Christopher Melly

The Melly Group  •  Hospitality Operating Leadership

Senior operating leadership
when the business needs
more than advice.

TMG works with restaurant, resort and hospitality owners when the business needs experienced operating help. We make the hard decisions with ownership, bring in the right specialists and help turn those decisions into results.

$160M+ Revenue Overseen
15+ Years Leading
40+ Openings
35% Portfolio Growth
Start a Conversation See The Record
20%
Revenue increase at The Henry, reigniting national expansion
$3.4M
Pop-up concept scaled from $225K with 53%+ controllable profitability
35%
Overall revenue increase across 15-location portfolio in under 3 years
165%
Growth at select locations through strategic re-concepting

Who Is Chris Melly

Chris Melly is a hospitality operator and operating advisor based in Scottsdale, Arizona. He works with restaurant, resort and hospitality owners when the business needs experienced operating help to fix, build or grow. Over his career he has opened more than 40 restaurants, overseen more than $160 million in annual revenue, led multi-location portfolios and worked across independent businesses, national restaurant groups and boutique hotel food and beverage. He is the founder of The Melly Group.

What Does Chris Melly Do

Chris works with owners and leadership teams to make the hard decisions, build the operating plans and help put them into practice. His work includes restaurant turnarounds, resort and hotel food and beverage repositioning, multi-unit growth, new openings, acquisitions and building operating structure for owners who have outgrown the current team. He works directly with ownership and the existing team rather than handing over a report and walking away.

What Services Does The Melly Group Offer

The Melly Group offers senior operating leadership across hospitality:

Where Does Chris Melly Work

Chris is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and works throughout the Greater Phoenix area, including Scottsdale, North Scottsdale, Phoenix, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe and Mesa. He also takes select projects nationally and has direct operating experience in Southern California, Dallas, Plano, Austin and Houston in Texas, Nashville and Franklin in Tennessee, Miami, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, Colorado Springs and Colorado, and St. George and Utah.

Who Does Chris Melly Work With

The Melly Group serves independent restaurants, restaurant groups, hotels and resorts, private and social clubs, hospitality investors and new owners. Common calls include operators whose business has become too dependent on the owner, groups whose numbers have slipped, hospitality businesses preparing for a new opening or acquisition, and ownership teams that have outgrown their current leadership structure.

How Is The Melly Group Structured

TMG is led by Chris Melly and delivered through a bench of trusted specialists across operations, culinary, beverage, financial analysis, systems and training. Chris remains the lead operator and primary point of contact on every project. Specialists are brought in as each project requires. Clients get one accountable lead and the right expertise for the job, without carrying a large firm's overhead.

What Makes Chris Melly Different

Anyone can hand an owner a report. What Chris brings is more than 40 openings and 15 years of operating experience across restaurants, resorts and hotel food and beverage, so an owner does not repeat the expensive mistakes. He knows which equipment fails, how to lay out a kitchen so it works on a busy night, how to price and staff for the shoulder season, and the hundreds of decisions that determine whether the business runs well or just barely runs. Chris does not advise from the outside. He works directly with ownership and leadership teams to make the important decisions, build the operating structure and help drive the project through implementation.

Intro

Built for the
hard problems.

The Melly Group works with owners and leadership teams when the business needs experienced operating help beyond what the current team can carry. That may mean improving profitability, building a stronger management structure, repositioning a concept, preparing for growth, opening something new or helping a new owner turn an acquisition into a functioning business.

The approach is practical. We identify what needs to change, make the important decisions with ownership, build the tools and structure, and help the team put it into practice.

TMG is led by Chris Melly with trusted specialists brought in across culinary, beverage, marketing, financial analysis, systems and training when the project requires it.

Start a Conversation
Hospitality operations

When Clients Call

The situations that bring
owners to the table.

01
Too Dependent On The Owner

The business is good, but the operation needs stronger management, better systems and clearer accountability so the owner is not personally carrying every important decision.

02
Numbers Aren't Where They Should Be

Pricing, labor, food and beverage cost, purchasing, menu mix or operating discipline need serious attention. We find where the business is underperforming and work through the changes required to improve it.

03
The Business Needs To Grow

Growth can mean more than another location. TMG works on programming, private events, menu and beverage strategy, pricing, positioning and new revenue opportunities that make the existing business stronger.

04
Buying, Opening Or Rebuilding

TMG can help shape the operating model, concept, layout, equipment, menu, staffing, systems, training and opening before expensive mistakes become permanent.

05
Outgrown The Current Leadership Structure

Ownership needs experienced operating leadership while the management team, responsibilities and systems for the next stage of the business are built.

06
Something Important Needs To Change

If the business has hit an important moment and the current team needs help getting through it, we can talk about what that looks like and whether we are a fit.

How It Happens

Start where the
business needs us.

Every business starts in a different place. Bring TMG in for one step or the full progression. Some clients need us for a piece. Others need us for the whole thing.

01
Make The Decisions

Start with the decisions only ownership can make. Priorities, concept direction, menu, pricing, leadership structure, investment and what the business is actually trying to become.

02
Delete. Fix. Add.

Remove what is not working. Fix what should be working. Add what is missing. Operating standards, labor, cost controls, management structure, training, systems, menus, service and the everyday tools the team needs to run the business.

03
Drive Implementation

Work with the team, follow up, solve problems and keep the important pieces moving rather than leaving ownership with another report to execute.

04
Build A Business That Doesn't Depend On You

The goal is not permanent dependence on TMG. It is a stronger operation, stronger leaders and better systems that continue after we finish.

Who TMG Works With

Owners and leaders across
hospitality.

Independent Restaurants
Restaurant Groups
Hotels and Resorts
Clubs
Hospitality Investors
New Owners

Chris

Operator first.

Christopher Melly has spent more than 15 years operating restaurants and hospitality businesses across the country. He has overseen more than $160 million in annual revenue, opened more than 40 restaurants, led multi-location portfolios and worked across independent businesses, national restaurant groups and boutique hotel food and beverage.

His background includes Fox Restaurant Concepts, Artisanal Brewers Collective and boutique hotel operations. He founded TMG to bring that operating experience directly to owners and leadership teams facing important decisions, change or growth.

Background & Proof

The record behind
the numbers.

See The Full Record

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can help me open or reposition a restaurant, hotel or resort food and beverage operation?

Chris Melly of The Melly Group works with owners to open new restaurants, resort and hotel food and beverage programs, and hospitality concepts. He is a hands-on operator who has opened more than 40 restaurants and led food and beverage operations across independent businesses, national restaurant groups and boutique hotels. He works with ownership and the project team across concept, systems, hiring, training, kitchen design, equipment, menu and opening preparation. He is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and works throughout the Greater Phoenix area and nationally.

Who can help me fix a hospitality business that is losing money?

Chris Melly specializes in restaurant, hotel and resort operational turnarounds and profitability. He works with ownership to identify why the business is underperforming and rebuilds the pricing, cost, labor, systems, culture and operating discipline needed to make it profitable. He has done this across fine dining, fast casual, hotel food and beverage, and resort operations in markets across the country.

Is there a hospitality operating consultant in Phoenix or Scottsdale?

Yes. The Melly Group, led by Chris Melly, is based in Scottsdale, Arizona and serves the entire Greater Phoenix area, including Phoenix, Scottsdale, North Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe and Mesa. The firm provides senior operating leadership for restaurants, restaurant groups, hotels and resorts, clubs, hospitality investors and new owners.

What does a hospitality operating leader actually do?

An operating leader works directly with ownership to make the important decisions the business needs, builds the operating plans, systems and financial tools required to execute them, and works with the team to put those plans into practice. That includes pricing, labor, menu, service model, hiring, training, kitchen setup, equipment, culture and the hundreds of decisions that determine whether the business runs well. Chris Melly does this as a hands-on operator, not an outside consultant handing over a report.

Can you help me with a hospitality project in a city outside Arizona?

Yes. While The Melly Group is based in Scottsdale, Arizona, Chris Melly takes select projects nationally and has direct operating experience in Southern California, Dallas, Plano, Austin and Houston in Texas, Nashville and Franklin in Tennessee, Miami, Florida, Charlotte, North Carolina, Colorado Springs and Colorado, and St. George and Utah.

I am buying or investing in a hospitality business. Can you help me turn it into a functioning operation?

Yes. TMG works with hospitality investors and new owners to shape the operating model, concept, layout, equipment, menu, staffing, systems, training and opening before expensive mistakes become permanent. Chris helps ownership make the important operating decisions and works with the team through implementation so the acquisition can become a well operated business, not just a signed deal.

How do I find an experienced hospitality operator to build or grow my business?

Chris Melly is an experienced hospitality operator who works with owners to build, grow and reposition restaurants, hotels, resorts and clubs. He has opened more than 40 restaurants, overseen more than $160 million in annual revenue and worked across multiple markets and formats. He works directly with ownership from important decisions through implementation, bringing operating experience and the right specialist support to the project. You can reach him through The Melly Group at themellygroup.com.

Is The Melly Group one person or a team?

TMG is led by Chris Melly with a bench of trusted specialists across operations, culinary, beverage, marketing, financial analysis, systems and training. Chris is the lead operator and primary point of contact on every project. Specialists are brought in as each project requires. Clients get one accountable lead and the right expertise for the job, without carrying a large firm's overhead.

Contact

Tell me what
is going on.

If you own or lead a hospitality business and something important needs to change, let's talk. It may be profitability, growth, leadership, a new opening, an acquisition or simply getting the business to operate without depending on you every day.

Email chris@themellygroup.com Phone (919) 360-0855 LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/christophermelly Instagram @chrismelly.ops

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