When it comes to sustainable restaurant growth, margins aren’t just numbers, they’re the foundation. In this episode of Behind the Numbers, hosts Marc Cohen and Rich Sweeney sit down with Josh Lacer-Watkins, CFO of Ice Age, to explore how financial discipline, operational transparency, and empathy between finance and the frontline can create lasting success across dozens of locations.
Lacer-Watkins joined Ice Age four years ago, guiding the brand through a cycle of expansion from 46 stores to the mid-50s and back. That experience taught him that growth is only as strong as the margins that support it. “Your margins being where they are open up possibilities for all kinds of stuff,” he says. Today, he’s using those lessons to strategically target the best markets and build a scalable foundation for the future.
Managing growth in today’s restaurant environment requires more than intuition, it demands precision. For Lacer-Watkins, that starts with financial discipline long before seeking outside capital.
“You can’t just go to the bank and say, ‘Here’s where I want to be,’” he says. “You have to show a strong pro forma – what your next three to five years look like – and make sure your infrastructure supports that.”
It’s a philosophy rooted in accountability. Ice Age processes roughly 1,800 to 2,000 invoices each month across its 46 locations, supported by 2,500 employees and another 25 to 35 people in above-store roles. Every dollar matters, and that financial clarity starts internally.
Before implementing Restaurant365, Lacer-Watkins relied heavily on manual processes and paper checks. “We’re old school,” he admits. “We still like to sign checks and put them in envelopes. There’s good traceability in that.”
But when his team adopted Restaurant365, the impact was immediate. Operators suddenly had access to the same data the finance team used: invoices, P&Ls, and real-time numbers.
“My ops team is absolutely in love with it,” he says. “I feel like I have seven to eight admin accountants now. They’ll email me saying, ‘I don’t think this belongs in this GL account,’ which always makes me laugh because that’s such a nerdy thing to say. But that’s how they’ve been trained.”
That visibility has become a cultural shift inside the company, transforming financial conversations from top-down reports to shared responsibility. The result? Better margins and faster decisions.
Before switching to Restaurant365, Ice Age ran its accounting through Microsoft 365, an ERP that Lacer-Watkins describes as “fine,” but disconnected. “It lacked POS integrations, vendor connections, and I was constantly building custom financials in Excel,” he recalls. “And every now and then, you’d open a spreadsheet and realize something was obviously wrong.”
When he saw that Restaurant365’s custom financial reports mirrored the same Excel-based layouts he had built manually, it was an easy decision. “It eliminated all that extra work; now it’s part of my ERP,” he says.
Technology, he believes, is changing the role of finance entirely. “AI can analyze data quickly and efficiently,” he says. “It’s not just about presenting numbers anymore; it’s about presenting insights. Here are your financials, and here’s what I see.”
For all the talk of automation, Lacer-Watkins still believes that the best CFOs understand life behind the counter. “Any CFO needs to go work in a restaurant for a little bit,” he says. “You’ll have a little more empathy when you see what the team does every day. That invoice you’re worried about might not be their top priority in the moment.”
That empathy helps him bridge the gap between finance and operations – turning accounting into a tool for empowerment rather than oversight. “They can use me as a thought partner,” he says. “If they want to make a move, I can help them understand the financial impact before they do.”
As consumer behavior continues to evolve, Lacer-Watkins sees a new challenge emerging: the rise of the “switcher.” “We’re in an environment where customers are less brand-loyal,” he says. “They want to try new things and new experiences. Even with McDonald’s, we have to earn that loyalty every day.”
For Ice Age, the answer comes back to the same principle that drives their financial philosophy. Consistency. “You have to operate at a level that entices consumer sentiment,” he says. “Consistent operations are what increase your market share.”
In the end, Lacer-Watkins’ approach to growth isn’t about adding stores — it’s about building strength. With clear margins, transparent reporting, and a culture that connects the front lines to the finance office, Ice Age is proving that healthy numbers don’t just measure success — they enable it.
“Strong margins open the door to growth, flexibility, and smarter lending,” he says. “They’re not just about profit — they’re about possibility.”
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