Inventory Controls & Solutions
Marketing and Creative Promotions
Marketing and Creative Promotions
You know what you’re buying. Do you know where it’s going? Over-pouring, inconsistent portions, waste, and unauthorized giveaways can eat into your profit without being obvious during a busy shift.
I help you review how liquor, beer, food, and supplies are purchased, received, stored, counted, and used. Together, we can put practical controls and reporting procedures in place to track product costs, spot unexplained losses, and set clear expectations for staff accountability.
With a clearer picture of your inventory, you can catch problems sooner and make better decisions about purchasing, portions, and costs.
Marketing and Creative Promotions
Marketing and Creative Promotions
Marketing and Creative Promotions
Are you so busy running your business that you have little time to grow it?
An event can sound great on paper and still leave you looking at empty seats. The promotion needs to fit your guests and give them a reason to choose your business.
I bring more than 30 years of experience working with major brands, multimedia, and nationally known contests and events. I help you identify the guests you want to reach, clarify what makes your business stand out, and develop promotions that fit your operation.
Together, we can build a practical action plan using events, vendor relationships, and your team’s everyday interactions with guests. Your employees can help build interest by knowing what’s coming up and making guests feel personally invited.
The goal is to attract new guests, encourage repeat visits, and turn creative ideas into sales you can track.
Emergency Temporary Management
Marketing and Creative Promotions
Emergency Temporary Management
If you couldn’t be there tomorrow, who would you trust to keep your business running?
An unexpected absence can leave an owner, operator, or manager with few options. The bills keep coming, and the business still needs experienced leadership. I’ve faced that situation twice as an owner, and having trained people I trusted allowed the operation to continue without disruption.
I provide temporary management support for restaurants, bars, and nightclubs, overseeing employees, guest concerns, vendor coordination, and opening through end-of-shift procedures. We establish availability, responsibilities, and decision-making authority before coverage begins.
Financial accountability and communication are part of that arrangement: documented cash reconciliation and drawer controls, verification and sign-off by a second person you designate, and clear updates on the day’s business and concerns that need your attention.
The best time to know who you’ll call is before you need them. Just in case, save my number now:
Larry Luttrell – Emergency Hospitality Management
410-782-1874
Mystery Diner
Emergency Temporary Management
When you’re away, is your business being run the way you expect?
You may have clear procedures and people you rely on. But what happens during your day off or a weekend away? Unauthorized giveaways, staff drinking, poor service, or music that drifts from your format can cost you sales, drive away regulars, and change the atmosphere you worked hard to build.
You may never hear a complaint. A guest simply stops coming back, and you lose future visits and recommendations without knowing what went wrong.
I visit your restaurant, bar, or nightclub discreetly as a guest, drawing on decades of hands-on ownership and operating experience. I look for details that can reveal bigger problems: inconsistent pours, food and drinks served without apparent accountability, and whether managers hold employees to your expectations or let things slide.
I also watch for favoritism in seating, uneven treatment of employees, and whether some staff members push others around when the person in charge is away. Those situations can cost you good employees without you knowing why.
Music is another part of the evaluation. I observe whether employees choose music that fits your atmosphere and clientele or simply play what they want to hear. Your team may love the playlist, but if guests feel out of place and leave early, the business loses sales and employees lose opportunities to earn tips.
If you have a DJ, I also evaluate whether they follow your agreed format and serve the overall crowd rather than cater to friends or a few requests.
You receive straightforward feedback on what’s working, what needs attention, and what warrants further checking. I can help you put practical solutions in place before those issues become harder to correct.
You’ve worked too hard to leave what happens in your absence to guesswork.
Music Programming & DJ Consulting
Music helps set the mood. Make sure it’s setting the right one for your business.
Music is part of the experience you’re selling. Genre, tempo, and volume can influence how comfortable guests feel, how easily they can talk, and the energy of their visit. Leaving those choices to whoever controls the playlist can put personal preferences ahead of your atmosphere, clientele, and business goals.
I help you establish a music format that fits your concept and moves naturally through the different parts of your day. Lunch, happy hour, dinner, and late night don’t all call for the same musical energy. Together, we can shape those transitions and set clear guidelines so your music supports the experience you want to create throughout the day and evening.
I also help keep playlists and DJ programming fresh without losing the musical identity of your business. Regulars should recognize your atmosphere without being able to predict the next song.
My experience includes producing and programming a club-style music video television show, along with seven years producing a live club-mix radio show and working alongside radio personalities on a 50,000-watt station. I’ve also combined music videos with audio programming in my own performances and trained other DJs to do the same.
For businesses with a DJ, I help with hiring, coaching, crowd interaction, and managing the energy throughout the evening. I’ve worked the booth myself and trained DJs to understand when to build the energy, when to ease off, and how to keep guests engaged. That includes dance-floor rotation: giving guests natural opportunities to take a break, order drinks or food, and return to the floor.
The #1 job of the DJ is to make the house money. A packed dance floor is only part of the picture. The goal is to keep guests enjoying themselves while supporting sales, repeat visits, and the reputation of your business.
If You're Ready, Say Yeah!
Grand Openings, Turnarounds, and Startups
A strong opening takes preparation. A turnaround takes an honest look at what needs to change.
A grand opening can bring people through the door, but if the team and systems aren’t ready, you may spend your first weeks trying to win back guests you just introduced to the business.
For a new restaurant, bar, or nightclub, I help turn your concept into a practical operating plan, bringing together staffing, training, service expectations, inventory controls, and opening procedures. We coordinate grand-opening promotions with the team’s readiness to deliver an experience that gives guests a reason to return.
When an existing business loses momentum, another promotion or a new look may not address what’s going wrong. I assess what’s holding the operation back, preserve what’s working, and help you establish priorities. That may include leadership, employee accountability, service, cost controls, or rebranding. I work with you to put those priorities into practice and follow through on the changes needed to move the business forward.
With more than 30 years of hands-on ownership, management, and consulting experience, I bring an understanding of how the pieces affect one another, what to tackle first, and which costly pitfalls to avoid.
Let's Get Started!
Alcohol Awareness & Community Programs
Responsible alcohol service protects your guests, your team, your community, and your business.
During a busy shift, an employee may hesitate to refuse another drink or assume someone else will step in. I help owners, managers, and staff strengthen alcohol-awareness practices, including checking identification, recognizing signs of intoxication, preventing underage service, and handling situations involving refusal of service. Clear expectations and practical training help employees understand their responsibilities and when to involve management.
I co-developed T.E.A.M. (Training and Education of Alcohol Management) with Richard Weller, a retired alcohol beverage control agent, and spent more than 10 years training owners, managers, bartenders, servers, greeters, and security personnel. My training experience includes restaurants, bars, nightclubs, fraternal organizations, resort hotels, and casinos.
My community work includes a designated-driver program that documented several thousand people getting home safely, along with efforts involving MADD and community organizations. That work earned recognition from state and local officials.
I bring that experience to help you build responsible-service procedures and community initiatives suited to your operation.
Industry Involvement & Insight
Hands-on experience grows stronger when you keep learning from others in the business.
Over the years, I’ve built lasting relationships with industry leaders across the country in restaurants, bars, nightclubs, music, and hospitality. I’ve participated in panels at Nightclub & Bar Conventions and continue expanding my knowledge through industry seminars, workshops, and conversations with experienced professionals.
That ongoing involvement broadens the perspective I bring to your operation. I combine those insights with what I’ve learned running and managing businesses to help you evaluate ideas, address challenges, and find practical approaches that fit your business.
Let's Make it Happen!