Lessons From the Best: A Playbook for Restaurants

From the Desk of Jonathan Lim, Founder & CEO, Oddle

Every week, the headlines say the same thing: restaurants shutting down, rents climbing, food costs rising, manpower shortages everywhere.

It can feel like doom and gloom for the F&B industry.

But when I spoke with Alex Chua recently, he had a different take.

Alex Chua - Partner at AC Concepts

Jose Alonso - Chef & Director at AC Concepts

“There’s still money to be made,” he told me. “But it requires discipline and good execution.”

Alex is a partner at AC Concepts, the group behind restaurants like Kulto, Nómada, Cenzo, Barrio, Humo, and Chicco.

What impressed me wasn’t just his optimism, but the way his team operates.

Alex is quick to say he’s lucky. The engine of AC Concepts is driven by Jose, their Director and Chef, who runs both the kitchen and the business with machine-like precision. Supporting him are Jian Bang, the General Manager who keeps operations tight, and Drew, the Executive Development Chef who pushes culinary innovation.

Some concepts, they nailed right from the start — Kulto, Nómada, and Cenzo found their footing quickly. Others, like Barrio, Humo, and Chicco, needed grinding and pivots before success came. It’s not always a bed of roses — but there are ways to right the ship.

And the way they do it can be summed up in five disciplines.

Simple to say. Hard to do. But that’s what makes the difference.

1. Discipline with Numbers: Respect the Rent Ratio

Alex once told me about a space he liked. The landlord wanted $30 psf. He submitted his proposal at $12 psf.

He didn’t get it.

And he was glad.

Because the concept he wanted to run there could only afford $12 psf. Anything higher would have broken the math.

That’s discipline. Letting the business model dictate what’s possible — not ego, not excitement, not “vibes.”

2. Discipline in the Kitchen: Know Your COGs

The benchmark is simple: target 25% cost of goods sold (COGs).

If you want to sell at $40 per customer, your cost should be around $10.

The best restaurants are masters at stretching these ratios. They take inexpensive ingredients and, through creativity and technique, turn them into dishes so good that customers rave about them. Diners don’t feel shortchanged — they admire the mastery.

This is Jose’s domain. He leans on techniques like marinating, braising, portioning, and par-cooking — turning humble ingredients into high-value dishes. And with Drew driving menu development, the kitchen constantly innovates while keeping costs under control.

The discipline is in making $10 stretch so far that customers happily pay $40.

As someone once told me: “If you can’t sell your food at a higher price to achieve healthy margins, maybe the food just isn’t good enough.”

It sounds harsh, but it makes sense. Margins reflect value — and value is created through taste, craft, and consistency.

3. Discipline with People: Design for Lean Manpower

Running lean doesn’t mean squeezing the life out of your staff. It means maximising the revenue each staff member can generate.

This is where Jose and Jian Bang work hand in hand. Jose builds systems so that most of the heavy lifting is done in advance. During service, food can be finished and plated with minimal fuss and time. Meanwhile, Jian Bang ensures operations flow smoothly, so the team can perform without burning out.

The result?

• Less stress.
• More consistency.
• A lean team serving more covers with pride and energy.

Productivity in restaurants is really revenue per headcount. And the levers to improve it are straightforward:

• Prep smarter: shift labor to off-peak hours.
• Refine techniques: choose methods that save time while enhancing flavor.
• Streamline flow: design the kitchen and service so every movement counts.

Lean is not about cutting corners. It’s about building mastery in process.

4. Discipline with the Market: Pivot When Things Don’t Work

Every market changes. Concepts go out of style. Costs rise. Consumer behavior evolves.

The restaurants that last aren’t the ones who nailed it once — they’re the ones who keep adapting.

At AC Concepts, you see this discipline in action across their portfolio:

• Kulto, Nómada, Cenzo. These concepts found their stride quickly, carving out strong market positions with clarity of offering and execution.
• Barrio at Greenwood. Great food, but a quiet residential pocket. Instead of waiting for traffic, they built it. Influencers were invited. Oddle Loyalty was used to reward return customers with a free bottle of wine. Slowly but surely, the business picked up. They created demand instead of waiting for it.
• Humo at Keong Saik. A Spanish izakaya that diners didn’t quite understand at first. Instead of lamenting “the market doesn’t get us,” they adapted their menu. The crowd responded. Revenue doubled, and the business turned profitable. They adapted instead of complaining.
• Chicco at Holland Village. Launched as a casual pasta bar for students, but average spend in the area was too low. They pivoted. Rebranded as Chicco Trattoria, introduced darker tones, tablecloths, and a more serious dining vibe. The right crowd started coming. It’s still early, but the trajectory looks strong. They rebranded instead of settling.

Three different challenges. Three different pivots. One common thread: relentless adaptation.

5. Discipline with Revenue: Relentless Pursuit of Growth

You can get your rent right. You can keep your COGs intact. You can run a lean and efficient team.

But at the end of the day, profits still come from revenue.

This is where AC Concepts stands out. They are relentless in their pursuit of sales — open to ideas, quick to execute, and consistent in their communication.

• To grow delivery sales, they did the counterintuitive thing for Spanish and Italian concepts: created bundled meals that traveled well.

• To retain customers, they leaned on Oddle Loyalty — rewarding repeat visits, capturing diner data, and nudging them back with relevant offers.

• At Humo and Chicco, they adopted Oddle’s full suite of solutions to gain a 360° view of their customers and understand them intimately.
• On the marketing front, they’ve used every lever available: social media influencers, traditional media invites, and consistent EDMs showcasing their latest menus and offerings.

The common thread? Relentless, disciplined pursuit of the top line.

Because no matter how well you control costs, you can’t cut your way to success.

Sustainable profits come from revenue growth.

None of this is glamorous. None of this is magical. It’s not about hacks, secret sauces, or shortcuts.

It’s about discipline. The unglamorous work of respecting ratios, mastering processes, building teams, adapting when the market shifts, and relentlessly pursuing revenue.

The advice may sound simple. But it’s not easy. And that’s exactly why the best stand out.

Because in the end, success in restaurants isn’t about reinventing the wheel.

It’s about making sure the wheel doesn’t stop.

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