The independent restaurant industry is notoriously low on resources that allows owners and operators to be more effective business owners. Even chefs who have owned restaurants for years lack financial literacy and the business understanding they need to control and cut costs. This proves particularly challenging for an industry where average profit margins over between three and five percent on a good year.

The James Beard Foundation advocates for, and designs programs that aim to make the independent restaurant industry more equitable, sustainable, and financially viable for all. The Foundation seeks to collaborate with a team of Ross EMBAs to research and catalog innovative industry business models for ‘full-service, casual, independently owned’ restaurants.

The team would analyze the strategy, effectiveness, scalability, and potential applications of these new models, with the goal of resulting in more profitable restaurants that also follow equitable and sustainable labor, sourcing, and operating practices. The team would develop frameworks for identifying and creating new business models for this category of restaurants.