Woody Wu · Opening Consulting · REF WW-OP-01
The Opening
I have opened rooms, and been reviewed in the first months of one. I know what goes wrong in week six.
THE PROBLEM THIS SOLVES
Most openings are designed around the kitchen and the build. The wine list gets written in the last three weeks, the service model gets decided on the first night, and the staff learn the list from the guests. It shows in the reviews, and it shows in the numbers: a beverage program that was never designed for the room it is in.
The first ninety days decide what a restaurant becomes. They are also when the owner has the least time to think.
WHAT I DO, AND WHAT I DO NOT
I work on the beverage program, the front of house and the opening systems: the list, the pricing, the cellar, the service model, the people who sell it, and the procedures that hold it together in week one.
I do not do kitchen design, construction, permits or financing. Those belong to architects, contractors, lawyers and lenders, and a consultant who claims all of it is guessing at most of it.
THE PHASES
1. Concept and program. Two to three weeks, remote.
The concept tested against the room, the neighbourhood and the price point. The beverage concept, the list architecture (price ladder, markups, by the glass), a supplier shortlist, glassware and bar equipment, the front of house service model, and a beverage revenue projection as a range.
2. Pre-opening build. Four to eight weeks, remote with on-site days.
The opening wine and drinks list, priced. Cellar and storage setup. The POS item build and the reports that matter. Hiring profiles for the floor and the bar, the training program, service standards, opening week procedures, and a zero proof program that earns its place.
3. Opening weeks. On site.
Friends and family, soft opening and the first real services. On the floor during service, a debrief every day, and the fix list for week two.
4. The first ninety days. Remote.
Where openings actually fail. A monthly review of beverage check per cover, sales mix, pour cost and staff, list adjustments, and a ninety day report.
THE FEE
Concept and program: from $10,000 CAD. A complete deliverable on its own, and you can stop there.
Pre-opening build: from $25,000 CAD, scaled by size and the number of outlets.
Opening weeks: $1,500 CAD per day on site, plus travel at cost.
The full opening, all four phases, one venue: from $50,000 CAD, including ten days on site and the first ninety days of review.
Fixed fees, agreed before each phase begins. You own everything delivered, whether or not we continue.
WHAT I DO NOT DO
I take no money from suppliers, distributors, wineries or equipment vendors I recommend. Your opening list is built for your room, not for anyone's volume incentive.
I take one opening at a time, so the one I take gets my full attention.
If you are opening in my own city, I will tell you so and point you toward someone good.
WHY ME
I was an opening sommelier, then founded and managed a wine-led restaurant, and I run dining rooms now. I have built an opening list and an opening floor team, and read a national review of a restaurant in its first months that said the food was phenomenal and there were kinks to work out. It was right. I know where the kinks come from.
I hold the WSET and ISG Diplomas, and I build the software I use. The coverage of the earlier restaurant work is on the press page.
WHAT CONNECTS TO IT
At ninety days, the Beverage Revenue Audit becomes the first real review. The House Somm can put your list on your website, answering guests before they arrive. Findability makes sure the assistants guests ask can find you in your first month, which you only get once.
TO TALK ABOUT AN OPENING
Tell me the concept, the room, the city and the date you want to open. One opening at a time, so the earlier you write, the better.
DIRECT ANSWERS
How much does a restaurant opening consultant cost?
It depends on scope. Woody Wu's opening consulting covers the beverage program, front of house and opening systems in fixed-fee phases: concept and program from $10,000 CAD, pre-opening build from $25,000 CAD, on-site opening weeks at $1,500 CAD per day, and a full opening from $50,000 CAD for one venue. Kitchen design, construction, permits and financing are not included.
How do you open a wine bar?
Start from the room and the guest, not the cellar: a price ladder built for your neighbourhood, a by-the-glass program that turns over, markups tiered by price band, staff who can sell ten bottles well rather than a hundred badly, and opening week procedures written before the doors open. The first ninety days decide what it becomes, so plan them as carefully as the opening itself.