Food cost drift
Prices moved. Your menu didn't. Six points of margin disappear before anyone notices.
Consulting for small food businesses
The food is
the easy part. Everything else isn't.
CNS1 LLC works with food trucks, ghost kitchens, cafes, and packaged food startups on the parts that actually decide whether you stay open. Food cost, permits, staffing, and a plan for growth that fits the kitchen you have.
First call is free · 45 minutes · No pitch deck required
Why food startups stall
Nobody closes because the food
was bad. They close over this.
Permit surprises
A commissary letter, a hood inspection, a resale license. One missing form stops the whole build.
A menu that fights the kitchen
Too many SKUs, too much prep, tickets that back up at the exact hour you make your money.
Growth without systems
A second location or a wholesale account exposes every process you never wrote down.
What we do
Six places we can put
our hands to work.
Take one. Take all six. Most owners start with the money and the menu, then build out from there.
Concept and menu engineering
Cut the items that cost you time, keep the ones that carry the check average, and price the rest on purpose.
Food cost and pricing
Real recipe costing, yield tests, waste tracking, and a price you can defend to a regular.
Licensing and inspections
The permit path for your county, your commissary agreement, and a kitchen that passes the first time.
Kitchen ops and staffing
Prep lists, par levels, station maps, schedules, and a training doc that survives your best cook quitting.
Marketing that sells plates
Local search, your menu page, photography direction, and offers built around the hours you need filled.
Wholesale and scaling
Co-packers, shelf-stable specs, case pricing, and the paperwork a buyer asks for before they'll take a meeting.
How it runs
Four steps. In order.
01
Send the ticket
Fill out the form at the bottom of this page. Tell us the concept, the stage, and the thing keeping you up.
02
Free 45-minute call
We go through your numbers and your bottleneck. You leave with something useful whether or not you hire us.
03
Audit and written plan
We cost the menu, walk the operation, check the permit file, and hand you a plan with priorities and dates.
04
Build it with you
We stay on through execution. Systems get written, prices get changed, and we track the result month over month.
Who we work with
Small food businesses,
early and messy.
Engagements
Three ways to work together.
One session
The Line Check
A single deep working session for one specific problem.
- 90-minute working call
- One menu or one process, costed
- Written recap with next actions
- Two weeks of follow-up questions
Most requested
The 90-Day Build
A full audit and a rebuild of the parts that are costing you money.
- Full operation and permit audit
- Complete recipe costing and repricing
- Prep lists, pars, and training docs
- Biweekly calls for 90 days
- Launch or relaunch support
Ongoing
Fractional Ops
We stay on the payroll-free bench as your operations partner.
- Monthly numbers review
- Vendor and cost negotiation
- Hiring and training support
- Expansion and wholesale planning
Questions
Before you send a ticket.
I haven't opened yet. Is it too early?
It's the best time. Fixing a concept on paper costs a conversation. Fixing it after the buildout costs a lease.
Do you only work with restaurants?
No. Trucks, carts, ghost kitchens, bakeries, caterers, and packaged food brands are all in scope. If you sell food for money, we can help.
What do you need from me to start?
Your menu, your last three months of sales if you have them, and an honest description of what's going wrong. That's enough for the first call.
Can you handle the permit paperwork?
We map the path, tell you what each agency wants, and prepare the file with you. We are not attorneys and we don't file on your behalf.
How fast do you respond?
Every ticket gets a reply within one business day, with times for the free call.
Start here
Send us a ticket.
Tell us what you're building and where it hurts. We reply within one business day with times for a free 45-minute call.
- No cost and no obligation for the first call
- You keep every recipe, number, and document you share
- You leave the call with at least one thing you can use
New consult requestCNS1LLC.COM
TICKET SENT
We've got it.
Look for a reply within one business day with call times.
Check spam if it isn't there by tomorrow.