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IROA North AmericaIndian Restaurant Owners Association of North America
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OWNER HELP DESK

Get Help With Your Restaurant.

Pick the closest problem below, or describe it in your own words. Every request is read by a real person and matched with an owner, a volunteer or a verified professional. There is no fee, no upsell and no paywall between you and basic community help.

ASK FOR HELPFIND A PROFESSIONAL

START HERE

Ten problems, and where each one leads.

These are the same ten cards as the homepage. Jump to the one that sounds most like your week.

  • Opening a Restaurant

    Business plan, permits, buildout, launch timeline

    Opening is 31 decisions in a row, and most of them are one-way doors. Start where you actually are — not at stage 1 if you are at stage 5.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • What did your build-out really cost per square foot?
    • How long did your liquor license take?
    • Which mistakes cost you the most money?
    Open the 31-stage Opening Center →

  • Increase Sales

    Menu, marketing, guest experience

    Falling sales are almost never one problem. Work through them in order: traffic, conversion, ticket, frequency — then fix the one that is actually broken.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • Weekday lunch is dead — what worked for you?
    • Is a third-party delivery listing worth it for dinner?
    • How do you win back regulars who stopped coming?
    Ask for help with increase sales →

  • Understand My Numbers

    P&L, margins, break-even

    Your bookkeeper produces the P&L. Nobody translates it. These guides do that in plain English, and a volunteer CPA can walk through yours with you.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • What food cost % should I expect at a $1.2M restaurant?
    • How do I read prime cost?
    • What should I ask my accountant every month?
    Ask for help with understand my numbers →

  • Reduce Food Cost

    Vendors, portioning, waste control

    Food, labor, card fees, utilities, insurance and waste. Small, boring, repeatable wins beat one big renegotiation.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • Has anyone negotiated DoorDash commissions successfully?
    • What are you paying for card processing?
    • Where did you find real savings on produce?
    Ask for help with reduce food cost →

  • Find a CPA

    Restaurant-savvy accountants near you

    Most owners do not need a new accountant so much as an accountant who has seen a restaurant P&L before. Tip credits, sales tax on catering, and how COGS is booked are where the ordinary ones get it wrong.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • Have you worked with restaurants, and how many?
    • How do you handle tip reporting in my state?
    • What will you need from me each month, and by when?
    Search the professional directory →

  • Hiring & Staffing

    Recruiting, scheduling, retention

    Hiring a tandoor chef is a different problem from hiring a server. Different channels, different money, sometimes different visas.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • Where do you actually find tandoor chefs?
    • What are you paying line cooks in your market?
    • How do you keep staff past 6 months?
    Ask for help with hiring & staffing →

  • Marketing & Reviews

    Local SEO, social, reputation

    Twenty minutes a week, done consistently, beats a big campaign. Reviews first, then Google Business Profile, then social.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • How do you answer a bad review without making it worse?
    • What actually works on Instagram for a neighborhood restaurant?
    • Is a loyalty app worth it?
    Ask for help with marketing & reviews →

  • Technology & AI

    POS, online ordering, automation

    POS contracts are long and hard to reverse. Ask owners at your revenue band before you sign anything.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • Which POS works best for a $1M–$2M restaurant?
    • First-party online ordering — worth the switch?
    • Anyone using AI for phone orders?
    Ask for help with technology & ai →

  • Catering & New Revenue

    Events, delivery, new revenue lines

    Catering is usually the highest-margin channel an Indian restaurant already has the skills for — it just needs a sales motion nobody taught you.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • How do you price corporate drop-off catering?
    • How do you handle a 300-person wedding without wrecking service?
    • Who do you call at a hospital or university?
    Ask for help with catering & new revenue →

  • Talk to Another Owner

    Get advice from someone who has done it

    Sometimes you do not need a template. You need one person who has stood where you are standing. We will match you privately with another owner.

    GOOD QUESTIONS TO ASK

    • Does it get easier?
    • How did you decide to close a location?
    • How do you talk to family about the business?
    Ask for help with talk to another owner →

HOW IT WORKS

Three steps. No cost, no catch.

You control who sees it

  • All verified members

    Good for general questions. Other owners can answer you directly, and the answer helps the next person who asks.

  • Volunteers only

    Sensible when you are sharing detail about your own business — covers, revenue, a lease, a dispute.

  • Admins only

    For anything financial or personal. An admin reads it and routes it privately. Nothing is published.

What happens next

  1. An admin reads your request, usually the same day.
  2. They match it with the right owner, volunteer or verified professional.
  3. You get an email introduction. You decide whether to reply.
  4. Nothing financial is ever published. Ever.

EVERY CATEGORY

None of the ten fit? File it under one of these.

A help request can be filed under any of the categories below, so nothing has to be squeezed into the wrong box.

  • Opening New Restaurant
  • Sales
  • Profitability
  • Food Cost
  • Labor
  • Accounting
  • CPA
  • Tax
  • Payroll
  • Insurance
  • Legal
  • Compliance
  • Lease
  • Construction
  • Equipment
  • Financing
  • Marketing
  • Social Media
  • Google Reviews
  • Website
  • SEO
  • POS
  • Online Ordering
  • Delivery
  • Catering
  • Menu Engineering
  • Procurement
  • Vendors
  • Technology
  • AI
  • Expansion
  • Selling a Restaurant
  • Buying a Restaurant
  • Other
DESCRIBE IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS

FAQ

The questions owners actually ask first.

Is the advice here professional advice?

No. Community guidance is exactly that — owners sharing experience. For tax, legal, employment, immigration or regulatory questions we signpost you to credentialed professionals and tell you what to ask. We never give the advice ourselves.

Will my financial information be public?

No. Every help request has three visibility levels — all verified members, volunteers only, or admins only — and financial detail is never published. You control what shows on your profile field by field.

Is it really free?

Yes. Membership for restaurant owners is free, with no paywall between an owner and basic community help — ever. There is no trial, no card, and no upgrade prompt. Some professionals pay to be listed in the directory, and every one of those listings says so on the listing itself.

Who can join?

Anyone who owns, co-owns, is opening, or used to own an Indian restaurant in the USA or Canada. Restaurant groups and multi-unit operators are welcome. So are professionals and vendors, in a separate directory with disclosure.

How do I get verified?

An admin confirms you are genuinely connected to a restaurant — usually within one business day. We look at your restaurant’s public presence and may send one short email. We do not ask for financial documents to verify you.

Restaurant Owners Helping Restaurant Owners.

FREE for verified Indian restaurant owners across the USA and Canada. Connect. Share. Solve. Save. Grow Together.

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