Hudson's Rail Trail Flatbread Co. opens up its books to workers | Worcester Business Journal

By Zachary Comeau

Austin Bonnell, an 18-year-old busboy at Rail Trail Flatbread Co., noticed the other day he was throwing away a lot of fries.

Several dishes at the Hudson eatery come with fries, so he figured the company was losing money with each fry thrown into the trash. He noticed the same thing with salads. He told a manager, who relayed that to the owners.

Now, the restaurant is portioning less of each.

Every employee at the restaurant – and soon two others across the street owned and operated by the same group – is taught the economics of running a restaurant, and to a greater extent, their own life, thanks to an open-book management style.

The restaurant is working under a program developed by Boston-based Rethink Restaurants, a consulting firm bringing open-book management to popular restaurants, including seven in Massachusetts, according to its website.