Restaurant Resources
Running a culinary business can be challenging, but we've gathered essential tools, organizations, and partners to support you. Use the resources that fit your needs.
Small Business Solutions
Tools that keep more money in your pocket.
These partners offer tools built for independent food businesses. FTSF has an affiliate relationship with each, and we only recommend products that we believe are worth your time.
- Owner.com
A complete online ordering and marketing system built for independent restaurants. Gives you a direct ordering channel, a branded app, and marketing tools, so you stop paying commission fees.
- ADP
Payroll, HR, and workforce management built for restaurant and hospitality staffing: tipped wages, overtime, variable schedules, and all. Stay compliant without building an HR department from scratch.
- Rebate Plate
A cash-back rebate program on the food supplies you are already buying. Connects independent operators to rebates from major food distributors, no minimum order, no complicated contracts.
Health & Wellness
Because you deserve care too.
The culinary industry takes a real physical and mental toll. These organizations exist specifically for people in the food and beverage world, and they are here for you and your team, not just your business.
- Ben's Friends
A national sober community built for food and beverage professionals navigating addiction, with regular meetings led by people who understand the industry's unique pressures.
- Culinary Hospitality Outreach and Wellness
Mental health resources, peer support, and training for food, beverage, and hospitality professionals, including counseling, crisis support, and industry-specific education.
- Giving Kitchen
Emergency financial assistance for food service workers facing a health crisis, loss of a family member, job loss, or disaster, plus stabilization grants and local resource connections.
- Southern Smoke Foundation
Financial assistance and mental health resources for people in food and beverage facing unforeseen hardship, founded by chefs and rooted in the hospitality community.
Advocacy
Your voice belongs where the decisions get made.
These organizations advocate at the local, state, and national level for policies that protect and strengthen independent restaurants and food businesses. Getting connected means having a voice in the decisions that affect your bottom line.
- Independent Restaurant Coalition
Formed by independent operators and chefs to advocate at the federal and state level, from labor law to tax policy to emergency relief funding. Membership is free.
- Massachusetts Restaurants United
A coalition advocating for independent restaurants in Massachusetts through policy engagement, industry resources, and a unified voice at the state level.
- National Restaurant Association
Connects independent operators to their state-level associations, giving access to local advocacy, training resources, regulatory updates, and a network of operators in your market.
Training & Events
Keep sharpening the skills that keep you in business.
From monthly CBN Mastermind sessions to live business training workshops, here is what is coming up. All events are open to culinary business owners at any stage.
You're not in this alone.
The FTSF Culinary Business Network puts training, peer connections, funding opportunities, and policy updates in one place, built for culinary entrepreneurs, available around the clock.
Culinary Business Network
A 24/7 digital hub for culinary business owners: training, peer connections, funding opportunities, and the latest policy updates, all in one place. Free to join for any culinary entrepreneur.
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