In business, we are taught early that growth is the goal. More locations, more menu items, more markets, more visibility. And for a while, I believed that too.
But nearly a decade after launching Swiss Butter in Beirut and now operating in 17+ locations globally, I’ve come to believe that one of the most underrated skills in hospitality is the ability to say no. No to distractions. No to trends that pull you off centre. No to opportunities that look good on paper but take you further away from your brand’s core.
Swiss Butter began with one idea: to take something incredibly simple, “steak frites and sauce”, and deliver it at a standard that people would want again and again. No reinvention. No seasonal menus. No novelty positioning. Just one dish, done exceptionally, every time. And for eight years, we’ve said no to anything that interferes with that experience.
That includes saying no to franchising, even when it might have offered faster global reach. It means saying no to delivery apps when we believe the experience doesn’t travel the way it deserves to. It means saying no to big splashy menu expansions that could “capture more of the market,” but risk confusing the brand or diluting what we stand for.
Of course, saying no is not always easy. It’s often the harder choice. When opportunities come with impressive numbers or industry buzz, the pressure to say yes can be immense. But in my experience, the cost of a misaligned yes is much greater than the reward of a strategic no.
Hospitality is a business of feelings. It’s not just about what you serve, it’s about how people feel when they walk through the door, when they see the menu, when they taste something familiar and comforting. That feeling comes from consistency. And consistency is born from focus.
We live in a time where novelty is often mistaken for innovation. Restaurants are racing to go viral, to constantly reinvent themselves in order to stay relevant. But what people return to, what they truly build loyalty around, is comfort, familiarity, and trust. You can’t offer that if your strategy changes every quarter.
At Swiss Butter, we train every team member through the same Swiss Butter Academy programme, we serve the same three dishes in every country, and we make the same sauce every day with 33 ingredients blended the exact same way. It’s not going to earn us a Michelin Star, but it works. People know what to expect, and they come back for that.
Sometimes, doing the same thing over and over is the most radical business decision you can make. Especially when the industry is shouting at you to do more.
In the end, saying no is not about limitation, it’s about clarity. It’s about knowing who you are as a brand, what you stand for, and what you’re willing to protect.
Growth is important. But so is identity. And for us, protecting that identity, plate by plate, choice by choice, is what’s made the difference.
Eddy Massaad, Founder of Swiss Butter