LA Launches Program to Support Restaurant Owners

- The program is offered at no cost to restaurant owners based in Los Angeles County and is taught by PCR's restaurant advisors, Aja Beard and Celeste Young-Ramos. The curriculum includes 10 workshops covering topics like food costing, food safety, new health department requirements, human resources, and financing. - Participants receive individual consulting sessions with an SBDC advisor to develop a custom, actionable business plan. One of the program's advisors, Aja Beard, has 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including 15 years managing and opening new restaurants, and assisted with the opening of Hotville Chicken in the Crenshaw community. - This program launches as many Los Angeles restaurants face significant financial challenges. Recent reports indicate that rising insurance premiums, utility rates, and food costs are creating an unsustainable business model for many local restaurateurs. - Other support programs for food entrepreneurs in Los Angeles have included the Seasoned Accelerator, a program focused on supporting micro and small food businesses, with a pilot specifically for BIPOC women. Over four years, the Seasoned Accelerator assisted 62 entrepreneurs. - Another local initiative is the Restaurant Accelerator Program offered by the Los Angeles Urban League, which provides direct grant assistance and coaching on operations and marketing. This program is part of a national initiative by the National Urban League, funded by a $10 million grant from the PepsiCo Foundation, aiming to assist 500 Black-owned businesses over five years. - The incubator model for supporting food entrepreneurs has been successfully used by organizations like La Cocina in San Francisco, which focuses on providing affordable kitchen space and technical assistance to low-income entrepreneurs, particularly women from immigrant communities. Graduates from the La Cocina program average five to six years in the program. - Nationally, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) have shown a significant impact on business growth. A report on SBDC counseling activities indicated that SBDC clients experienced an average sales growth of 13.6%, four times the national average, and an average job growth of 15.5%, compared to the national average of 1.9%. - The broader landscape of support for LA restaurants has included various city and county-level relief efforts, such as the "Keep LA County Dining Grant" which provided $30,000 grants to restaurants impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.