Your POS data already knows where the money is going. We pull it out, put a dollar figure on it, and show you exactly what to fix first.
See What Your Data ShowsBetween running the floor, managing staff, and keeping guests happy — there's no time to dig into the data. That's where we come in.
The gap between what food should cost and what it actually costs. Over-portioning, waste, and vendor price creep add up quietly.
Every DoorDash and UberEats order gives away a quarter of the sale. Most operators don't know their true exposure.
Staffing that doesn't flex with demand means overpaying on slow days and underserving the rush.
Ingredient costs go up a few percent at a time. No one sends you a notice. Over 12 months it compounds.
Three phases. Each one builds on the last. You see value from week one.
Export your Toast data (2 minutes). We deliver a full report showing exactly where money is going and how much is recoverable.
We build real recipe costs from your invoices, set up vendor tracking, optimize pricing, and implement changes. 6-month engagement.
Monthly data refresh catches drift as it happens — vendor increases, portion creep, seasonal shifts — before they become real problems.
Scaled to your restaurant's size. The ROI math works at every level.
Every restaurant is different. These patterns show up consistently across independent operators.
Most independents run 2-6 points above the 30% benchmark. On a $1M restaurant, each point is $10,000/year.
The difference between what food should cost and what you actually spent. Waste, portioning, and shrinkage live here.
Scheduling aligned to revenue by daypart. Small shifts on slow days compound across the year.
Prices creep up 3-8% annually. With data in hand, you can push back — or find a better option.
Mack in Black is a Connecticut-based operational optimization firm focused exclusively on independent restaurants. We combine POS data analysis, recipe costing, vendor tracking, and labor modeling to give you the financial clarity that larger chains take for granted — without the overhead. Every recommendation comes with a dollar figure attached.
Industry data shows 2-6% of revenue is typically recoverable through operational optimization.
| Annual Revenue | Conservative (2%) | Typical (4%) | Strong (6%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $750K | $15,000 | $30,000 | $45,000 |
| $1M | $20,000 | $40,000 | $60,000 |
| $1.5M | $30,000 | $60,000 | $90,000 |
| $2M | $40,000 | $80,000 | $120,000 |
Based on published benchmarks from the National Restaurant Association, Restaurant365, CrunchTime, and Toast.
We start with a simple Toast export. Takes 2 minutes. From there, we build the picture together.