Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute is teaming with JumpStart Inc. and the Cleveland Browns to launch a training and funding program for aspiring restaurant owners.
The program, Pathways to Ownership, is an accelerator that aims to empower business owners from disadvantaged backgrounds by leading them through a comprehensive six-week accelerator program that helps them establish successful restaurant ventures. Applications for the accelerator's first cohort opened May 20.
Pathways to Ownership will help participants find a suitable restaurant location, make capital improvements, network with like-minded culinary professionals, cultivate mentorships and master their menus through real-world examples, case studies and practical exercises, Edwins said Monday.
The culinary school for formerly incarcerated adults would train program participants about the complex process of opening a restaurant. JumpStart, the Cleveland venture developer, would teach sessions on capital formation, networking and mentorship. Funding for the program would come from the Browns and other partners.
"Small businesses are vital to our community and require determination and unwavering belief," Brandon Chrostowski, founder of Edwins Leadership and Restaurant Institute, said in a statement. Chrostowski is a James Beard Award finalist who runs Edwins restaurant on Cleveland's Shaker Square, as well a culinary innovation hub, bakery, butcher shop, housing and daycare center to benefit institute students.
"We are grateful to have the Browns and other community partners, like the Cleveland Foundation and JumpStart, back us to help small business owners with essential resources and extensive training," Chrostowski said.
After going through the program, some participants will have the opportunity to pitch their restaurant concepts to a panel of industry leaders to compete for seed capital in the form of no-interest loans from Edwins and its partners, including the Cleveland Browns, the Cleveland Foundation, JumpStart and private benefactors.
Edwins has raised $300,000 of its $500,000 funding goal for the program's first year, the institute said.
"Our partnership with Edwins represents some of the most meaningful work we do here at the Browns," Peter John-Baptiste, chief communications officer for Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Browns, said in a statement. "Brandon's efforts to provide opportunity for those [who] aren’t granted many [of them] because of their background is an inspiration."
