I’m Josh Kopel, a Michelin-awarded restaurateur and the creator of the Restaurant Scaling System. I’ve spent decades in the industry, building, scaling, and coaching restaurants to become more profitable and sustainable. On this show, I cut through the noise to give you real, actionable strategies that help independent restaurant owners run smarter, more successful businesses.

In this episode, I tackle a really common frustration: pouring time and money into marketing when the real problem is the product itself. I break down the brutal but freeing truth: Marketing is a megaphone, not a magician. I share my own hard-earned lessons on how to stop masking product issues with ads and instead zero in on product-market fit. I explain how to test it, iterate fast, and double down on what works — so you can stop wasting dollars and start selling out seats and dishes naturally.

Takeaways:

• Many restaurants fail to profit because they haven’t built a strong business behind great food and service.
• If your concept doesn’t resonate with your target market, no amount of marketing will fix it.
• True product-market fit shows up instantly — seats fill, dishes sell out, buzz spreads organically.
• Marketing only amplifies what’s already working; it can’t create demand where none exists.
• To find product-market fit, test small, track data, listen to feedback, and iterate constantly.
• Stop trying to revive your weakest menu items — double down on your best sellers and build on what already works.
• Once you nail product-market fit, that’s the time to scale your marketing and growth.

Chapters:
[00:17] Why Restaurants Struggle Financially
[01:35] Cathy’s Question — Is Marketing the Problem?
[02:00] Product-Market Fit Explained
[04:00] Marketing is a Megaphone, Not a Magician
[06:30] Double Down on What Works

If you’ve got a marketing or profitability related question for me, email me directly at josh@joshkopel.com and include Office Hours in the subject line. If you'd like to scale the profitability of your restaurant in only 5 days, sign up for our FREE 5 Day Restaurant Profitability Challenge by visiting https://joshkopel.com.