U.C. Restaurant Recovery Program  to be launched

 (Dec. 16, 2020) - Upper Cumberland civic and business resource organizations have partnered with Proof Incubator to launch a four-week course for restaurants impacted by Covid-19. The course, titled "Restaurant Recovery: How to manage risk, evolve your model and emerge from a global pandemic safely and profitably," is set to launch in January 2021. Proof Incubator, the program creator, is a Tennessee-based accelerator and educational resource for food and beverage professionals.

“Since successfully launching our Restaurant Recovery program elsewhere in the state earlier this year, we’ve been looking forward to making it available to our peers and friends in and around Cookeville,” said Proof Incubator co-founder, Michael Robinson. “So many restaurant professionals have been hit incredibly hard this year as a result of COVID-19, and we’re excited to get in the trenches and help as many of them as possible to navigate these tricky waters and emerge stronger.”

The Restaurant Recovery program is a four-week virtual course for owners and operators of restaurants and foodservice businesses. It provides the tools and resources to help adjust restaurant business models in response to the global pandemic and customers’ changing needs and expectations. 

Partner organization providing support for this program include:

•The Upper Cumberland Small Business Development Center

•The Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce

•Cookeville CityScape

•The Biz Foundry

“I can’t even begin to explain how excited we are to bring this program to the Upper Cumberland’s food and beverage community,” said Tiffany Anton, Director of Engagement and Outreach at The Biz Foundry. “I’ve seen similar programs with tuition price tags higher than $1,500 and I am proud of our partners for stepping up to cover such costs so more of our restaurant professionals can take advantage of this opportunity.”

Space is limited, but the program is free for participants thanks to scholarships funded by the partner organizations above. Those who sign up will take part in twice-weekly 90-minute webinars that will be taught in cohorts by industry experts, and each participant will have the opportunity to receive one-on-one coaching and have access to industry and subject-matter experts, such as attorneys and accountants, while also attaining tools and resources to navigate the road forward. 

Topics covered in the sessions include navigating risks and regulations, managing menu and supply chain, optimizing marketing efforts and channels, employee management, and more.

Interested restaurant professionals can learn more about the program and submit an application at http://www.thebizfoundry.org/recovery/. Applications must be submitted by Jan. 6, 2021, and the kickoff webinar for the series is slated to begin on Jan. 12, 2021.