About Rod Downey

Background

Rod Downey spent the middle part of his career inside organizations that force precision. At Golden Corral, a one-point food cost problem across 500 locations costs millions. At Metromedia Restaurant Group, he built the performance analysis framework used across a $1.4B portfolio with 700+ locations. That diagnostic methodology -- how to read a unit's numbers and tell the difference between a fixable problem and a structural one -- is the core of how he works today.

Then he did what most consultants have not: he owned his own restaurant. Signed the lease. Signed the personal guarantee. Ran payroll. And then watched 18 months of TxDOT construction cut his foot traffic to near zero. He negotiated his rent from $6,000 down to $500 a month and kept the business alive. That experience is not on any corporate resume, and it is the reason independent owners trust him in a way they do not trust advisors who have only ever worked for chains.

Career Highlights

• SVP of Marketing, Metromedia Restaurant Group -- $1.4B system, 700+ locations, national chains including Bonanza, Ponderosa, Steak and Ale, and Bennigan's
• Turnaround advisory work at Bennigan's during concept repositioning
• Marketing leadership at Golden Corral and Pillsbury Restaurant Group
• Direct ownership and operation of independent restaurant concepts in Texas
• Advisory work with Paciugo, Celebrity Bakery, Il Fornaio, and Chevy's Fresh Mex

Why Independent Owners

Rod built Restaurant Exit Advisor because he watched too many independent operators lose everything by waiting too long. The national chains have analysts, attorneys, and restructuring advisors. The independent owner has no one in their corner who actually knows the restaurant business and has no financial stake in the outcome.

The diagnostic session is designed to be the conversation Rod wishes someone had offered him when he was the one staring at the numbers.