Hartford Business Journal

12 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 2, 2024 one large enough to be productive but small enough so she could limit the size of her staff, which "gives her an opportunity to be profitable faster," Moeller said. In many cases, he said, the people who start restaurants know food but don't know business. "If you don't have the financial acumen, then you need somebody to sit by your side to walk you through each and every item that you're going to need," Moeller said. In addition, he said, it's not just about how much money you need to start a restaurant, or any business. "It's also about your three-year projections," Moeller said. "How much revenue are you going to be making? … If you don't show (a bank) viability, and understand that you can only spend 30% of your cost on goods and 30% on your payroll, what do you do when those numbers go awry?" Consulting also allows him to work primarily remotely, while heading out on the road for other clients to help with opening a location. He also can do a financial analysis of a client's operations, "trying to help restaurants improve their bottom line," he said. Moeller said he currently has clients in Connecticut, New York and Florida, though he has also worked with restaurants on the West Coast. The COO While continuing to work with his consulting clients, Moeller also has recently ramped up his new Restau- rant COO business. One of his clients is the first franchisee of Schmack- ary's, a cookie bakery that was founded on Broadway in Manhattan. In general, most of the organiza- tions he will work with have at least three locations, he said, "because you need to bring on somebody with C-suite experience to bring that exper- tise to help you grow properly and minimize the mistakes along the way." As busy as he is keeping all of his business plates spinning, Moeller also has a personal life. He describes himself as "extremely family oriented" and shares his home with his fiancée, Lucy Molina. Combined, they have six children. Not surprisingly, Moeller is the chef at home and does all the cooking. While he has had a long career in consulting, Moeller says he has been approached with job offers from major restaurant chains, including one from Panera Bread. "It's an entrepreneurial company, but the processes and procedures were already in place," he said. "I did not have the ability to improve upon those or change those. … There wasn't enough there to keep me satisfied, to keep me happy." He adds that he has officially been in the restaurant business, in one form or another, for 42 years, but hasn't "worked a day in 37 years" because he enjoys what he does. And how does he define that? "Helping people realize their dreams and their visions come true," he said. THE RECIPE OF SUCCESS' CT CLIENTS • Ali Baba's Kitchen – Hamden • Cosmic Coffeehouse & Smoothie Bar – Newtown • Cucina Daniella – Darien • Garden Catering – Multi Location • Honey Joe's Family Coffeehouse – Stamford • Moon Rocks Gourmet Cookies – Hamden • Naked Greens – South Norwalk & Wilton • The Porch at Christie's – Westport • Rye Ridge Deli – Rye, NY & Stamford • Soul Tasty BBQ – Stamford • Brick Walk Tavern – Fairfield • SuperSandwich.com – Shelton • The Porch at Christie's – Westport • Upper Crust Bagel Company – Old Greenwich • Wild Alchemy Café – Wallingford • Bodega – Fairfield and Darien • Candlewood East Marina – Brookfield • Casa ME – Westport • Country Club of Darien – Darien • LaPerle – Stamford • Lunch Box – Weston • Pink Sumo – Westport • Rowley's Grill – Winstead • Ani's Table – Rocky Hill • ARAMARK – New England • BE Chocolat – Fairfield • Beastie Burger – Shelton • Christ Church Greenwich – Greenwich • J.B. Percival – Fairfield • Wall Street Theater – Norwalk • ECO Evolution – Norwalk The Recipe of Success Continued from page 11

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