The ONE Group cuts costs, lifts margins with beef pricing, scheduling changes

The ONE Group is trying to protect its restaurants’ profit without letting the pressure show on the floor. The company behind STK, Benihana and Kona Grill said it improved margins by adjusting beef sourcing, improving scheduling, optimizing the menu and raising prices, with management locking in contracted beef pricing through September 2026 to blunt swings in U.S. beef costs.

The numbers show why the company is leaning so hard on cost control. First-quarter 2026 total GAAP revenue rose 0.8% to $212.8 million from $211.1 million a year earlier, but consolidated comparable sales still fell 0.3%. Even so, restaurant operating profit climbed to 19.1% of owned restaurant net revenue, up 100 basis points from a year earlier, while owned-restaurant cost of sales improved to 19.4% from 20.8%. Food and beverage costs fell 6% to $40.5 million, and adjusted EBITDA attributable to The ONE Group rose 12.1% to $28.8 million.

That improvement came from a tighter operating model, not a wave of new traffic. Management said restaurant operating profit margins improved in part because food and beverage costs fell 140 basis points from supply chain efficiencies. It also said transition and integration costs dropped to $0.5 million as the Benihana and RA Sushi integration neared completion, while lease termination and restaurant closure expenses tied to portfolio optimization totaled $2 million. The company has been converting and closing some locations as it tries to reshape the portfolio and generate free cash flow more efficiently.

For restaurant workers, that kind of margin rescue usually means more scrutiny over labor, prep and waste. Better pricing on beef can help keep a steakhouse open and preserve jobs, but schedule tightening often lands in the dining room and kitchen as fewer people are asked to cover the same volume. That can affect how quickly tables turn, how much prep gets done in-house and how much pressure lands on line cooks, servers and managers trying to make labor targets work during a still-price-sensitive year.

The larger backdrop is The ONE Group’s May 2024 acquisition of Benihana and RA Sushi, a deal that left the company chasing $20 million in synergies by the end of 2026. The current cost push shows how operators are trying to defend margins after big acquisitions: squeeze the supply chain, trim overlapping costs and keep service intact. The question for employees is whether the gains show up as steadier hours and better training, or simply as a leaner operation built to do more with less.