Investing in our Workforce for Small Business
Learn how small businesses create and provide benefits for their staff. This group will explore ways to take care of and retain employees by providing meaningful and tangible benefits outside of salary, and overcoming the challenges of doing so.
Moderator
Chris Coleman
Director of Culinary Experience – Marriott City Center
Chef Chris Coleman was born and raised in the northwest corner of Charlotte’s Mountain Island Lake community. He spent his summers on his grandparents’ farm in Purvis, Mississippi, where he learned to appreciate the importance of local ingredients and fostering community.
He enrolled at UNC Charlotte to study art and ceramics, but soon decided he wanted to become a chef and moved to Central Piedmont Community College’s culinary program. During his second semester at school, he landed a job cooking on the line at McNinch House. When the head chef left, he was elevated to executive chef at 21. In early 2014, he opened The Asbury at The Dunhill Hotel.
Chris joined Charlotte Marriott City Center in 2016 as the Director of Culinary Experience overseeing Stoke Restaurant, Stoke Bar and coffeehouse Coco and the Director. He brings a rustic yet refined take on seasonal American cooking that showcases high quality, meticulously sourced ingredients, while he continues to work with local farmers, producers and artisans.
Panelists
Sarah Alexander
Co-Owner – Free Range Brewing Co.
Sarah Alexander focuses on what she knows best – community and the arts. This has lead her to find creative ways to connect with the community, such as Free Range’s Annual Free Soup Day or partnering with WDAV’s Classical Public Radio to bring string quartets in to play in the taproom.
Focusing on building community with local artists, musicians, makers, non-profits, and creatives of all types, Sarah strives to create an experience where she encourages the community and staff to learn and engage. Sarah currently serves on the Board of the Piedmont Culinary Guild, as well as the Central Advisory Committee for the Arts and Science Council.
Julia Simon
Owner – Nourish
From art school to culinary classes at the Natural Gourmet Institute to teaching music production and a tiny passion for skydiving, Chef Julia Simon has done many things. But in 2012, she co-founded Nourish, the first delivery service of its kind in Charlotte, NC.
With the help of her team, she has encouraged a revolution of progressive eaters in our region and continues to push the envelope of what good, nutritious food can be.
Bruce Moffett
Chef / Owner – Moffett Restaurant Group
Chef Bruce Moffett’s culinary journey began in Barrington, Rhode Island, cooking at a young age, using recipes from his grandmother. After graduating from CIA with honors, Bruce gained restaurant experience in both Atlanta and Boston. In 2000, Bruce moved to Charlotte where he opened his own restaurant, Barrington’s. He has been the Executive Chef there ever since and was recognized as a semi-finalist for James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef: Southeast award in 2009.
That same year, he opened his second restaurant, Good Food on Montford. In 2013, Bruce expanded his culinary reign in Charlotte by opening Stagioni.
Tara Ebersold
Chef / Co-Owner – Bleu Barn Bistro
Ever since graduating from Johnson & Wales University, Tara Ebersold has made it her goal to help change the local food scene. She currently sits on the board of the Piedmont Culinary Guild, and helped get the Carolina Food Truck Coalition off the ground. Tara works hand in hand with local farmers, purveyors, artisans, chefs, and her team to help educate and bring awareness of the extra steps it takes to source locally and sustainably.
Tara is a big advocate of sourcing sustainable, recyclable, and compostable paper products.. She often takes her team on farm tours and educational trips to ensure they understand the full cycle of the products used in their kitchen and what happens once they leave.
Adam Duke
Owner – Dukes Bread
Adam Duke, a graduate of Syracuse University and Johnson & Wales University, is an owner of Dukes Bread in Charlotte, NC. Adam started Dukes Bread in January of 2010 for a modest reason: he needed a job.
Originally baking out of his two-car garage, Adam grew a reputation at local farmer’s markets before switching to focus on wholesale production. What was supposed to be a temporary gig has now turned into a full-fledged, seven-day operation servicing dozens of clients and producing over two tons of dough each week.
Katy Kindred
Co-Owner – Kindred Restaurant | Hello, Sailor
Katy Kindred wears many hats as owner, designer, sommelier, and front of house manager. Together, she and her husband, Joe Kindred, foster a dining environment that epitomizes hospitality and community.
Kindred’s first foray into the restaurant business came while she was working as a barista in her hometown of Chicago. When she went to visit her best friend on a whim while he was working in Paris, her passion for food and wine ignited. Upon her return to Chicago, she went to the fanciest restaurant she had ever eaten at, N9NE Steakhouse, and told the restaurant they needed to hire her. She started as hostess, progressing to a server as she earned certification as a sommelier at 21.