Every restaurant has a value problem. Value isn’t static—it degrades over time. If you’re not constantly improving it, you’re slowly losing it… whether you see it or not.

If you want to level up as an entrepreneur, go learn how to fight. I’ve been in Muay Thai/MMA since I was a kid and politicians called it "human cockfighting," trying to ban it. What it taught me translates into business better than any get rich quick course or book.

Restaurant owners ... Are you impressed when your restaurant is gross margin profitable? Ha Being “gross margin profitable” isn’t impressive — nearly every functioning restaurant is. It just means their food pays for labor and rent. $SG still lost $25M last quarter. Scaling

The argument isn’t about restaurant margins. It’s about whether Sweetgreen’s entire business model works at scale. Yes, SG has ~18% restaurant margins. So does Chipotle (~25%). But here’s the difference: SG loses money even if you remove R&D and marketing In Q1 2025: $166M

J Mike Kudrna Bottom line the store level margins are fine but they are burning cash and building more stores to scale won’t fix that for a long time. How do they stay going in the mean time? Getting investors to wish cast that eventually it will pay off. It might but it’s not a safe bet

Mike Kudrna Bingo. And these are finance and accounting line items that matter.

Mike Kudrna It’s funny to think that my 60+ year old diner is more profitable than a big publicly traded company. At least for now!

Sweetgreen $SG revamping a broken loyalty program isn’t a win....it’s damage control. No serious restaurant owner credits loyalty programs for driving revenue. It’s value defense, not offense. Sweetpass failed to boost traffic, so now they’re copying standard models just to

Restaurant owners understand

Restaurant owners understand

Chuck E Cheese restaurants have a real chance to thrive while others suffer They offer entertainment and experience without breaking the bank Thats now in demand

Hey Grok, who has the stronger argument? Conclusion: Kudrna has the better argument based on the current evidence. His analysis is grounded in $SG’s financials, demand trends, and macro risks, which align with observable data (e.g., Q1 2025 losses, industry traffic declines).

Mike Kudrna Agree. If you are NOT obsessive about constant improvement and finding competitive advantage for your restaurant, there is an inevitable “doom loop” that will occur. This is why many of us are “workaholics.”

Having a 30, 40, or 50+ year head start in business is no joke. This isn’t sports....where a younger athlete takes your spot after a few good seasons. In business, legacy compounds. And the strong? They usually get stronger.

For days, since learning of the tragic events in Kerr County, I’ve been off of this platform. All I can ask is that you join me in prayer and, if you’re able, that you find that kind person inside of yourself, and give what you can. Thank you. D open.substack.com/pub/dimartinob…

J Mike Kudrna SSS were down in this market for $SG? $CAVA's was on the up and up.

Mike Kudrna Exactly. Very hard to crack the top 5 on the "best burgers in NJ" list because the "classics" that have been around for 30-40 years always take those spots. But if I were to start a new burger place with those same burgers from those "classic" spots I would fail miserably.

A new poll suggests Canadians feel unwelcome in the U.S. That’s utter nonsense. I’ve been to the U.S. four times in the past few months—nothing has changed. What has changed is the experience of re-entering Canada: way more questions at the border.