Phillip Frankland Lee does not think about restaurant economics the way most chefs do. Where others see a new opening as a capital event requiring investors, buildout budgets, and a long runway to profitability, Lee sees a math problem with a specific solution: take over an already-permitted space, keep the staff lean, focus the concept on one core product, and break even within 60 days. He has done that 32 times.
Lee co-owns and operates Scratch Restaurants Group with his wife and executive pastry chef Margarita Kallas-Lee. The portfolio includes Michelin-starred Sushi by Scratch Restaurants and Pasta|Bar, NADC Burger, and Shokunin, built across multiple US cities through a model that prioritizes small footprints over large-format dining rooms and controlled capacity over volume. This is his third conversation with André Natera on Chef’s PSA, and it is the most operationally detailed one yet.
The episode covers how NADC Burger grew from free pop-ups with no overhead into a multi-location concept, why small tasting-menu restaurants fill faster and execute more consistently than large casual formats, and why Sushi by Scratch scales better than Pasta|Bar across the portfolio. One Pasta|Bar location is being converted into a 22-seat Austin boutique steakhouse, and the reasoning Lee gives for that decision is worth listening to closely.
The conversation also gets into the open world RPG framework Lee uses to process adversity, the specific warning he gives about sharks and partnership structures in the restaurant industry, and an extended, precise discussion on the line between culinary inspiration and outright copying. That section of the episode is one of the most direct conversations about culinary originality, influence, and intellectual honesty that Chef’s PSA has produced.
Lee closes with a preview of his upcoming podcast Fire the Board and forthcoming Austin-area concepts.
Phillip Frankland Lee on Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/phillipfranklandlee/
Lead Like a Chef App: https://studio.com/apps/andre/leadlikeachef
