I want people to love working in restaurants again

let’s change the restaurant business…

one meal at a time

  • Leadership coaching

    I can coach your newest or most experienced managers in HR best practices, as well as how to lead a thriving, inspired staff. I also specialize in supervisor-to-manager transitions

  • Benefit & Payroll Administration

    Together we will put together the most cost-effective, progressive benefit plan possible for your team. I’ll provide open enrollment as well as ongoing benefit management and can be a reliable, professional alternative to running payroll in-house.

  • New project HR consulting

    Includes everything you need to start off with confidence, so you can spend less time filling out forms and get back to focusing on your vision…

    …And there’s so much more I can offer!

I’m Katherine Pinson (SHRM-CP), the founder of Family Meal HR Consulting LLC, and a lifelong Bay Area resident. In addition to being a mother, sister, friend, daughter and epic Prince fan, I am also an HR professional specializing in the care of restaurants, their staffs, and their owner/operators. My commitment to my practice comes from a deep love of people... feeding people - taking care of people - is my true life’s work.

I have worked as a GM, operations manager, restaurant consultant and HR manager for more than 20 years, working for some of the most iconic restaurants in San Francisco and the Bay Area and throughout California, including Chez Panisse, LULU at the Hammer Museum, Brown Sugar Kitchen, Chow Restaurant and Little Star Pizza (1100 Group).

My consultation practice comes from being on both sides of the coin - as a former GM with no HR support, I have not-so-fond memories of trying to wrangle all the necessary forms (when I knew which ones were necessary), manage employee disputes, and Googling labor laws late into the evening shift...all while trying to run a profitable business. It was all I could do to keep my restaurant compliant, let alone lead an inspired staff. Now, 20 years later, I have the experience and qualifications to lend a hand to my fellow owner/operators. I strive to leverage my experience to help business owners and managers make the best use of their time, and spend it doing more of what they came to the table to do - operate a business they love.