Want to Grow Your Food Business?

The Restaurant Small Business Management Program is for people already in the food business and looking to grow, either by improving their operation or making significant changes to their business model. For example, they 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, they are looking to improve their business to increase their income and have a better work/life balance.

The Restaurant SBM Program has been engineered from the ground up to deliver relevant, robust content specifically for restaurant operators in Lincoln County, Clatsop County, and smaller Oregon communities. It features Oregon experts with deep roots in the restaurant industry. The nine powerful workshops — plus monthly one-on-one advising sessions — are all geared to make the participants’ operations as successful as possible, and to make their work more enjoyable and rewarding.

We meet twice a month for a three-hour class on Mondays, 9 am to noon, for five months. Designed as an online class, remote class held via Zoom, the format creates a classroom 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 year’s program is based at the Oregon Coast Community College in Newport.

Tuition is $900. Limited scholarships of $700 are available.

If you have questions, or are in the start-up phase, contact our program manager, Leslie Hildula. Lhildula@cgcc.edu 503-939-8648

RSBM Class Schedule

All classes are 9am to Noon on ZOOM.

January 6, 2025, SESSION 1: Attracting & Managing Employees
Instructor: Lisa Schroeder, Executive Chef & Owner, Mother’s Bistro & Bar, Portland

Jan 20, 2025, SESSION 2: Standing Out from the Competition: Branding & Marketing Your Restaurant Create your marketing plan to increase sales in 2025 Instructor: Chef Tselani Richmond, SYSCO Consulting Chef

February 3, 2025, SESSION 3: Tracking Your Money: Basic Bookkeeping and Financial Statements in preparation for session on financial management. Instructor: Natalie Bronson, SBDC QuickBooks Advisor

February 17, 2025, SESSION 4: Managing Your Money for Sustainable Profits. Identify the strategy and use the essential tools.
Instructor: Kurt Huffman, Managing Partner, ChefStable, a “partnership” that includes Ox, Lardos, St. Jacks, Oven & Shaker, Dos Hermanos, Coopers Hall, and Grassa

March 3, 2025, SESSION 5: Essential Digital Marketing — Website, Emails, & Social Media. Your 2025 plan for attracting your target customer and building repeat business. INSTRUCTOR: Jen McFarland, Jen McFarland Consulting

March 17, 2025, SESSION 6: Revising Menus to Control Food Costs through High & Low Seasons. Developing & Testing Recipes for Consistency, Profitability and Customer Satisfaction INSTRUCTOR: Consulting Chef Cory Schreiber at Sysco on the tomorrow’s food supply.

March 31, 2025, SESSION 7: Bar Management & Remarkable Customer Service INSTRUCTOR: Chef Ken Henson, Consultant, former Executive Chef, Pelican Brewery

April 14 2025, SESSION 8: Financing, Managing Debt, and Exit Strategies INSTRUCTOR: Arnie Hendricks - CMA, CFBA, CEPA, CM&AA. Financial Management Resources

April 28, 2025, SESSION 9: Local Sourcing & Sustainability INSTRUCTOR: Laura Anderson, founder of Local Ocean, Newport

May, 2025, SESSION 10: Graduation/Celebration Location TBD

Request more information and speak with our team at the link: https://form.jotform.com/241584789816070