---
title: "Meet Dan Margolis: From Busser to the Numbers Behind Your Restaurant"
description: Meet Dan Margolis, FIXE's Director of Finance. He rose from busser to Director of Operations and now builds the FIXE Expert Review. See what he checks first.
---

[FIXE Communal Table](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table)

# [Meet Dan Margolis: From Busser to the Numbers Behind Your Restaurant](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/meet-dan-margolis)

 Written by [Ryan](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/author/ryan) | Oct 10, 2026, 4:23:34 AM

**Short answer:** Dan Margolis is FIXE's Director of Finance, and he and FIXE's restaurant team build every FIXE Expert Review. He built his career bridging restaurant operations and finance, rising from busser to Director of Operations and later CFO of a major Los Angeles restaurant group. For you, that means the person reviewing your numbers has cleared tables, run operations and run finance, so he reads your P&L like an operator.

*By the FIXE team, with Dan Margolis. October 2026.*

## Key takeaways

- Dan Margolis is FIXE's Director of Finance. He and FIXE's restaurant team build every FIXE Expert Review.
- He started as a busser and rose to Director of Operations and later CFO of a major Los Angeles restaurant group.
- He combines operational insight with financial strategy, so your numbers get read the way an operator reads them.
- He starts with the numbers you can act on this month: prime cost, labor, beverage timing, discounts, and cash versus profit.
- He's spoken about trusting your managers, recognizing your team and using data to see what's really happening.

## Who is Dan Margolis?

Dan Margolis is FIXE's Director of Finance. He built his career bridging restaurant operations and finance, rising from busser to Director of Operations and later CFO of a major Los Angeles restaurant group. After earning his MBA in finance, he's helped hospitality companies improve performance by combining operational insight with financial strategy. Now he uses technology to drive efficiency and support growth at FIXE.

## How did Dan go from busser to restaurant finance?

Dan didn't come to restaurant finance from the outside. He came up through the dining room.

He holds a bachelor's degree in hotel administration from UNLV and an MBA from California Lutheran University. In between the floor and the finance office, he worked his way through assistant GM, GM and Director of Operations roles at several restaurant groups. As a general manager and certified sommelier, he ran a restaurant wine program in Westlake Village.

Every one of those seats sees the P&L differently:

| Seats he's held | What that seat teaches you to see in a P&L |
| --- | --- |
| The floor, starting as a busser | How a busy shift really runs, and what it costs when a section is overstaffed or understaffed. |
| Assistant GM, GM and sommelier | Schedules, comps, and how one wine order can swing beverage cost for a month. |
| Director of Operations | Several restaurants at once, and the few numbers worth watching every week. |
| Restaurant group CFO, plus an MBA in finance | Cash, financing, and what investors need to see to trust the plan. |

## Why does an operator's eye matter for your P&L?

A P&L is a list of numbers. An operator reads it as a list of shifts, orders and decisions.

When beverage cost jumps, someone who's run a wine program asks when the last big order landed before calling it a problem. When payroll climbs, someone who's built schedules asks about covers and overtime before telling you to cut hours. When cash goes up, someone who's run finance asks where it came from.

That's what his path means for you. He's held the roles your team holds, so the review you get sounds like it came from someone who's stood where you stand, because it did.

## How does Dan think about running a restaurant?

In a past podcast interview about running restaurants, Dan talked about a few ideas worth borrowing for your own restaurant:

- **Trust your managers.** Give the people running your shifts the numbers and the room to act on them.
- **Recognize your team.** People who feel seen take better care of the restaurant.
- **Stay humble.** The numbers will tell you when something isn't working. Listen to them.
- **Use data and technology.** Not to replace your judgment, but to see sooner what's really happening.

## What Dan looks at first in your numbers

Every FIXE Expert Review follows the same structure, and every section ends with a key message. Here's where Dan and the team start:

1. **Prime cost.** Food cost, beverage cost and payroll together, as a share of net revenue. It's the fastest read on whether the month worked.
2. **Labor.** Payroll against net revenue and against covers. Creep shows up here a few shifts at a time.
3. **Beverage timing.** A big wine order that lands at month-end can make beverage cost spike when nothing's wrong. The review checks it against a physical count before anyone reacts.
4. **Discounts and leakage.** Comps, discounts, refunds and chargebacks, and whether every discount source gets reviewed.
5. **Cash versus profit.** Cash can rise in a month when profit falls. The review shows where the cash actually came from.
6. **Financing repayments.** Revenue-based advances, equipment loans and dining-rewards financing pull cash out every month, and you won't see the full picture in your operating lines.
7. **Investor payback.** If you have investors, the question is whether you're on pace to pay them back on time, and what monthly amount gets you there.

See all of this on a sample restaurant in [7 things a monthly expert review catches](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/what-a-monthly-expert-review-catches), or run the investor math in [are you going to pay your investors back on time?](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/pay-your-investors-back-on-time)

## What do you get each month?

After FIXE closes your books, you get a short deck: what moved, why, and a 30-day action plan with a priority, an action and a threshold for each line. Your dedicated account manager is still there for every question in between. If you've been reading your P&L by yourself, [you shouldn't have to](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/you-shouldnt-read-your-pl-alone).

## Frequently asked questions

### Who is Dan Margolis?

Dan Margolis is FIXE's Director of Finance. He built his career bridging restaurant operations and finance, rising from busser to Director of Operations and later CFO of a major Los Angeles restaurant group.

### What does Dan Margolis do at FIXE?

As Director of Finance, Dan builds the FIXE Expert Review with FIXE's restaurant team. It's a monthly, CFO-level review of a restaurant's numbers with a 30-day action plan.

### What is the FIXE Expert Review?

It's a monthly, CFO-level review of your restaurant's numbers, built on the books FIXE closes. Each review is a short deck: what moved, why, and a 30-day action plan with targets.

### What does the FIXE Expert Review look at?

Operating profit, sales, discounts and leakage, food cost, beverage, labor, prime cost, overhead, cash flow and financing, and a next-month action plan. Every section ends with a key message.

### How can I get a FIXE Expert Review?

It's what FIXE customers get. Ask about it on your first call with FIXE, or ask your account manager if you're already a customer.

## Get Dan's team on your numbers

Your books tell you what happened. Your Expert Review tells you what to do next. This is what FIXE customers get, built by people who've run restaurants. [Learn about the FIXE Expert Review](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/expert-review?src=blog-er-02), then ask about it on your first call.

## More on Reading Your P&L and Reports

This post is part of our [Reading Your P&L and Reports](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-pl-and-reports) guide.

Keep reading:

- [You Shouldn't Have to Read Your P&L Alone: Why Restaurant Owners Need a Second Set of Eyes](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/you-shouldnt-read-your-pl-alone)
- [Are You Going to Pay Your Investors Back on Time? The Math Every Restaurant Owner Should Run](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/pay-your-investors-back-on-time)
- [7 Things a Monthly Expert Review Catches That Your P&L Won't Tell You](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/what-a-monthly-expert-review-catches)

[View full post](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/meet-dan-margolis)

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