Calling all Food Entrepreneurs! The Women’s Business Center at CEED is hosting its first local Food Resource Day for all aspiring restaurateurs, food truckers, and food-based business owners. If you have been wanting to dive into the world of food but don’t know where to start, we have a day tailored just for you. We will have back-to-back presentations, networking, and one-on-one sessions with food industry leaders. Come out and learn from the best in the city and learn what it takes to run a successful and profitable food business.

The Food Resource Day on April 24 will delve into the technical and hands-on information food-based entrepreneurs need to take their business to the next level. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the itinerary includes three Knowledge Sessions from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. concerning food regulations, “What I Wish I Knew” from mentor panelists, and a “How to Price your Menu” workshop, as well as speed dating rounds with local resource experts. A range of vital topics will cover how to develop menus and recipes, what is menu pricing, resources for financing your food truck and/or equipment, establishing a brick and mortar, working with suppliers and so much more.

Among the attending mentors are Julius Cook, owner of Bezzie's Home Style Foods; Chef Alan Dover, chef, and teacher with FTCC; Edna Irizarry co-owner of Elite Catering, Got Chew Grill Restaurant and mobile Food Truck owner; and lead facilitator Dani Black from Bigger Tables Culinary & Consulting.

We Some of the resource experts include WBCFay staff and their local partners from First Citizens Bank, Lee Insurance, NC Department of Agriculture, and more.

Concerning any business or financial questions, attendees will have the chance to speak with bankers, insurance agents, accountants, bookkeepers, and professionals in payroll and HR services. The event hosts will also share funding opportunities for equipment, food trucks, and/or commercial property.

The event will take place April 24, 2023, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneurial HUB at Fayetteville State University located at 1073 Murchison Road in Fayetteville. Tickets cost $30, and seating is limited. To register visit linktr.ee/wbcfaync or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/food-entrepreneur-resource-day-tickets-551621022327

Editor’s note: CEED is the Center for Economic Empowerment & Development. It is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the Small Business Administration.