ABOUT US
Five Star Restaurant Consultants provides resources, consulting services and training for hospitality industry entrepreneurs. We evolved, partly, in response to a statistic that states that 60 percent of restaurants fail in the first three years of operation. We believe that if we gear our education and training towards helping our clients to succeed, then we can help to strengthen the industry and the results will be better dining choices as well as helping restaurants obtain loans.
If you are a startup, Five Star Restaurant Consultants can help you with business plans that define your concept and financial strategy, secure a location and pre-opening organization. For existing businesses, we help you with operations and organizational strategies that increase your bottom line as well as the value of your business. This includes developing operations manuals, menu costing, inventory systems, customer service training and secret shopping. We also provide a series of workshops and seminars to train and educate the restaurateur.
LOUISE DAWSON
LEAD CONSULTANT FOR OPERATIONS AND TRAINING
Owner and Lead Restaurant Consultant for Five Star Restaurant Consultants. Having over 20 years in the hospitality industry owning two successful restaurants and a catering company, Louise is able to bring real world experience, not just theoretical advice, to her restaurant clients. Louise is an operations specialist and has created a variety of flexible approaches to help her restaurant, bar, lounge and nightclub clients to manage their costs and increase their profits. Louise is also the Lead Restaurant Consultant for the San Francisco Small Business Development Center, where she teaches The Restaurant Series classes. She also provides individual consulting services to help clients navigate the process of preparing their business plans, applying for SBA guaranteed loans and preparing and training new restaurateurs. A Small Business Advocate, Louise also works closely with other organizations such as the Small Business Commission and the Small Business Administration, and is their SBDC Project Manager for Small Business Week. Louise is also on the Education Committee for the Golden Gate Restaurant Association.
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JULIE CHENDES
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSULTANT
Julie Chendes is the Founder and CEO of Next Level Strategies Inc., a Human Resources Consultancy that works in collaboration with Five Star Restaurant Consultants in the private sector. Julie has over 11 years of experience in the industry and specializes in recruiting, employee relations, performance management, leadership coaching and legal compliance for our restaurant clients. Julie has an MS in Human Resources Management.
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SHELL THOMAS
GENERAL CONSULTANT: BAR, LOUNGE AND NIGHTCLUB OPERATIONS
Shell Thomas is a San Francisco based Consultant who specializes in pre-opening organization for bar, lounge and nightclub operations. Shell has over 20 years experience in the hospitality industry and extensive experience in concept and menu development and marketing. He has project managed over a dozen Bay Area openings and has received national press for his creative cocktail and wine menus.
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COLLEEN MEHARRY
RESTAURANT REAL ESTATE AGENT AND CONSULTANT
Colleen Meharry is a third generation restaurateur with 45 years in the industry. She owned and operated the Miz Brown's restaurants as well as several bars and motels. Since selling her last location, Colleen has branched out into restaurant real estate and works in collaboration with Five Star Restaurant Consultants in the private sector. Her background as restaurateur, building owner and tenant gives her a unique skill set in restaurant real estate. Understanding the perspectives of all parties involved in a restaurant transaction, Colleen represents many of our clients. Colleen Meharry is a past President of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association as well as a past Business Commissioner for the City of San Francisco.
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LISA BELLOMO
MARKETING AND ADVERTISING SPECIALIST
Lisa Bellomo is the founder of North Coast Publishing, which began over 20 years ago as a desktop publishing company specializing in print production. North Coast Publishing has seen the successful completion of over 100 books and has developed a solid reputation for handling a variety of projects under tight schedules, on time and consistently within budget. North Coast Publishing has developed into a graphic arts production studio that specializes in helping small and startup businesses with all their printing needs such as menu design, brochures, business cards, flyers, doorknob promotions and print production management.
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