Facilities Leadership Becomes a Financial Stabilizer for Quick-Service Restaurants

The job of a modern quick-service restaurant facilities leader is no longer about simple repairs. It's a strategic function that directly impacts financial stability. Today's environment requires fluency in data, finance, and human capital to navigate a persistent skilled labor gap, balance the tension between reactive fixes and proactive preventative maintenance, and manage the delicate art of negotiation with service providers.

Jason Latimer is currently serving as the Director of Facilities for Fresh Kitchen, a fast-casual healthy bowl chain with over 15 locations throughout Florida. He has a proven track record across previous facilities leadership roles of boosting efficiency, reducing costs, and creating strategic business advantages. With nearly three decades in restaurant and hotel operations ranging from QSRs to fine dining, and over a decade spanning in-house maintenance, service company experience, and multi-site facilities leadership, Latimer brings perspective from both the operator and service provider sides of the business. His philosophy is surprisingly simple: "Facilities leadership stabilizes operational volatility, which becomes financial stability."

• Phantom financing: Latimer's philosophy counters a costly mistake many growing companies make: failing to track assets and maintenance spend. "I've seen companies effectively buy their equipment three or four times over," Latimer explains. "They'll spend $20,000 on a new unit, but after the warranty is out, they've spent another $40,000 or $50,000 on repairs because no one is tracking the asset's lifecycle. They don't realize the value in tracking this data, operating with a reactive mindset that they can just call someone out whenever something breaks."

• Think inside the box: Data-driven visibility empowers leaders to implement tangible, proactive strategies that directly impact the bottom line. Latimer uses data from a CMMS to create "go-boxes," translating historical data into a tangible, on-site solution. He recommends teams utilize their CMMS to track the most common parts that fail on a particular piece of equipment. Latimer explains, "If teams leverage this smartly, the data allows teams to stock those parts in the stores, which opens up operational flexibility, so whether it's your in-house technicians or a third-party provider, having the part on-site enables a first-time fix."

• Illumination over invention: Modern technology doesn't replace the fundamentals of facilities management, it illuminates them. From this perspective, the strategic goal is reframed toward using today's AI systems and software to make these core principles more visible and intuitive. "If you put the wrong information into technology, you're just finding out you're wrong quicker," Latimer points out. "The technology is great, but if you're not using it correctly or the information is incorrect, you're still fumbling around."

Data pressure is compounded by another issue: a severe skilled trades gap that creates both financial strain and operational friction. Facilities leaders are tasked with proactively managing the expectations of restaurant staff who feel the immediate pain of slow or inconsistent service. "From within restaurant operations, urgency is immediate," says Latimer. "From that perspective, you don't understand why a technician is taking a long time to get there, or why they keep sending an inexperienced technician. You might assume the grass must be greener with a different service provider."

• Labor and leverage: Latimer says the technician shortage has driven prices up. "When I left my service company," he explains, "they were paying technicians fresh out of tech school $25-$30 an hour, whereas many of us with more experience started at $18 and had to earn our way up." This same market pressure has also created a surprising source of leverage and an opening to negotiate more favorable terms. "In this market, scarcity has forced service providers to adapt. Five or ten years ago, providers would have refused to install parts a client supplied themselves. Today, they are far more willing to be flexible and collaborative."

Across the restaurant industry, facilities teams function as a stabilizing force that supports operational consistency and guest experience. Latimer’s prioritization framework centers on operational impact, safety, risk, downtime, cost, and remaining asset life. "If you’re intentional on the front end, you don’t have to pay for it on the back end," he says.

Ultimately, effective facilities leadership depends on disciplined data and shared accountability. "Facilities is an expense center, but strong facilities leadership stabilizes operational volatility, which becomes financial stability," Latimer explains. "When organizations invest in accurate information, consistent processes, and clear ownership, they protect margins, reduce disruption, and create long term operational stability."