Brianna De La Cruz

· Oversee strategic operations for 26 units across California, generating over $56M in annual revenue.

· Lead cross-departmental projects with culinary, marketing, and IT to support brand innovation and scalable process improvements.

· Direct budgeting, forecasting, capital planning, and talent development across a geographically dispersed team.

· Oversaw daily operations across multiple departments, ensuring seamless coordination and efficient execution of tasks.

· Defined, implemented, and revised operational policies and guidelines.

· Established and monitored quality assurance standards to achieve operational excellence.

· Analyzed customer feedback and identified areas for improvement to drive business success.

Enhanced employee engagement by developing training programs, fostering a collaborative culture, and promoting professional development opportunities.

• Acted as de facto HR partner (2020–2023), during which I applied my capstone strategies to restructure benefits and culture
• Researched and implemented a 40-hour manager workweek (down from 50 hours) while maintaining manager labor cost at 8–9% of total sales (below 10% target)
• Broadened management candidate pool by partnering with recruiters, improved hiring quality, near-perfect retention, reduced break violations by 80%+
• Monitored regional performance metrics, providing timely feedback and implementing corrective actions when necessary to ensure goals were achieved consistently across all locations.
• Developed high-performing teams through strategic recruitment, training, and performance management efforts.
• Developed and facilitated HR workshops on onboarding, interviews, wage law, and harassment compliance
• Negotiated partnership with Seasoned to streamline hourly recruitment
• Conducted investigations, managed unemployment claims, advised on accommodations and conflict resolution

• Manhattan Beach consistently Top 10 EBITDA performer
• Opened 3rd & Grand; profitable within 4 months with YOY sales growth
• Cultivated strong relationships with clients, vendors, and partners to ensure long-term success and loyalty.
• Developed and implemented strategies to increase sales and profitability.
• Drove year-over-year business growth while leading operations, strategic vision, and long-range planning.