Scaling Menu Innovation Through Smarter Procurement Strategy

David Cox is a procurement and supply chain executive whose background as an executive chef shapes a practical, performance-driven approach to sourcing. He evaluates purchasing decisions based on real kitchen conditions and operational demands. At Norms Restaurants, he partners closely with suppliers to support menu innovation, protect execution and uphold the brand’s commitment to quality, value and scratch-made food.

Managing Consistency at Scale: Discipline Drives Menu Flexibility

Consistency starts with discipline through clear specifications, standardized recipes and defined preparation methods. From there, we build flexibility into the system. At Norms, innovation does not mean abandoning our roots. It means expanding thoughtfully beyond them. While steaks remain a core pillar, we have embraced ethnic flavor profiles such as Latin, Korean and Mediterranean to keep the menu relevant and exciting.

From a procurement standpoint, that includes leveraging less expensive but highly flavorful cuts of meat and applying low and slow cooking techniques to maximize tenderness, flavor and yield. Items like baby back ribs, braised beef birria and slow cooked pork carnitas allow us to manage food costs while delivering bold, craveable flavors. These proteins are then cross utilized across multiple menu applications, ranging from breakfast items like carnitas omelettes to lunch and dinner offerings such as birria burgers and shareable plates. This approach helps control inventory, reduce waste and protect margins without sacrificing quality.

Collaborative Menu Innovation: Designed for Scalable Execution

Menu innovation is most successful when it’s built collaboratively and evaluated through an operational lens early in the process. We work closely with culinary, operations and procurement teams to ensure new items are scalable, executable and sustainable. That includes validating labor impact, equipment requirements, ingredient availability and cost structure before rollout.

Supplier involvement is critical. By engaging vendors early, we can identify opportunities to innovate using existing products, alternative cuts or globally inspired ingredients that align with our supply chain capabilities. This approach allows us to push flavor boundaries while maintaining procurement discipline and brand consistency. Innovation at Norms is intentional, grounded in value and designed to last beyond a single promotion.

Forecasting and Inventory Management: Protecting Margins, Reducing Waste

Forecasting and inventory management are essential to margin protection in a high-volume environment. Accurate forecasting allows us to align purchasing with demand, particularly for high-velocity proteins and slow-cooked items that require advance planning. Strong inventory discipline, pars, FIFO rotation and regular counts, helps minimize waste while ensuring availability across dayparts.

Cross-utilization plays a major role here. By designing menu items that share core ingredients across breakfast, lunch, dinner and limited-time offerings, we reduce complexity, improve turns and strengthen execution. When forecasting, inventory and menu design are aligned, the result is better cost control, improved food quality and a more consistent guest experience.

Building Brand Trust: Consistency, Accountability, Thoughtful Evolution

Consistency reinforced by accountability has had the greatest long-term impact. Guests return because they trust the experience whether it’s a classic breakfast, a steak dinner or a globally inspired comfort dish. That trust is earned through disciplined procurement, clear standards and leaders who reinforce them daily.

Equally important is staying relevant. Keeping abreast of current food trends while remaining true to the brand allows us to evolve without losing our identity. At Norms, that balance between heritage and innovation, value and flavor is what sustains guest loyalty. It allows us to introduce initiatives like our upcoming World of Flavors BBQ limited-time offering, which builds on our low and slow cooking expertise and global flavor exploration while remaining operationally sound and procurement driven.