Inside a fast-casual restaurant, success rarely announces itself loudly. It shows up in repeat guests, steady execution, and managers who understand the numbers well enough to make calm decisions. At Glaze Teriyaki, that steadiness has been built over fourteen years by Paul Krug, one deliberate choice at a time.
Glaze began not as a trend chase, but as a translation.
Krug grew up in Seattle, where teriyaki shops are everywhere and almost invisible at the same time. They are unbranded, family-run, dependable. When he moved to New York and entered hospitality through nightlife and large venues, he noticed something missing. Teriyaki existed, but mostly as an afterthought.
“I grew up around teriyaki,” Krug explained. “In Seattle, it’s just there. You leave and realize people don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
The opportunity arrived during the Great Recession. With venues closing and uncertainty everywhere, Krug chose to stay in hospitality but change formats. Smaller footprint. Focused menu. More control. In 2011, he opened the first Glaze Teriyaki location in Midtown East, betting that simplicity, portion value, and consistency could stand out in a crowded city.
They did.
Scaling Without Losing the Plot
Growth came quickly. A second New York location followed, then expansions to San Francisco and Chicago. Operationally, the team executed well. Strategically, the experience reshaped how Krug thinks about scale.
“In retrospect, we would have been better off infilling more in New York first,” he said. “Creating a stronger base before going outside the city.”
That realization sharpened Glaze’s focus on systems. New York leaves little room for guesswork. Rent is fixed. Labor is expensive. Revenue has to perform. To survive long-term, managers need clarity, not just hustle.
That clarity starts with the numbers.
Where Financial Systems Support People
As Glaze grew, Krug knew in-house accounting was not the right move yet. The business needed reliable financial oversight without building fragility into a single role.
“I was really attracted to a cloud-based accounting system,” Krug said. “Until you have real redundancy in-house, it doesn’t make sense to rely on one person.”
That search led Glaze to KitchenSync, a partnership that has now lasted nearly a decade. For Krug, the value is not just clean books. It is continuity and context.
During moments of uncertainty, including the early months of 2020, KitchenSync showed up.
“They were on their cell phones talking to me late at night,” Krug said. “When you know you have a core team that’s been there for years, it gives you an extra layer of comfort.”
But the real impact shows up inside the restaurants.
Glaze shares profit and loss statements with general managers in ways that make sense. Not as abstract reports, but as tools tied to daily decisions. Managers track labor, food cost, and revenue in near real time. They compare performance. They compete with themselves.
“The more we involve them, the more excited they get,” Krug said. “They take ownership. They want to do a good job.”
Numbers stop being punitive. They become empowering.
Glaze keeps its technology stack intentionally simple. Toast runs POS, ordering, and kitchen flow. MarginEdge supports food cost control. KitchenSync connects it all into financial clarity. Each tool serves a purpose. None compete for attention.
Krug is not interested in complexity for its own sake.
“I like to keep things really uncomplicated,” he said. “Easy eating. Easy operations.”
That philosophy extends to marketing and storytelling. Glaze takes a less-is-more approach. Show up authentically. Communicate clearly. Do not overwhelm guests who just want a dependable lunch.
“People want to learn about the place they eat two or three times a week,” Krug said. “But they don’t want to be overburdened with it.”
Consistency builds trust. Trust builds frequency.
The Long Game
Today, Glaze is signing its sixth New York lease, with plans to grow to 12–15 locations across the city before expanding again. The pace is intentional. The systems are steadier. The lessons are earned.
Krug’s advice to new operators is simple and hard at the same time.
“It’s a team game,” he said. “You’ll do better and enjoy it more when you value the people around you.”
That belief sits at the heart of Digital Hospitality.
When systems work quietly, people can focus on people. And that is where hospitality lasts.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | RSS | More
