A series of three virtual workshops to provide meaningful peer-learning and partnership building opportunities across the Puget Sound regional food system in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
These workshops will spotlight new models and programs that food businesses, community members, and organizations have developed to address the negative impacts of the pandemic. We’ll identify opportunities for collaboration and contribution to support their work and explore how these new systems can help build a more resilient, sustainable, and just local food economy going forward.
Good Food Resilience | A Listening Session: How Can We Support Local Restaurants Now?
Tuesday, 10/27/20, 10am-11am
Nationwide, restaurants and food service providers have shown remarkable innovation and resilience in response to restricted service mandates stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, pivots and government assistance to date have been insufficient to meet the significant revenue and job losses, leading to an estimated 85% of independent restaurants threatened with permanent closure.
This workshop will feature a live listening session of Seattle-area, independent restaurant stakeholders as they discuss what adaptations they have made to continue food service to the community as well as the critical challenges to their business that remain and their needs for support. Legislators, economic development agencies, philanthropists, and community members are invited to listen and identify where they can provide immediate meaningful policy and/or financial assistance to support our restaurant community.
Those working within the food service industry are invited to attend and add their experiences to the panel. All participants are encouraged to contribute to a discussion of potential and emergent solutions, which will include an overview of Good Food Kitchens’ efforts to pair local independent restaurants with funding, program management, organizational support, and operating tools as they provide food to communities in need.
Featuring speakers:
Edouardo Jordan, Chef & Owner of Salare, Junebaby, and Lucinda Grain Bar
In June 2015, Edouardo Jordan officially opened the doors to his first restaurant, Salare, with influences from France, Italy, the American south, and the Caribbean. In April 2017, Chef Jordan opened his second restaurant, JuneBaby, which focuses on his roots and Southern Cuisine. In December of 2018 he opened his third restaurant, Lucinda Grain Bar, which focuses on heirloom, ancient, and local grains.
Chef Jordan has received multiple nominations and awards, having personally been named one of Food & Wine’s Best New Chef of 2016 and received the 2018 James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest. Salare was listed as a Best New Restaurant in America in 2016 by Eater National and JuneBaby was titled Food & Wine’s Best New Restaurant for 2018 and received the prestigious 2018 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant.
Kristi Brown, Chef & Owner of That Brown Girl Cooks! and Communion
That Brown Girl Cooks! is a culinary brand that hosts a collective of flavorful innovations by Chef Kristi Brown. She brings food magic to the tables of the Pacific Northwest through catering, original events, a line of fresh specialty food products, and a wealth of personality. Melding the cuisines of traditional Soul Food with inspirations from around the world, the products of That Brown Girl Cooks! are not simply food, they are odes to some of Chef Kristi’s favorite memories and adventures.
Eric Rivera, Chef & Owner of addo: incubator
Eric Rivera hails from Olympia, WA with family roots in Puerto Rico. His journey to Eric Rivera Cooks, a restaurant group, included a three-year stint at the Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, moving back to Seattle to help open a few restaurants for restaurateurs in the city before forging his own path. Eric, a graduate of The Culinary School at The Art Institute of Seattle, traces his cooking back to when he was a small child in a Puerto Rican family that celebrated food. Now, with his own restaurant group, Eric plays to his guests’ sense of discovery with his flagship project addo. Eric was named the 2018 Eater Seattle Chef of the Year.
Jessica Tousignant, Executive Director of Seattle Restaurants United
Jessica Tousignant is the acting executive director for Seattle Restaurants United and founder of the Seattle Hospitality Emergency Fund working in partnership with Wellspring Family Services. A long-time human rights activist and hospitality industry leader, Jessica has dedicated herself to helping offset the systemic financial and social toll Covid-19 has had on the bar and restaurant industry.
EunJean Song, Founder & Management Consultant, Night School; Operational Development, Good Food Kitchens
EunJean Song is a hospitality operations expert with 10+ years of leadership experience spanning the restaurant, grocery, technology, and real estate industries. She is the Founder of Night School, a management consulting agency that works to build healthy and thriving independent retail and hospitality brands that are iconic touchpoints in our neighborhoods.
The Good Food Resilience Series is an initiative of Seattle Good Business Network’s Good Food Economy, connecting the Puget Sound food community in order to strengthen the local food pipeline and build a resilient, sustainable, and just local food economy. Made possible with support from King Conservation District.
