundation FIRST.
That’s why - starting on February 18 - I’m teaching a six part deep-dive journey through what exactly it takes to thrive in the restaurant business. It’s called Plate to Profit. And each week - for six weeks - we’ll meet on Zoom together - and I’ll walk you through the six key components of running a successful food service business. This is the best way you can invest your time if you have dreams of growing your restaurant.
Here’s what you’ll get:
- A clear strategy for the all-important process of inventory management, plus ordering best practices.
- How to read and understand (and no longer fear!) your financial statements...from revenues, expenses, cost of goods, labor and other operating costs. PLUS - how to troubleshoot and fix the problem areas.
- Step-by-step lay-out for your hiring process (I call it "The Arc of Hiring), including building job descriptions, how to interview, creating evaluations - so that you not only decrease turnover, but create a culture of employees who care - and best of all, no longer give you short notices when they leave.
- Social media best practices - with guest teacher and foodie social media expert JCP Eats.
- A 6-point path to evaluate the marketing value of your meal "specials" - to assess whether you're really boosting your business.
- Most important…as we work together, you'll get my own proven tool kit, complete with spreadsheets, step-by-step guides to creating culture, employee handbooks - everything I've used for over a decade in my own business and helped private clients build on their own too - to make your next steps easy-peasy.
Best of all, you don’t have to drive out in the cold, or sit in a badly lit classroom. It’s all from the comfort of your home. It’s live, in person - and you can ask questions and get some hand-holding from someone who’s been in your shoes.
It’s really affordable. But space is limited. That’s because I want to give you my full attention. (Last year, it was just seven people - and we’re more than halfway there!)
Click here to sign up. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/plate-to-profit-mastering-restaurant-operations-finances-staffing-tickets-1129998288299?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=wsa&aff=ebdsshwebmobile
