RESTAURANT PROGRAM
Learn from the successes and failures of restaurateurs who’ve come before you.
Food —
For Your Business
Nowhere else can you tap into a network of seasoned experts in the hospitality business who are actively interested in your success.
We can help your business with general guidance and food, restaurant, and hospitality industry specifics.
The expertise you need to grow your business:
- Buying a food business or restaurant
- Starting a food business or restaurant
- Creating pitch decks and financials
- Accessing capital to fund your business
- Branding and marketing
- Obtaining permits and licenses
- Planning and funding equipment
- Launching & growing artisan and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) products
- Managing operations
- Menu development
- Selling on Amazon
- Managing a beverage program
- Operating food trucks & mobile food
- Hospitality training
- Launching and growing a Cottage Food Business
- Launching and growing a Micro Enterprise Food Kitchen Operation (MEHKO) (available in Solano only)
About Us
Restaurant Program advisors know more than most what a competitive, cutthroat market is like in a business with thin margins and variable costs. Through personalized, no-cost advising and purpose-built training designed to equip you with a customer-first, owner-proud, resilient, growth-mindset, our experts are here for you.
Additionally, our experts speak five different languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, French, Mandarin, and English.
How We Help:
One-on-One Advising
All of our advisors specialize in unique areas of the food industry. You will be paired with a specialist who will support you, one-on-one, to chart a course to help you open, expand your business, and provide you with resources to help navigate a constantly changing economy.
Our Programs:
Our industry-focused programs include an Artisan Food Incubator and CPG Online Program – a 4-part series on starting an artisan or packaged food business, a Foodpreneur Cohort, a 10-week accelerator program where food business startups attend weekly webinars, meet with their advisors, and learn how to start a food business, write a pitch deck and financials and learn to pitch their business concept, and more.
Online Exclusive Webinars
Below are a few more topics we cover in our workshops:
- Attend live webinars and trainings on a vast number of topics
- Access our learning webinar library
- Attend one of our programs
- Artisan Food Incubator
- Cottage Food Training
- Food Truck Incubator
- Foodpreneur Pitch Deck Cohort ~ a 10-week accelerator program
- Marketing Bootcamp
Featured Client Story
OAKLAND-BASED. PLANT-BASED.
WOMEN-OWNED. BLACK-OWNED.
COVID LAUNCHED.
Hella Nuts.
Join Us
Thanks for checking out the Restaurant Program! We provide no-cost services to people who own an existing restaurant or food business or those who need support for their startups.
Do you own an existing restaurant or food business? Do you need help launching your startup?
Are you looking for one-on-one advising, training, and resources with access to food, beverage, and hospitality specialists?
If you answered yes, we’re ready to work with you!
What our clients are saying…
Thrive
Louise introduced us to crucial connections, people who went out of their way to help us with every level of our business. If you are patient and listen, you will be able to thrive with the SBDC’s help. I can’t believe all this was free!
Hella Nuts – Mieko Scott
Reliable
“SBDC were the only ones I could count on. I had to pay my lawyer and everyone else, but I didn’t have to pay the SBDC.”
BurgerIM – Diane Long
Helpful
“Louise Dawson from the Restaurant Program ended up helping me with a lot of things and when the pandemic hit. I thought I could only get one loan, but she let me know I could get both PPP and EIDL!”
La Texanita – Alma Mendes
Amazing
“Thanks to the SBDC I have been receiving amazing advice and practical assistance! I was able to avoid a lot of the mistakes I would have made otherwise. Thank you so much for all your help.
Madar Street Food – Naseer Roshan
