Restaurant Exit Advisor Articles
Practical guides for struggling restaurant owners -- from a 40-year veteran who has seen how this story ends. Every article is written by Rod Downey from direct experience.
Start Here
- Should I Close My Restaurant? -- The honest framework for deciding whether to keep fighting or start planning your exit.
- What Does It Actually Cost to Close? -- Lease obligations, equipment, payroll, permits -- the real numbers most owners don't see coming.
- Your Personal Guarantee: What You're Actually On the Hook For -- Most owners don't read their PG until it's too late.
All Articles
- Should I Close My Restaurant? A Practical Decision Guide
- How to Know If Your Restaurant Is Fixable or Already Too Far Gone
- Your Landlord Offered Rent Relief -- Read This Before You Say Yes
- How Much Runway Does Your Restaurant Actually Have?
- Great Food, Empty Tables: Why Good Restaurants Still Fail
- Restaurant Lease Trouble: What to Preserve Before You Talk to a Lawyer
- The Restaurant Exit Checklist: What to Do Before You Shut the Doors
- Traffic Problem or Business-Model Problem? How to Tell
- Bad Signage Quietly Kills Good Restaurants
- The 30-Day Restaurant Triage Plan
- What Happens to Your Personal Guarantee When You Close a Restaurant?
- How to Negotiate a Restaurant Lease Buyout
- Congratulations. You Bought Yourself a Job.
- How to Sell a Struggling Restaurant
- The 12 Numbers Every Restaurant Owner Should Know (But Most Don't)
- Why Your Restaurant's Problem Isn't Food -- It's Daypart Mix
- The QSC Score: What McDonald's Figured Out That Independent Restaurants Ignore
- Demographic Fit: The Silent Killer of Good Restaurants in the Wrong Location
- What 'Flowthrough' Actually Means and Why Your Accountant Probably Isn't Tracking It
- Why the 30-30-30 Rule Will Mislead You -- and What to Use Instead
- Restaurant Lease Negotiation During Construction: What You Can Actually Ask For
- How Swirl Bakery Survived 18 Months of Construction Without Closing
- 9,500 Independent Restaurants Closed in 2025. Here Is What the Data Actually Says.
- What Is Prime Cost and Why It Decides Whether Your Restaurant Survives
- Your Restaurant Food Cost Is Too High. Here Is What to Do About It.
- Restaurant Labor Cost Out of Control: What Is Actually Happening and How to Fix It
- Your Restaurant Is in Debt. Here Are Your Actual Options.
- Sell vs. Close: How to Decide What to Do With a Restaurant That Is Not Working
- What Does It Actually Cost to Close a Restaurant?
- What Happens If You Default on an SBA Loan for Your Restaurant?
- How to Tell Your Restaurant Staff You're Closing
- Restaurant Equipment Liquidation: What Your Kitchen Is Actually Worth
- How to Walk Away from a Restaurant Lease Without Losing Everything
- Restaurant Profit Margins: What's Normal and What's a Warning Sign
- How to Read a Restaurant P&L: The Numbers That Actually Matter
- Restaurant Cash Flow Problems: Why Profitable Restaurants Still Run Out of Money
- How to Increase Restaurant Sales When You've Already Cut Costs
- Restaurant Food Cost Percentage: What It Should Be and How to Fix It
- Restaurant Labor Cost Percentage: Benchmarks and How to Control It
- Restaurant Menu Engineering: How to Make Your Menu Work Harder
- Restaurant Marketing on a Budget: What Actually Works for Independent Operators
- What to Do With Your Liquor License When You Close Your Restaurant
- What Happens to Your Restaurant Employees When You Close?
- How to Close a Restaurant in California: What the State Requires
- How to Close a Restaurant in Texas: The Complete Checklist
- How to Close a Restaurant in Florida: What Every Owner Needs to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in New York: The Most Complex State in the Country
- How to Close a Restaurant in Illinois: What Chicago and Downstate Owners Need to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in Pennsylvania: PLCB, Final Pay, and What to Watch For
- How to Close a Restaurant in Ohio: What Independent Operators Need to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in Georgia: The Complete Compliance Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Washington State: What Every Owner Needs to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in Arizona: The Complete Compliance Checklist
- How to Close a Restaurant in North Carolina: What Independent Operators Need to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in Michigan: The Complete Closing Checklist
- How to Close a Restaurant in Colorado: What Denver and Statewide Operators Need to Know
- Restaurant Failure Rate: What the Data Actually Says (2025)
- What Do Restaurant Owners Actually Pay Themselves? A Data Study
- Your Restaurant Is Not Who You Are: Erich Fromm and the Psychology of Letting Go
- The Sunk Cost Trap: Why Restaurant Owners Keep Throwing Good Money After Bad
- What Restaurant Owners Say One Year After Closing
- Restaurant Merchant Cash Advance: What Owners Don't Know Until It's Too Late
- Restaurant Lease Assignment: What Owners Get Wrong When Selling
- How to Value a Restaurant: The Numbers Buyers and Lenders Actually Use
- Restaurant Behind on Rent: What Your Options Actually Are
- How to Buy Out a Restaurant Partner: What the Process Actually Involves
- How to Close a Franchise Restaurant: What the Agreement Actually Requires
- Why Do Restaurants Fail? The Real Reasons Owners Miss
- How to Sell a Restaurant: An Owner's Step-by-Step Guide
- How to Get Out of a Restaurant Lease (Legally)
- Restaurant Bankruptcy: Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 11 vs. Just Closing
- How to Close a Restaurant: The Step-by-Step Checklist
- Restaurant Lease Buyout: How to Negotiate an Early Exit
- Closing a Restaurant: Employee Pay, Final Checks and the WARN Act
- Defaulting on a Restaurant Loan: What Actually Happens
- How to Close a Restaurant in New Jersey: The Complete Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Virginia: What Every Owner Needs to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in Tennessee: The Complete Checklist
- How to Close a Restaurant in Indiana: What Every Owner Needs to Know
- How to Close a Restaurant in Massachusetts: The Most Regulated State in New England
- What Happens to Employees When a Restaurant Closes?
- Can You Walk Away From a Restaurant Lease?
- What Happens to Your SBA Loan If Your Restaurant Closes?
- How Long Does It Take to Close a Restaurant?
- Who Pays Restaurant Debts When It Closes?
- Does Closing a Restaurant Affect Your Credit?
- What to Do With Restaurant Equipment When Closing
- Restaurant Lease Default: What Actually Happens
- How to Negotiate With Your Restaurant Landlord
- How to Negotiate Lower Rent for Your Restaurant
- What Happens to Restaurant Gift Cards When You Close?
- What Happens to Restaurant Deposits When You Close?
- How to Close a Bar: What's Different from Closing a Restaurant
- How to Close a Food Truck: The Complete Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Minnesota: The Complete Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Wisconsin: The Complete Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Missouri: The Complete Guide
- How to Close a Pizza Restaurant: What's Different
- How to Close a Coffee Shop: What's Different
- How to Close a Restaurant in Maryland: State-Specific Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Oregon: State-Specific Guide
- How to Close a Restaurant in Nevada: State-Specific Guide
- How to Tell Customers Your Restaurant Is Closing
- Restaurant Owner Burnout: What It Actually Looks Like
- How to Close a Fast Casual Restaurant: What's Different
- What Happens to a Merchant Cash Advance When a Restaurant Closes?
- How to Close a Restaurant in Dallas
- How to Close a Restaurant in Houston
- How to Close a Restaurant in Chicago
- How to Close a Restaurant in Los Angeles
- How to Close a Restaurant in Miami
- How to Close a Restaurant in Phoenix
- How to Close a Restaurant in San Antonio
- How to Close a Restaurant in Philadelphia