Linda Lipsky Biography

About Us

Linda Lipsky founded her hospitality operations consulting firm in 1988 and has been helping food and beverage operations achieve their highest level of profits, product consistency and service quality ever since. By combining her degree in Organizational Management from Wharton with nearly 20 years of hands-on restaurant management experience, Ms. Lipsky concentrates her efforts implementing cost-cutting measures, developing training programs for both front and heart of the house employees, engineering menus, performing Spotter's reports (incognito staff evaluations) and creating organizational manuals and procedures. She provides an extra set of skilled hands and trained eyes, along with a well-rounded corporate background each time she works with a restaurant, bar, hotel, banquet facility or caterer.

Ms. Lipsky's key areas of specialization include the following:

On-site operations evaluations to identify ineffective cost controls, flaws in the organizational structure and inadequacies of management systems, policies and procedures;
Profit enhancement as a result of implementing cost-cutting measures in all prime cost areas (food, liquor and labor);
Server training, sales incentive training, and management training and evaluation programs;
Recipe documentation, cost analysis, menu pricing and menu copy writing;
Competitive market surveys and market positioning analysis, and
Bridge management (interim on-site operations management).

Prior to her work as a consultant, Ms. Lipsky spent ten years working for various independent restaurants and corporate chains. She has held literally every position in the restaurant hierarchy from Dishwasher to Corporate Operations Manager. Ms. Lipsky began her management career as a Manager Trainee with CHARLEY'S PLACE in 1981. She also worked for THE MAGIC PAN, H.T. McDOOGAL'S and AL E. GATORS. Her last full-time restaurant position was General Manager of MARABELLA'S in Center City Philadelphia.

Ms. Lipsky is on the Board of the South Jersey (SWJRA), New Jersey (NJRA) and Philadelphia Delaware Valley Restaurant Associations (PDVRA). She co-chairs the Education (NJRA) Committee, and is active on many committees. Ms. Lipsky is also a member of the North Carolina Restaurant Association (NCRA), National Restaurant Association (NRA), Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM), Nation Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and International Association of Hospitality Accountants (IAHA). In 1996, Ms. Lipsky was named Allied Foodservice Executive of the Year by the NJRA. In 1993, she received the Panache Award for Education from the PDVRA. Ms. Lipsky also teaches a course entitled, "So You Want to Open A Restaurant," at Temple University's Center City Campus, and is a guest lecturer at Drexel University, The Restaurant School and trade shows throughout the United States.