Yamashiro, Inc.

Anyone who is involved in (the) restaurant (industry) knows the challenges never cease. A couple scenarios come to mind: as you're getting ready for a big night the main hood goes filling your kitchen with smoke and no way to ventilate it. Or you're understaffed when your hostess calls in sick then a few hours later you see her drinking a huge cocktail on her Facebook post. Or your cost of goods is finally managed properly, but your service mistakes are driving up "guest recovery" comps. Clearly, these are all fictional circumstances, which I have never experienced. If I did have these problems, which I don't, there is a resource that I can turn to for help through the constant volatility. Her name is Jean Hagan and she works for KROST as their Director of Restaurant Services.

Jean is by far the most knowledgeable consultant I have ever come across. She has countless attributes. Ask her a question; she has the answer. But that isn't what makes her so special. We all have Google and plenty of people around us who claim to know everything (my daughter comes to mind). Jean has been there before and acts like it. Anytime I start feeling frustrated by the challenges of the business, she steps in and tells me how to fix it while giving me perspective with some horror story from her experience. Her grace and experience still are not what make her so special. She has resources. Any vendor you need can be found in her Rolodex. From goods to maintenance to debt resources, Jean knows virtually everyone in the food and beverage industry to get solutions. This is all very helpful, but it isn't what makes her the best operations consultant around.

“Jean's gift to restaurant owners and operators is that she treats our company as if it were her own. She genuinely cares. She is demanding and establishes high expectations because she takes failure very personally. Your success is her success.” And your missteps are hers as well. Fortunately, she doesn't get tripped up very often. We joke that Jean is our P&L coach. She pushes us to set goals and works with us to attain them. When we win, we celebrate. And with Jean, we celebrate frequently.

Andre Ulloa
CEO, Yamashiro, Inc.