I help restaurant owners, operators, and founders navigate leases, launch concepts, and make informed decisions early before contracts, timing, and risk limit their options.
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Norman Kai Lee (Chef Kai) started working in kitchens at 17 and spent more than two decades building, operating, and advising hospitality businesses across the U.S. and abroad.
His work spans Italy, Myanmar, Mexico, and the United States, shaped by real ownership, real contracts, and real consequences. After negotiating leases, launching concepts, and living through both wins and failures, Kai now advises operators and founders on how to build businesses that last and how to avoid the mistakes that quietly destroy them.
This perspective comes from doing the work, not talking about it.
I focus on building platforms, content, and advisory work rooted in real ownership experience. Each project reflects lessons earned through operating businesses, negotiating contracts, and navigating the realities most founders only discover after it’s too late.
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Leases shape risk and long-term survival before doors open; this book explains essentials to avoid mistakes and protect businesses early.
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A restaurant and nightlife discovery platform built around vibe, experience, and culture, helping people find places that feel right everywhere.
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A podcast exploring business, restaurants, travel, and culture through honest conversations, sharing real stories of ownership, failure, learning, and growth.
If you’re navigating a lease, opening a concept, or trying to scale without blowing up what you’ve built, I help operators make smart decisions early before mistakes compound, flexibility disappears, and exits become impossible.
I work across writing, advisory, media, and platform-building translating hard-earned operating experience into tools, guidance, and stories that help founders avoid irreversible mistakes.
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Writing practical insight for operators navigating leases, risk, and long-term survival rooted in real ownership, not theory.
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Building hospitality and culture-driven platforms designed to solve real problems operators and consumers actually face.
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Providing strategic guidance before decisions become permanent leases, launches, restructures, and pivots.
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Turning real operating experience into accessible stories, education, and conversations founders can actually use.
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If you’re facing a decision that doesn’t come with a rewind button, let’s talk.These conversations are practical, honest, and rooted in real operating experience not surface-level advice.The goal is clarity before commitments, and confidence before consequences
hello@normankailee.com
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