Simone Labs LLC

You’re still open. Or you’re not sure you should be. Either way, the numbers need a clear look.

Distressed Restaurant Advisors helps independent restaurant owners who are stuck in merchant cash advances, watching the business slowly decline, or already deciding whether to close. We organize the numbers, explain the options, and help you prepare for the conversations that come next — with your attorney, CPA, or broker.

Book a time Or start with the intake form

Credibility

Lived from the operator’s side — not a slide deck.

This practice sits under Simone Labs LLC. It is led by someone who has lived restaurant distress from the operator’s side: an independent restaurant Chris operates filed Chapter 11 twice historically — once in 2008, and again around 2013 to refinance that same 2008 plan. Both of those reorganizations paid every creditor in full.

A Subchapter V case for that same restaurant is expected to be petitioned mid-September 2026 and is in progress. That filing is not a finished result. This site does not treat it as proof of outcome.

Every competing firm (CR3, BDO, Gilkey, Blackwood) delivers a report and leaves the owner to implement it. Chris has already built and runs live AI tooling for that restaurant (voice ordering, automated marketing, an AI back-office) — DRA can hand a struggling owner both the diagnosis and the automated fix. Together, the credibility story and the build capability are what no incumbent in this market can match.

We do not sell “we survived bankruptcy three times.” We sell plain accounting of what happened before, honest description of what is underway, and practical help for owners who need the same kind of clarity — including the option to build the automated fix, not only diagnose it.

Who this is for

Independent restaurant owners in one of three overlapping situations

01

MCA-trapped, still open

You are current enough to keep the doors open, but merchant cash advances, daily remits, or stacked advances are eating the cash. You need triage before the next payment hits.

02

Slow decline

Sales are soft, labor and food costs are off, vendors are stretching, and the books are behind. Nothing has collapsed yet — but the trend is clear and you want a plan before it does.

03

Already deciding to close

You are weighing sell, liquidate, or bankruptcy options. You need the records packaged, the debt picture clear, and a briefing you can take to licensed professionals — not a sales pitch to keep going at all costs.

If you are looking for ads, SEO tricks, or a miracle turnaround promise, this is not that site. If a warm referral sent you here to look Chris up, this is the front door.

Service menu

Scoped work after a clear diagnostic

Three service groups. Diagnostic first — then only the work that fits.

Numbers & operations

Get the books and costs honest

  • QuickBooks cleanup
  • Menu analysis and pricing
  • Food and labor cost calibration
  • Staffing and scheduling audit
  • POS data audit (Toast, Square, Clover)
  • Third-party delivery economics

Debt & tax crisis

Triage pressure without false promises

  • MCA triage and explainer
  • Sales tax issues and tax warrants (we explain and organize only; filing and negotiation go to your CPA or tax counsel)
  • Overdrawn account / cash-flow spiral triage
  • Vendor payment plan structuring

Exit & recovery

Prepare the next conversation

  • Valuation (debt-free vs as-is)
  • Recovery plan
  • Sell vs liquidate vs bankruptcy options briefing (explained, not advised — every filing or creditor strategy question ends in referral to an attorney, broker, or CPA)
  • Financial records packaged for your attorney

We explain options. We do not tell you that you should file. We do not prepare petitions. We do not represent you with creditors or courts.

Signature differentiator

AI and operations automation

Implementing the same tooling Chris has built and runs live: AI phone/voice ordering, automated marketing (review replies, new-mover outreach), an AI back-office for email and bookkeeping, staffing/scheduling automation.

Diagnose-and-build, not diagnose-and-leave.

Priced separately from flat-fee audits — custom-scoped per engagement like a Simone Labs build, not part of the $1,000–2,500 diagnostic bundle band.

How it works

Diagnostic first. Scoped work after.

01

Diagnostic session

60–90 minutes. We review where you are, what the books show, what the debt and tax picture looks like, and which service group fits. You leave with a clearer map and a scoped proposal for any follow-on work — or a clean referral if what you need is legal, tax, or brokerage help we do not provide.

02

Pricing sketch

$250–400 flat

Depends on complexity and materials you can share in advance. Follow-on work is scoped after the session, with a written outline of what is included and what is referred out.

Book a diagnostic call

Prefer to talk first? Grab a slot on Chris’s calendar. Or tell us which of the three situations fits via the intake form — we review submissions and reply with next steps. No pressure pitch. No automated sales sequence.

Book a time Complete the intake form

Insights / Resources

Plain reads on the pressure points

Short explainers for owners stuck in tax warrants, MCA daily pulls, or the sell / close / reorganize decision — without the sales pitch.

01

What a Sales Tax Warrant Actually Means for Your Restaurant (And What Happens Next)

A warrant is a civil action, not a criminal one — but it attaches to assets and does not go away on its own.

Read article →

02

The Real Math Behind a Merchant Cash Advance (And Why It Feels Impossible to Escape)

Factor rates hide 60–150%+ effective cost, and the daily pull is what actually breaks cash flow.

Read article →

03

Sell, Close, or Reorganize? A Framework for What’s Next

When the numbers stop being an operating problem and start being a decision problem.

Read article →

Insights

What Third-Party Delivery Actually Costs You

Commission is only the first line — ads and funded discounts can push take rate near half.

Insights

Raising Prices Without Losing Your Customers

Week two looks like a disaster. Six weeks later is usually the real answer.

Intake

Diagnostic intake

This isn’t a credit application and it isn’t legal advice.

It’s a short set of questions so Chris can walk into a diagnostic call already oriented — instead of making you re-explain the whole mess cold. Answer what’s true today. Approximate is fine. Nothing here files anything, commits you to anything, or shows up on a credit report.

Roughly 3–4 minutes. Prefer to skip ahead? Book a time on the calendar.

Got it — thank you.

Chris will review what you shared and follow up to book a short diagnostic call.

On that call he’ll confirm the picture (cash pressure, financing load, timeline) and outline sensible next-step options for your situation — not a generic checklist.

Nothing you submitted files anything, starts any legal process, or locks you into working with us.

If something is time-critical in the next 48 hours (payroll, lockout risk, tax deadline), reply to the confirmation email or call/text the number we’ll include — put URGENT in the subject or first line so it gets pulled forward.

What happens next

  1. Confirmation email lands in your inbox.
  2. Chris reviews your intake (usually within 1 business day).
  3. You get a link or reply to book the diagnostic call.
  4. Come with whatever numbers you have — estimates are fine.

You’re not alone in this, and asking for a clear read is not failure — it’s how owners get their footing back.

1. Is revenue down year-over-year?
2. If revenue is down, roughly how long has that been true?
3. Do you currently have any merchant cash advances (MCAs) or similar financing that debits daily or weekly from your account?
4. Are you behind on any of the following? Select all that apply
5. Have you already spoken with a bankruptcy attorney?
6. Do you know your current food cost % and labor cost % (roughly)?
7. How many weeks of operating cash do you have right now (payroll + rent + essentials), if sales stayed at the recent pace?
8. What’s the single biggest pressure on the business right now?
9. Are any key vendors on COD, credit hold, or shortened terms?
10. Are you (the owner) currently taking a regular paycheck or draw?
11. How soon do you need a clear next step?

Contact Required to route the call

Chris reviews every submission and confirms the picture on a diagnostic call. This form does not diagnose, recommend filing, or create any engagement.

You’ll get a short confirmation next. Chris reviews submissions personally — or book a time directly on the calendar.

We use your answers only to prepare for a conversation with you. We don’t sell your information, and submitting this form does not create a client relationship or constitute legal, tax, or financial advice.