Restaurant Small Business Management

Restaurant Small Business Management

Location: CGCC in Hood River

Program Description & 2026-27 Class Schedule

Small Business Development Center’s RSBM Program
The Restaurant SBM Program has been engineered from the ground up to deliver relevant, robust content specifically for restaurant operators in The Columbia Gorge and smaller Oregon communities. It features Oregon experts with deep roots in the restaurant industry and a passion for its success.

The SBDC recognizes that the top five reasons restaurants fail are: poor leadership, substandard hospitality, poor hiring and training, forgettable food, and struggling with cost containment.
These nine powerful workshops — plus monthly one-on-one advising sessions — are all geared to make the participants’ operations successful, enjoyable and rewarding.

The RSBM Program is for people already in the food business and ready to make a commitment to financial growth, either by improving their operation and its profitability or making significant changes to their business model. For example, you may want to move from a catering business to a food truck or expand from a food truck to a brick & mortar, or, by building upon one success, add another location. In general, the program works best for people looking to improve their business, increase their income and have a better work/life balance.

We meet once a month for a three-hour class on Mondays or Tuesdays, 9 am to noon, for nine months. Designed as an in-person class, the format creates a cohort of peers who encourage and learn from each other, as well as from our highly respected instructors, allowing a rich opportunity for Q&A and networking. This in-person program is based at the Columbia Gorge Community College in Hood River. A few sessions will be hosted by local hospitality businesses pFriem, Bargeway Pub, and Lightwell Hotel & Spa. Each session will be recorded, allowing people to watch a class recording when they have a scheduling or weather-related conflict.

Tuition is $900. Limited scholarships of $700 are available and assume your commitment to attend all nine sessions and at least six advising appointments. Enroll now to reserve your spot. Scholarships may be available for the second person from your operation.

If you have questions, or are in the start-up phase, contact our program manager, Leslie Hildula. Email: HildulaL@gmail.com or text Leslie at: 503-939-8648 or SBDC Lead Adviser, Josiah Dean, at jdean@cgcc.edu.

RSBM Class Schedule

All classes are 9am – Noon at the CGCC campus in Hood River, 2nd Monday or Tuesday of the month. A few sessions will be held off-site. Details will be provided later in the program.
CGCC Campus, 1730 College Way, Hood River, OR 97031

October 13, 2026, Tuesday # 1: Financial Fluency for Business Owners
Instructor: Tracey Bech, on a mission to empower business leaders with the knowledge and tools to build thriving enterprises by mastering the language of finance. Tracy specializes in
curating industry-specific best practice groups of CEOs, fostering an environment where
financial insights are shared, compared, and benchmarked regularly.

Learn what your numbers are really telling you. Bring your income statement (profit and loss) and balance sheet and get ready to understand what these reports reveal about the health and wellness of your profits, cash flow and ability to survive adversity. You will need MS Excel and, ideally, real-time access to your bookkeeping software. A copy of the textbook “60 Minute CFO” will be provided. It's recommended to read the first four chapters prior to class and to bring your book to class.

November 9, 2026, Monday, # 2: Attracting, Managing, & Retaining Employees
Instructor: Chef Lisa Schroeder, Executive Chef & Owner, Mother’s Bistro & Bar. SBA Oregon Small Businessperson of the Year 2023. Bring your employee handbook if available. Lisa will provide her handbook and job descriptions as inspiration.

December 8, 2026, Tuesday, # 3: Effective Digital Sales & Marketing for The Gorge
Instructor: Jen McFarland, Jen McFarland Consulting. With 25+ years in marketing, operations, and digital strategy, Jen has seen what works and what’s a waste of your time and money. She prioritizes owned assets, clear authority, and meaningful visibility over constant posting and performative presence.

Take advantage of the opportunity to share your digital marketing for in-class appreciation and suggestions. Jen will provide her Handbook on Digital Marketing.

January 12, 2027, Tuesday, #4: 2: Getting Work Done with the Latest AI Platforms
Instructor: Justin Coats, CIO with Learn AIR: helping organizations navigate workforce transformation through practical, responsible, and human-centered AI adoption.

February 8, 2027, Monday, #5: Planning Seasonal Menus to Attract Customers & Still Control Food Costs
Location: Lightwell Hotel & Spa
Instructor: Chef Cory Schreiber, A fourth-generation restaurateur in Portland, cookbook author and winner of the James Beard award in 1998 with Wildwood. Opportunities for feedback on menus including Lightwell’s restaurant.

March 9, 2027, Tuesday, #6: Bar Management & Remarkable Customer Service
Location: Lightwell Hotel & Spa
Instructor: Chef Ken Henson, Refettorio Consulting, former Executive Chef, Pelican Brewery and currently on the Boards of OHF and ACF. “Small independent restaurants make an average of less than 4% while they should be making 10% or more… I’m dedicated to making an easier to run, less stressful, and more profitable food and beverage business a reality.”

April 6, 2027, Tuesday, # 7: How to Navigate Leases, Vendor Contracts, Employment & Liability Issues
Instructor: Susan Felstiner, Professor of Law and Clinic Director, SBLC.
Lewis & Clark Law School’s Small Business Legal Clinic (SBLC), opened in 2006, provides transactional legal services such as leases, insurance, and employment law to low-income, small, and emerging businesses throughout Oregon and hands-on practical education to law students.

Professor Felstiner joined the law school in 2012. Prior to this, Susan practiced with the Portland law firm of Cable Huston for over fourteen years, representing businesses in transactional and litigation matters; counselling clients on a variety of issues, including business formation and governance, negotiation and drafting of contracts, construction liens, and employment practices.

May 4, 2027, Tuesday, #8: Financing, Managing Debt, and Exit Strategies
Instructor: Arnie Hendricks - CMA, CFBA, CEPA, CM&AA. Arnie Hendricks, contract CFO, Financial Management Resources, helping business owners solve issues which prohibit their profitable growth and increase the value of their companies. Over the last six years he has also focused on helping business owners successfully transition the ownership in their businesses.

June 15, 2027, Tuesday #9 Managing Your Money for Sustainable Profits.
Location: pFriem
Instructor: Kurt Huffman, founder of ChefStable, a restaurant development company, dedicated to chef driven food concepts. From 2008 to present, ChefStable opened more than eighty restaurants which currently employ over 900 people. A partial list: St. Jack, Oven and Shaker, Dos Hermanos Bakery, Ox, Coopers Hall, Lardos, Grassa, Blutos, Loyal Legion, Fracture Brewing, Pacific Standard, The Evergreen.

Previously Kurt worked for Deloitte Consulting, focusing on the hospitality industry, as well as Groupe Ninkasi, where he helped establish the Rhone Valley’s first micro-brewery in Lyon, France. He currently serves as OLCC commissioner and Chair of Travel Portland’s Board of Directors.

June 15, 2027, Graduation/Celebration, TBD