How to Scale Your Multi-Unit Restaurant Brand?
The brands that scale aren’t the ones that opened more locations. They’re the ones that built something worth scaling first.
At 2–20 units, most restaurant brands hit a wall. The problems that existed at 3 locations didn’t disappear at 8 — they multiplied. Turnover, inconsistent execution, the owner still holding everything together.
We Know How works alongside operators as a fractional operating partner — not a consultant who delivers a binder and disappears. We build the leadership, systems, and training infrastructure that lets brands grow without the owner having to be in every room.
The framework behind every engagement: The 5 Phases of Scalable Restaurant Growth.
Why We Know How?
Bill Holleman held Director of Operations, Director of Catering, and COO roles at Panera Bread, Potbelly, Jimmy John’s, and Roti Mediterranean.
He’s opened hundreds of stores. This isn’t consulting theory — it’s what he spent 25+ years doing as the operator in the room.
The 5 Phases framework is what he built those operations around. Now he deploys it fractionally — alongside your team, inside your business.
Two Ways We Work With You
Most brands need one of two things — or both. Either they need an operating partner who can lead at the strategic level while building the systems underneath, or they need the people infrastructure that makes consistent execution possible across every location. Sometimes it’s both, at the same time.
Both engagement models are built around the 5 Phases framework. Every engagement starts with a diagnostic and a clear build sequence — so there’s no guessing about where to start or what comes next.
Fractional Operating Leadership C-suite operating experience, deployed alongside your team — building the strategy, structure, and systems that let your brand scale.
Training & Team Development We build the leadership and people systems that carry your standards from one location to twenty — consistently, without you having to be in the room.
Training & Team Development
We build the leadership and people systems that carry your standards from one location to twenty — consistently, without you having to be in the room.
Training Infrastructure
High turnover and inconsistent execution almost always trace back to the same root cause: training that was never built to scale. We design and build the full training infrastructure — LMS platform, role-specific content, certification paths, and onboarding systems — so your standards travel with your brand, not with whoever happened to train someone last.
Team & Leadership Development
The platform is the tool. Developing people who actually lead is the outcome. We build the coaching systems, career paths, performance frameworks, and people pipelines that turn good crew members into shift leaders, and great shift leaders into GMs. The goal: a bench deep enough to grow without your operation depending on who’s in the building.
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