Some advise needed

In my honest opinon your owner which all that is said by him is final I am sure.. But make sure if he sacrifices quality he should taste whats coming out of his kitchen and judge it himself. Which bring me to the point of how committed are you? I dont know your pay I dont know your hours but if you are a chef you know the difference between quality and quantity i assume.. So Even if you make a shit wage and you have to buy shit ground beef just as an example for under two dollars a pound.. use something real and his product just to make a statement and this is only an example with the beef as I say.. But if hes doing the ordering what you need to do is set up a budget with food cost added in and give him a taste test of your food.. make sure he knows what hes dealing with.. if you have to buy something out of your own pocket to prove to someone it makes it that much better once in a while to make your food that much better who cares.. thats whats called passion..  and beleiving in what you do as a culinarian.. and when they agree with you then they can buy it for you espeically if it isnt your business.. if they dont want that from you and they say it sucks well unfortunately all they can do is find another chef. and if you want to stick with shit/cheap product that is your choice.. but in the end its always your choice.. what the owner says goes no matter what.. if they fail they fail.. its your choice to leave if your not happy with what they do or want to do..

"A quality product is attained by starting with quality ingredients"  In other words you start with junk or crap,you wind up with junk.or crap.

   You nor anyone else will change this CONTROL freak who is ALWAYS right  (in his opinion).  Even when the place closes up, which it will,  he will not take blame. Most likely he will blame you, or maybe the weather or some other factor. Confussis once said   " If you talk you repeat what you alresdy know, but if you listen you learn''   This man will never  listen.  Stop beating your head against the stove.

 For your own sake, start looking around. Get Out

The short answer is NO-you can't change people. They are who they are.

People, however, can be convinced that alternative approaches to doing things might help save the business. From what you describe, it sounds like stuff from the kitchen is OK, but raw materials are expensive.

If you want to tinker with the menu, start with making sure everything is accurately costed and priced. Measure, measure measure and make sure every dish is made consistently.

It might be a marketing issue-is the dining room old and dated? Are the menus clean and fresh looking? How is the service? Does the cutlery match and feel good in your hand? Believe me, as a diner, I HATE greasy, limp menus and cheap cutlery that doesn't match and cuts into my fingers when I try to use it.

Then, most importantly, make sure your restaurant is attracting people that want to dine there. It's not about advertising, it's about knowing who your core clientele is and what they want-Know your customer. Don't drive away your regulars, but convince your regulars to bring in more people like them. 

You can do all the cost cutting measures you describe above, yet drive up labor costs, and that will do nothing to drive more customers to your door. 

As I said, "Time to move on or forward' Good Luck