ClearCOGS Blog
You Can’t Negotiate Your Food Cost Down Anymore
The conversation about food cost in restaurants used to start with purchasing leverage. Build volume, consolidate vendors, negotiate hard, and …
The Two Phases That Almost Everyone Confuses
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS There’s a conversation that happens at nearly every enterprise restaurant brand exploring AI forecasting, and …
The Catering Blind Spot
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS There is a particular kind of confidence that comes from running a tight operation for …
The System You Can’t Acquire: Why Multi-Concept Restaurant
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS There is a specific moment that shows up in restaurant acquisition conversations, and most operators …
The System You Used to Have
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Ask a multi-concept restaurant group what changed in their kitchens since 2020, and most won’t …
The Full Freezer Problem: Every Frozen Brisket Started as a Forecast
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Walk into almost any barbecue restaurant after closing and you’ll find the same thing: a …
Restaurant Demand at the Midpoint: The First Half of 2026 in Review, and What to Watch in the Second Half
An analyst briefing on U.S. restaurant customer demand. Research cutoff: June 30, 2026. Executive summary Halfway through 2026, the U.S. restaurant industry …
What It Takes to Hit Sub-50% Prime Cost in a Restaurant
The gap between a restaurant rationing food by a monthly dollar cap and one running prime cost in the high 40s is not about talent or effort. It is about whether someone built the decision-making system before the restaurant grew past the point where informal management still worked.
Protein Maxxing Is Not a Menu Problem. It’s a Prep Problem.
Protein maxxing did not rewrite the menu. It quietly rewrote the prep sheet. Most forecasting systems just have not read it yet.
The Inventory Count Is Costing You More Than Food Cost
Inventory is not expensive because food disappears. It is expensive because leadership disappears.
Demand Forecasting, Predictive Analytics, Smart Prep: Every Term Restaurants Use for the Same Big Idea
The restaurant industry has at least 60 different names for one concept. Here is every one of them, what it …
Why the Prep Decision Is the Real Test for Restaurant AI
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS A restaurant operator with over two decades in the industry, a technology background layered on …
Why Operational Consistency Breaks Down in Restaurant Franchise Systems
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Quick Answer: Restaurant franchise locations lose operational consistency because the systems that make corporate stores …
The Training Problem That Isn’t a Training Problem
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Here is a question worth asking the next time you evaluate a restaurant technology vendor: …
Knowing Your Sales Isn’t Enough: The SKU Forecasting Problem High-Variety Operators Can’t Ignore
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Let’s say you know tomorrow is going to be a $7,300 day. That’s useful. It confirms …
Why the Commissary Is Where Multi-Unit Restaurant Math Falls Apart
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Every morning, somewhere inside a multi-unit restaurant group, someone walks into a commissary at 6am, …
When Catering Breaks Your Forecasting
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Catering is growing. According to Checkmate’s 2025 catering trends analysis, the US catering market reached …
The Inventory Count That Shouldn’t Exist
By Matt Wampler, CEO of ClearCOGS Inventory counting is one of the most consistent sources of management overhead in restaurant operations. …
