Concept & Opening
From the first napkin sketch to opening night—concept positioning, menu direction, operating plans, staffing, training, and launch support.
Hospitality operations · concepts · growth
Make the business work.
Keep your heart in it.
Real-world partnership for hospitality operators who want to grow, improve, strengthen—and love—their business.
The work
Not advice from the sidelines.
Experience from inside the operation.
I help independent restaurants, bars, breweries, distilleries, and hospitality groups solve the problems that sit between a great idea and a great business.
How I help
Built around what your operation actually needs.
Operations & Systems
Practical systems that make the work clearer, the numbers healthier, and the guest experience more consistent.
Food, Beverage & Brand
Menus, programs, positioning, and brand experiences built to be memorable for guests and executable for the team.
Leadership & Culture
Stronger managers, clearer expectations, better communication, and a culture people want to be part of.
Meet Tim Stearns
Operator first.
Consultant second.
I've spent more than two decades building teams, running high-volume operations, opening concepts, and protecting the thousand little details that turn a visit into an experience.
My approach is equal parts disciplined operator and creative problem-solver. I understand the spreadsheet, the kitchen line, the pre-shift, the guest complaint, and the big idea. The goal is never to hand you a binder. It's to leave you with a better business and a team that can carry it forward.
Tim Stearns Founder · Stingray Hospitality
Good fit
Call when you're ready to move.
A new opening. A good business that needs its edge back. A team that needs clarity. A concept that deserves to become real.
- New concepts and openings↗
- Operational turnarounds↗
- Menu and program development↗
- Service standards and training↗
- Labor, purchasing, and systems↗
- Leadership development↗
Start a conversation
Tell me what's keeping
you up at night.
No pitch deck required. Just tell me where you are, where you want to go, and what's getting in the way.