FareStart

After a three year capital campaign, FareStart raised $8 million to purchase and renovate a new building. Over the next five years, they will be able to double the number of students they can train. They can expand their catering services and provide more meals to shelters and low-income daycares. The level of excitement at FareStart is palpable—and they shared it with us in a pre-opening tour.

It's amazing how well FareStart has always worked considering their offices are separate from their restaurant, that there is no real privacy for discussions between students and counselors and one room serves as classroom, lunchroom, locker room, lounge and computer lab. Great things are taught in a very small kitchen.

The new building has five floors, including the basement. The fourth floor will house fundraisers/development, the executive director and the finance/accounting staff. Third floor is where any guest or registering student will find the reception area. It also holds three classrooms (one large room can be separated into two smaller rooms), soundproofed rooms for counselors and students to meet, student services, business operations, catering manager and computer areas for use by employees and students.

The second floor, or mezzanine, holds an office for restaurant managers, additional restaurant space and private banquet rooms (one holds approximately 20, one 30 and they can be opened to seat up to 50). These will be available during lunch for business meetings, catered events and overflow dining. They even have a special room to store wines.

The first floor and basement are a joy to FareStart staff and students. The restaurant seats 96 and includes a community table that seats 18. The table is made from a beam from the building (the former Jersey's Sports Bar). "At FareStart, we're all about second chances," says Dan Johnson, Development Director. "The table represents this—instead of the old beam being thrown out, it has a new life as a table." Karla Smith-Jones, Marketing/Commnications Manager, adds "FareStart provides a community that transforms lives; a community that is fostered through our programs. The table is representative of that community—a place where people can come together." They don't plan to book the table for large groups; it will be a spot for individual diners to dine, meet and talk.

They will have two kitchens. Both are true commercial kitchens, the kind students will work in once they've graduated. The first floor kitchen will provide meals for the restaurant and banquet rooms and has windows into the restaurant. On Guest Chef Nights, diners will be able to watch the Guest Chef and students preparing the meal. Behind the kitchen, there are prep and staging areas. The basement kitchen is double the size of the current kitchen and will handle catering and meals for the shelters and daycares. The basement also holds lockers for students and a lounge where students and staff can eat and relax. A freight elevator will allow food to be moved between kitchens and dining areas.

Meals for the shelters and daycares will begin being made out of the new catering kitchen mid-January. A kickoff fundraiser will be held in the new restaurant on February 1 with Canlis Chef Aaron Wright with an incredible menu. The first Guest Chef night will be Thursday, February 8, with Chef John Neumark of Serafina. Catering will start up in March. When everything's in full swing, the kitchen is running from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week.

Currently, 40 percent of FareStart's operating budget is provided from earned revenue (restaurant meals, Guest Chef Nights, shelter and daycare meals). When they've settled into the new space, they will work toward doubling the number of students and increasing catering and contract meal service, moving that number toward 50 percent—something rarely found in nonprofits. Students know that when they sign on for the 16-week training program at no cost, their labor helps create revenue which in turn helps the next batch of students.

Photo above: Preview night at the community table, l-r Jeff Peda, Charles Krug and Mondavi Wines; Tom Cottrell, Apex Cellars; Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges, Hedges Family Estate; Karla Smith-Jones, FareStart Marketing/Communications Manager; Dan Johnson, FareStart Development Director; Chef Tom Black; FareStart Chef Drew Borus; Executive Chef Roy Breiman, Salish Lodge & Spa

Although the capital campaign is over, fundraising never ceases for FareStart. You can help simply be eating at the restaurant ($24.95 on Guest Chef Nights for a three-course meal; $6-8 for lunch), volunteering or donating money or needed items. There's nothing like seeing big rewards from our small actions.

See our July 2006 article for more details on FareStart's programs

Connie Adams/January 2007