Aaron Francis
Francis Managing LLC
8
years of professional experience
Dynamic restaurant owner with expertise in operational efficiency, staff supervision, and menu development. Successfully managed multiple locations, achieving over $15 million in sales while fostering exceptional customer engagement.
Work History
Owner/Operator
7 Years 10 Months- Created Brand from scratch in 2018, started off in Ghost Kitchen inside a Veterans of Foreign Wars Kitchen, turned into 3 separate Brick and Mortar locations, 2 in Bloomington Illinois and 1 in Peoria Illinois.
- Developed and implemented operational strategies to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
- Created every Recipe, and every weekend special for 6 years.
- Moved to Brick and Mortar Location #1 in 2022, Opened 2 other brick-and-mortar Locations total.
- Over 12 million in Sales from 2024-2026.
- Was HR and Payroll for every month open. Did every single job needed to get the job done.
- Assessed income and expenses and adapted plans to improve profit levels.
- Leveraged marketing techniques to increase brand awareness and drive sales growth.
- Employed & Trained over 250+ Employees from 2022-2026
- Managed daily operations, ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations.
- Streamlined inventory management processes to reduce waste and improve efficiency.
- Managed day-to-day business operations. Was the Head Chef from 2022-2024, Won Best Chef in Bloomington Illinois 2023.
- Best Minority Locally Owned Business Award from 2023 to 2025
- Trained and mentored staff in food preparation and customer service best practices.
- Created Second Brick and Mortar Location in Peoria Illinois in 2024, opened third brick and mortar locations in Oct 2025 inside Illinois Farm Bureau and Country Insurance HQ in Bloomington Illinois to cater to their private employees.
- Established strong relationships with suppliers, ensuring consistent delivery of goods and services at competitive prices.
- Developed operational strategies to enhance food quality and customer satisfaction.
- Won Best Fried Chicken since opening year, 2018-2025
- Created a top 3 locally owned Restaurant in Bloomington Illinois, organically all through Social Media, Facebook was our #1 voice to the public.
- I ran all Social Media accounts by myself with no help, all marketing/photos/announcements were done by myself
- 2.1 million dollars in wages paid out in 2025
- Sold Company in August of 2026, for over 100x initial investment in 2018.
Restaurant Owner/Operator
2 Years- Opened Second Brick and Mortar in Peoria Illinois.
- 1.7 million dollars in Food Only Sales in 2025.
- Designed the entire restaurant, from Kitchen to Dining Room for optimal flow of restaurant.
- Conducted regular performance evaluations, fostering a culture of continuous improvement among team members.
- Managed payroll, daily deposits, and cost controls.
- Recruited, hired, and trained talented staff to fill vacancies.
- Set employee schedules, delegated work, and monitored food quality and service performance.
- Oversaw daily operations, ensuring quality service and customer satisfaction.
- Trained and mentored staff on best practices in food safety and customer engagement.
- Managed inventory levels, optimizing procurement processes to minimize waste.
- Leveraged point-of-sale systems to track sales trends and enhance reporting accuracy.
Restaurant Owner/Operator
11 Months- Established the third brick and mortar restaurant as part of my "Pop Up" brand.
- Corporate Private Restaurant inside Illinois Farm Bureau and Country Companies Insurance Headquarters, in Bloomington Illinois.
- Initiated discussions regarding job opportunities following onsite catering event, recognizing exceptional kitchen operations.
- Developed and delivered a comprehensive PowerPoint presentation to the Board of Directors of Illinois Farm Bureau and Country Companies, showcasing a proposal for restaurant services catering to their employees five days a week.
- Fed 900+ Employees on the daily, created seasonal and fresh food for a proper corporation environment.
- Large Format Catering, organization, planning and execution done every week.
- All Catering dialogue was done through me, all invoicing was done through me.
- Analyzed customer feedback to drive menu development and enhance dining experience.
- Managed financial aspects of the business including budgeting, forecasting, cash flow management, and financial reporting to stakeholders.
- Identified team weak points and implemented corrective actions to resolve concerns.
- Started A Coffee Shop from scratch with no Prior Knowledge of Coffee Business, secured a 10k a month contract with Country Companies to provide coffee throughout the building for their employees.
Hospitality Consultant
1 Year 7 Months- Developed comprehensive hospitality strategies to enhance guest satisfaction and operational efficiency.
- Analyzed market trends to provide actionable insights for client service improvement initiatives.
- Conducted training sessions for staff on best practices in customer engagement and service excellence.
- Collaborated with management teams to implement cost-effective solutions for service delivery challenges.
- Helped Open Harvest Moon Sweet Grass in Bradley Michigan, in collaboration with Gun Lake Tribal Commune,
- Fast Casual Elevated Cafe using Native American Ingredients, I created the entire food side of the menu after months of meticulous ingredient research.
- Gun Lake Tribe wanted to use Native Michigan ingredients for their menu, so I did a lot of research on age-old Native American Recipes, and modernized them.
Education
Associate of Science - Business Management
High School Diploma
- Dean's List 2006
- Professional Development: Business Management
Skills
Operations management
Operational efficiency
Menu development
Menu pricing
Food presentation
Health code compliance
Local regulations compliance
Labor cost controls
Vendor relations
Schedule management
Staff hiring
Staff supervision
Customer engagement
Sales management
Sales strategy
Revenue generation
Business marketing
Marketing strategy implementation
Brand development
Portion control
Small business operations
Timeline
Restaurant Owner/Operator
Pop Up Hospitality
09.2025 - CurrentRead More
Hospitality Consultant
Francis Managing LLC
01.2025 - CurrentRead More
Restaurant Owner/Operator
Pop Up Express LLC
08.2024 - 08.2026Read More
Owner/Operator
Pop Up Chicken Shop
10.2018 - 08.2026Read More
Red Rocks Community College
Associate of Science from Business Management
Read More
Normal Community High School
High School Diploma
Read More