2,800+ Restaurants Transformed. 19% Profitability.
One Name Behind It All.
Before you hear the story, before you learn the framework—just look at the record.
DONALD BURNS
THE RESTAURANT COACH®
Donald Burns is the most trusted restaurant advisor in the world—and the most imitated. But there’s only one Restaurant Coach™.
Over the last 15 years, his clients have included everything from small-town independents to multi-unit concepts across five continents. His average client sees a 19% profitability score—not from gimmicks, menu tweaks, or marketing tricks, but from fixing the core of the business: leadership, systems, and execution.
You may not have read his books. You may not have heard his name. But, the truth is, if you’ve worked in the industry over the past decade—you’ve felt his influence, whether you knew it or not.
2,800+ restaurants coached
Average client profitability:
19%
Creator of the
PPP Framework™
& Conquest Path™
Author of the
Your Restaurant
Sucks series
Trusted by operators across five continents
If you're here, you're likely chasing more than advice.
You want profit. You want control. You want a restaurant that delivers—without consuming your time, your health, or your peace of mind.
★★★★★
“Before working with Donald, we were at 2% profit and completely burned out. Ninety days later, we hit 8.7%—and I took my first actual vacation in years.”
Owner, Farm-to-Table Bistro, Oregon
Stage 1: Profit Rocket™
★★★★★
“We’d been stuck in the same spot for five years—decent revenue, no margin. Donald helped us build real systems. Profit hit double digits, and I haven’t worked a Saturday since..”
Co-Owner, Family Pizza Chain, Ohio
Stage 2: The Accelerator™
★★★★★
“Implementing PPP across our 4-unit group changed everything. Labor efficiency, leadership, forecasting—it’s all tighter. We’re preparing to open #5 with confidence.”
CEO, Multi-Concept Hospitality Group, Texas
Stage 3: Restaurant Builder™
The Business Runs on You. And It’s Running You Into the Ground.
You work open to close. You fill every gap. You carry the weight. And still—there’s nothing left over.
No one told you it would feel like this. That owning a restaurant meant being the last line of defense…every single day.
The first shift didn’t show up. You cover it. The fryer’s down again. You fix it. Prep’s behind. You jump on the line.
You haven’t had a real day off in months. The numbers barely cover payroll. And when the dust settles between lunch and dinner, you steal ten minutes behind the dumpster—just long enough for a cigarette, or something stronger.
Some days it’s coffee and adrenaline. Other days it’s nicotine, booze, or whatever quiets the noise in your head long enough to keep going.
You’re not building a business. You’re keeping one alive—barely.
The menu’s bloated. The team turns over faster than you can train. The only thing consistent is the chaos.
And worst of all? You’ve convinced yourself this is how it’s supposed to be.
But it isn’t.
There’s a different way to run a restaurant. And for Donald Burns, it started with three words on a napkin.
The Night Everything Changed
Burned out. Overworked. Drowning in problems he couldn’t name.
Then came a moment he didn’t expect—and couldn’t ignore.
It was another long night. The kind where the doors are closed, but your mind’s still racing.
The shift had been chaotic. A cook no-showed. The walk-in was leaking. Numbers were off—again.
Donald was behind the bar, resetting for the next day, when a regular walked in.
A steady presence. Quiet. Observant.
He watched for a moment.
Then asked, gently:
“How’s business?”
Donald gave the answer most owners give.
“Good. We’re busy.”
And forced a tired smile.
The man didn’t nod. He didn’t look away.
He saw the truth Donald was trying to hide.
The weight. The fatigue. The quiet unraveling just beneath the surface.
He reached for a napkin. Wrote three words.
Then slid it across the bar and said:
“Meet with me once a week.
Do what I show you.
In a year, everything will be different.”
There was no pitch. No angle. Just a rare kind of clarity—offered without judgment.
And for the first time in a long time, Donald felt like someone understood.
He said yes.
That napkin became the first building block of the framework that would change his life—and eventually, reshape the entire industry.
One Restaurant Saved. Another One Built.
Donald’s first restaurant had been a testbed. A place where he learned, iterated, and ultimately turned chaos into order.
People. Product. Process.
It stabilized. It grew. It held up under pressure.
But one success wasn’t enough.
So he launched a second restaurant—this time, built from day one on the PPP framework.
The results?
$2.2 million in revenue in the first year.
20% profitability.
A fully staffed team.
A business that didn’t depend on his presence to operate.
What started as survival had become structured. What started on a napkin had become a method.
But was it poised for scale?
THE PATTERN REAPPEARED AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN.
After selling his restaurants during a divorce, Donald was recruited by Wolfgang Puck.
He stepped into a massive operation. World-class kitchens. Celebrity-level vision. Teams in the hundreds.
But the more he observed, the more something stood out.
The success wasn’t just built on talent. It wasn’t personality, or prestige, or even culinary brilliance.
It was structure. The same framework Donald had scribbled on a napkin.
The same principles that saved his first restaurant and powered his second.
People. Product. Process.
It stabilized. It grew. It held up under pressure.
But one success wasn’t enough.
Only now, it was happening at scale.
“I realized they weren’t calling it PPP—but they were living it.”
That was the moment Donald understood:
This wasn’t just his framework. It was the framework.
And it was time to bring it to the industry—on purpose.
One Restaurant Saved. Another One Built.
Donald’s first restaurant had been a testbed. A place where he learned, iterated, and ultimately turned chaos into order.
People. Product. Process.
It stabilized. It grew. It held up under pressure.
But one success wasn’t enough.
So he launched a second restaurant—this time, built from day one on the PPP framework.
The results?
$2.2 million in revenue in the first year.
20% profitability.
A fully staffed team.
A business that didn’t depend on his presence to operate.
What started as survival had become structured. What started on a napkin had become a method.
But was it poised for scale?
THE PATTERN REAPPEARED AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN.
After selling his restaurants during a divorce, Donald was recruited by Wolfgang Puck.
He stepped into a massive operation. World-class kitchens. Celebrity-level vision. Teams in the hundreds.
But the more he observed, the more something stood out.
The success wasn’t just built on talent. It wasn’t personality, or prestige, or even culinary brilliance.
It was structure. The same framework Donald had scribbled on a napkin.
The same principles that saved his first restaurant and powered his second.
People. Product. Process.
It stabilized. It grew. It held up under pressure.
But one success wasn’t enough.
Only now, it was happening at scale.
“I realized they weren’t calling it PPP—but they were living it.”
That was the moment Donald understood:
This wasn’t just his framework. It was the framework.
And it was time to bring it to the industry—on purpose.
The Birth of The
Restaurant Coach™
Stepping into the role that no one else could fill.
Donald had lived the framework—three times.
First, to save a failing restaurant. Then, to build a profitable one. And finally, inside a national brand where the same principles quietly powered everything.
People. Product. Process. It worked. At every level.
So he made it official. Not to build a brand—but to guard the standard.
He earned certification as an executive coach. Brought decades of operational experience to the table. And began working with owners stuck in the same chaos he’d once escaped.
What he gave them was simple: Structure. Clarity. A path forward.
It worked. Word spread. And a new expectation began to take root in the industry.
2015
Your Restaurant Sucks
purchase book
2017
Your Restaurant still Sucks
purchase book
2019
Your Restaurant culture Sucks
purchase book
The coaching programs filled.
The masterminds expanded.
And The Restaurant Coach™ became more than a name.
It became a symbol of what’s possible—when someone shows up with the right system, at the right time, for the people who need it most.
The Birth of The Restaurant Coach™
Stepping into the role that no one else could fill.
Donald had lived the framework—three times.
First, to save a failing restaurant. Then, to build a profitable one. And finally, inside a national brand where the same principles quietly powered everything.
People. Product. Process. It worked. At every level.
So he made it official. Not to build a brand—but to guard the standard.
He earned certification as an executive coach. Brought decades of operational experience to the table. And began working with owners stuck in the same chaos he’d once escaped.
He earned certification as an executive coach. Brought decades of operational experience to the table. And began working with owners stuck in the same chaos he’d once escaped.
What he gave them was simple: Structure. Clarity. A path forward.
It worked. Word spread. And a new expectation began to take root in the industry.
2015
Your Restaurant Sucks
purchase book
2017
Your Restaurant still Sucks
purchase book
2019
Your Restaurant culture Sucks
purchase book
The coaching programs filled.
The masterminds expanded.
And The Restaurant Coach™ became more than a name.
It became a symbol of what’s possible—when someone shows up with the right system, at the right time, for the people who need it most.
The 3-Part System That Makes Restaurants Profitable—Every Time
What started on a napkin now anchors 2,800+ turnarounds—and counting.
Decades in the industry revealed three consistent failure points:
Owners lean on talent and effort because there’s no time to build anything else.
Chaos becomes normal.
Exhaustion becomes strategy.
And there’s only one system that closes these wounds:
The structure behind every profitable restaurant.
PEOPLE
Leadership. Hiring. Culture.
If the leader is overwhelmed, the staff will be unaccountable. If the culture lacks clarity, performance breaks down.
Define standards before hiring
Replace motivation with systems that drive follow-through
Build leaders, not task managers
“You don’t have an employee problem. You have a leadership problem.”
PRODUCT
Menu. Brand. Guest Experience.
The product determines margin, reputation, and return visits.
Menu items must contribute to profit, not just fill space
Brand messaging should match the lived experience
Guest satisfaction needs to be engineered—not improvised
“Your menu should work harder than you do.”
PROCESS
Systems. Operations. Cost Control.
The business only becomes sustainable when process replaces guesswork.
If your checklists only exist in theory, your systems don’t exist at all
Cost tracking should happen daily, not monthly
Owners must extract themselves from the equation—intentionally
“Your restaurant should run like a machine. Not a circus.”
why it works
PPP is structural.
It creates alignment between people, decisions, and outcomes.
Owners gain clarity. Teams gain direction. The business gains stability—because it no longer depends on willpower to function.
This is how the chaos ends—and how real profit begins.
The Conquest Path
Different Restaurants. Different Stages. One Path Forward.
Every restaurant wants freedom.
But first, it needs footing.
The Conquest Path is how the PPP Framework gets installed—step by step, according to where the business stands right now.
Every stage solves a specific set of problems—and delivers profit you can measure. This is how structure becomes momentum.
This is how structure becomes momentum.
stage 1
PROFIT ROCKET™
GOAL: Hit 5% profit in 90 days or less
Cut waste fast and plug financial leaks
Fix labor, food, and inventory costs with structured controls
Generate cashflow quickly—without relying on promotions or volume
Create financial breathing room so the owner can lead, not scramble
Who It’s For:
Owners in survival mode who need a fast, controlled turnaround.
Restaurants currently below 5% profit or operating at a loss.
stage 2
THE ACCELERATOR™
GOAL: Sustain 10–12% profit without owner dependency
Build reliable leaders and reduce turnover
Systematize service, prep, scheduling, and performance tracking
Enforce standards that hold even when you’re not in the room
Recover your time and reestablish control without losing quality
Who It’s For:
Owners who are still stuck in the day-to-day.
Restaurants generating 5–10% profit but running on personal effort.
stage 3
RESTAURANT BUILDER™
GOAL: Scale to 15%+ profit and expand with confidence
Strengthen profitability and eliminate growth bottlenecks
Build an org chart that supports multi-unit growth
Prepare for expansion, exit, or franchise-readiness
Transform the restaurant into a scalable, self-sufficient company
Who It’s For:
Owners preparing to grow, exit, or expand.
Restaurants consistently operating above 10% profit.
The Conquest Path strips away everything that doesn’t move the business forward—and focuses on the one thing that does:
PROFIT.
Every step is built to increase it—deliberately and fast.
Restaurant Results So Good You Can Practically Taste Them
This is what it looks like when profit becomes predictable.
median RESULTS OVER 2,800+ RESTAURANTS
before
after
2% profit
9.5% profit
68% labor
59% labor
4 days off per quarter
4 days off per month
$13,000 weekly cogs
$10,400 weekly cogs
You’ve Carried the Restaurant Far Enough.
If it’s going to grow—without grinding you down—something has to change.
You already work harder than most people ever will. But hard work without structure leads to burnout—not growth.
The PPP Framework gives you a way to fix what's broken and protect what matters.
The Conquest Path shows you where to start, based on what your numbers say today.
Your team needs leadership. Your systems need discipline. Your restaurant needs margin.
And your life needs room to breathe.
“If you’re ready,
I’ll show you exactly
what to do.”
– Donald Burns
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