Multi-Location Scale — 1 to 5

The problem

Growth without systems is unsustainable. As new locations opened, the absence of documented processes created quality inconsistencies, training failures, and inventory problems across sites.

Goals

• 1

  Build operational systems that could scale across multiple locations

• 2

  Standardize hiring, onboarding, and training

• 3

  Implement food safety and inventory SOPs

• 4

  Maintain P&L discipline across all 5 locations

Approach

1. 1

   Documented core operational procedures from scratch — no prior SOPs existed

2. 2

   Built hiring and onboarding playbooks used for every new hire across all locations

3. 3

   Created food safety documentation meeting health department requirements

4. 4

   Implemented inventory tracking system using Square POS data and Google Sheets

5. 5

   Trained location managers to own their P&L using standardized reporting tools

6. 6

   Scaled from 1 → 5 locations sequentially, testing and refining systems at each new site

Systems used

Results

Strategic takeaway

Scaling a physical business taught me more about operations than any MBA module. You can't automate your way out of broken processes — you have to document, train, and trust the system before you can step back.