WJ Post Restaurant Advisors

William J Post has over 40 years of experience in the foodservice industry in extremely diverse operations, including managing, supervising, and leading the creation, development, and opening of over two hundred uniquely different concepts. Throughout his career, Bill has also provided consulting and advisory services to a list of who’s who in in the restaurant, hospitality and entertainment industries. A sampling of these clients would contain the following:

Testimonials

Bill has consulted with my company over the past three-plus years, assisting us in many areas. His vast experience has brought my teams both discipline and cost efficiencies that have become part of our DNA across the board. His knowledge of menu engineering brought us significant impact at my highly acclaimed, full-service Frontier restaurant in Chicago, improving food cost immediately by over 5% and ongoing food cost savings that continue to this day, resulting in annual six-figure savings from where we started!"
Mark DomitrovichFounder & Principal
Pioneer Tavern Group
"Bill Post helped me open my first restaurant. He assisted me in menu engineering and graphic design, lending expertise and knowledge in areas I knew nothing about. He also guided me in his unique methodology in opening Morrie's to a large crowd on opening day through his innovative pre-opening, social media strategies. Bill offers a vast array of resources……a small investment with a very big return!"
Nick PartridgeFounder & President
Morrie’s Grill & Bar
Senor Post extended "grande" advice, direction and assistance in the planning, hiring, training and opening of my Mexican coastal cuisine restaurant and bar in my home state of Costa Maya. Bill's vast experience specifically taught me invaluable lessons in menu planning and engineering, food and drink presentation options, and overall labor management. Bill has generously made himself available, when needed, for ongoing advice and guidance since my opening in the spring of 2024.
Miguel EsperanzaOwner
Padre's Taqueria and Tequila Bar
"Bill Post helped me open my first restaurant. He assisted me in menu engineering and graphic design, lending expertise and knowledge in areas I knew nothing about. He also guided me in his unique methodology in opening Morrie's to a large crowd on opening day through his innovative pre-opening, social media strategies. Bill offers a vast array of resources……a small investment with a very big return!"
Nick Partridge
Founder & President
Morrie’s Grill & Bar

Career Background and Highlights

Bill’s executive profile draws upon decades of expertise and operational experience in concept creation, executive management and team development ranging from quick service and fast-casual businesses to chain operations, casual dining and highly themed entertainment concepts to world-class fine dining, and extraordinarily high volume catering and concession operations. The following descriptions yield a headline view into Bill’s leadership role in developing a list of who’s who in the restaurant and hospitality services world.

Levy Restaurants

Throughout his span of almost twenty years at the helm of The Levy Restaurants, as President and Chief Operating Officer, Bill led the development of over 70 different restaurants and specialty concessions across the Chicago metropolitan area and throughout the United States.

Walt Disney World

As President of The Levy Restaurants, Bill was at the lead in negotiating, designing and developing the first restaurants ever permitted to be owned, developed and operated by an outside party (The Levy Restaurants) on Disney property at Walt Disney World in Orlando. During Bill’s term, Fulton’s Crab House ranked as one of the highest volume restaurants in the world, achieving over $25 million in sales as a dinner-only enterprise from its 700-plus seats.

Bistro 110 and Spiaggia

Among other signature restaurants in the Levy portfolio were Bistro 110 and Spiaggia, both recipients of the prestigious Ivy Award, the “Oscar” or Academy Award of the restaurant industry. Levy is the only company to ever be awarded two Ivy Awards.

Water Tower Place and The Sears Tower

At the famed landmarks of Water Tower Place and Sears Tower, Levy operated five and fourteen restaurants respectively.

Specialty Concessions

Levy’s emergence into the specialty concessions segment was led by its hometown dominance at Wrigley Field, the original Comiskey Park (now Rate Field), The United Center, Arlington Park Racetrack, McCormick Place Convention Center, Lincoln Park Zoo and Ravinia Festival.

Today, Levy is a dominating force in specialty concession venues in the USA and internationally, ranking it as one of the largest foodservice companies in the world.

Restaurant Associates is the oldest restaurant company in America with a rich legacy and heritage that reaches back almost 90 years. In New York City, as President of Restaurant Associates, Bill operated multiple restaurants in Manhattan landmarks such as Rockefeller Center (three restaurants), the Met Life and Grand Central Station complex (five restaurants), the world famous Brasserie on Park Avenue, and the famous Macy’s Miracle on 34th Street (two restaurant locations), among others.
Bill spearheaded and co-founded Roti Mediterranean Grill in 2006. Roti was first-to-market and the leader in the emerging fast-casual Mediterranean segment during its initial growth stage and sector dominance with 25 prime locations in Chicago, Washington DC and New York City while under Bill’s leadership.
Bill is the Founder and Principal of Carbon, a two-unit Chicago neighborhood taqueria, based on the simple authenticity and value proposition of true Mexican vendor fare. It isn’t Americanized Mexican food, it isn’t contrived, and it most certainly is not Chipotle! The business is an out-performer, achieving sales in excess of nearly $2,500 per square foot in the two existing locations.
Bill is the Founder and Principal of WJP Restaurant Group LLC, a joint venture partnership with Corporate Office Properties Trust, a New York Stock Exchange publicly traded real estate investment trust. WJP was founded and created in the 2015. It currently lists five units in its portfolio – one in Annapolis Junction, Maryland and four others adjacent to the Redstone Arsenal, home to NASA and US Army Central Command in Huntsville, Alabama.

Fast-Casual Mexican

Fast Casual Salads

Table Service Bar & Grill

A New and Contemporary Meeting and
Conference Center

Fast-Casual Mexican

Fast-Casual Sandwiches

Table Service Bar & Grill

A New and Contemporary Meeting and
Conference Center

Services

Today, as both an entrepreneurial restaurant owner/operator and consultant, Bill offers his services in a unique consultative and advisory capacity to enterprising restaurateurs who aspire to take their own businesses to the next level of vision, operational excellence and profitability.

Brand Creation & Management

Bill has been involved in the creation of over 200 entirely different restaurant concepts and brand development. This has involved everything from name and logo creation to architectural planning, lease negotiation, construction management, team development, opening countdown planning, and of course, ongoing operational development plus many more disciplines that are involved in the multi-dimensional aspect of creating an individual restaurant or the creation of a restaurant, foodservice or hospitality company.

Operating Philosophy & Development

It is essential that team members have a very clear understanding of what a business stands for. What are its values, its ethics, its unique foundational principles – in essence its mission and purpose for being in business. Bill has built companies, all based on the principle of simplicity, where literally thousands of team members all knew, in the simplest of terms, what the company stood for. This sounds so simple but very few companies achieve such across the board brand comprehension.

Opening Up with a Buzz and Crowds on Day One

When you do something two hundred times, you learn from mistakes and chances are you also get it right. Bill has perfected methodology to assist an opening, in essence building a database of customers BEFORE the business opens. This tool allows one to open a business to crowds that you as the operator control to the degree that you dictate.

Menu Engineering

The National Restaurant Association has stated that a vast majority of restaurateurs do not know, understand, or use their most effective marketing tool, their menu, to their full advantage. Menu engineering is an ongoing and never ending process, it uses proven advertising and marketing techniques to make your menu work most effectively, and profitably, for you. Keep in mind, you deposit dollars in the bank, not burritos, hamburgers or steaks. Using Bill’s Gross Profit Theory you will take more dollars to your bank too.

Engagement

Bill seeks to work with owner/operators that passionately seek improvement in their overall business. Success does not come overnight, thus engagement of his services is only agreed to on a project basis and after a thorough analysis of needs has been comprehensively assessed, discussed between the parties, and a delivery of services is agreed to.

Profitability Development

Application of the above tools in whole or in part will, without question, improve your business and correspondingly, your profitability and return on your investment.

Bill is aligned with and supported by a world-class list of associates who, if necessary, can bring added resources to provide added depth to a consulting engagement in terms of:
  • Marketing
  • Executive & Management Search
  • Human Resources & Administration Management
  • Real Estate Brokerage & Expertise
  • Restaurant Insurance & Risk Management Services
  • Graphic Design & Menu Engineering
  • Website Development & Improvement
  • Information Technology Management
  • Architectural & Mechanical Design Services
  • Food Product Development for Retail Distribution
  • Legal Guidance & Counsel
  • Bookkeeping & Financial Management

Contact Me Directly

WILLIAM J POST

(847) 275-5437

[email protected]

© WJ Post Restaurant Advisors

Wildhorse Saloon

Generally recognized as the ultimate country music, dance and restaurant/bar in the country, located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sony

Provided conceptual and design collaboration with Sony in the creation and preparation for launch of Gameworks – a premiere entertainment, arcade gaming and family-friendly restaurant and bar concept now located in seven major metropolitan areas throughout the country.

Harley Davidson

Assisted this world-class dealership network in the development and monitoring of on-premise Harley-Davidson Cafe’s.

Carnegie Deli

Provided operational expertise and management know-how in bringing America’s most iconic deli to Los Angeles.

Madison Square Garden

Conceptualized alternative, interactive sports themed venues in one of the most iconic sports arenas in the world.

Mickey's Kitchen

Coordinated the entire conceptual planning with the Disney Imagineering team, as well as ongoing operational oversight for Mickey’s Kitchen, a Disney-Michael Eisner era inspiration combining and introducing Disney retail products with an innovative menu aimed at more healthy, quick service options.