This was us on May 31st, 2020 — exhausted after an eighteen-hour day for the grand opening of our very first restaurant. It was mid-COVID. We had no staff, no roadmap, and absolutely no idea what we were doing.

The months leading up to that day were filled with trial and error, costly mistakes, and overwhelming uncertainty. Starting a business is hard. Starting a restaurant? It can feel nearly impossible.

We searched everywhere for guidance but came up short. We didn’t have the money for consultants, design pros, or specialized support. We couldn’t get clear answers from the city about permits. Finding reliable contractors and service providers was a nightmare. And we quickly learned that unless you had money, help was nearly impossible to come by.

Eventually, we got the doors open — and we thought that was the hard part. But we were wrong. Keeping the doors open is where the real challenge began.

Hiring. Payroll. Scheduling. Social media. Websites. Customer service. Management. Efficient systems. Ordering. Vendor relationships. Insurance. The list of things required to run a successful and profitable restaurant is endless — and again, support for people without deep pockets was nowhere to be found.

That experience lit a fire in us. We knew we weren’t the only ones struggling — and we knew it shouldn’t be this hard for passionate, hardworking people to build something of their own in the food industry. And from that, Everybody Eats was born.

We know the struggle of having a vision but needing someone to help connect the dots. We know the frustration that comes with knowing there is a problem, but being unsure how to fix it. We know that small businesses are often left behind in the restaurant industry, and that’s what we want to change. Because this industry shouldn’t be reserved only for those with the most money or connections.

Everybody Eats exists to give emerging food business owners what they need to win — resources, knowledge, and community. Because there’s Room at the Table for everyone to succeed.