Akash Mirchandani is a Partner at Kitchen Fund, a leading investment firm focused on the emerging restaurant space. Kitchen Fund aims to fuel the brands that are changing how we eat, including investments in some popular restaurants you may have heard of such as sweetgreen, CAVA, and Curry Up Now.

Prior to Kitchen Fund Akash worked in Blackstone’s Private Equity Group, graduated from Harvard where he was captain of the golf team, and deepened his passion for the food industry through a brief stage working in the kitchen at Alinea, the three Michelin star restaurant in Chicago.

In this interview, Akash and I discuss the ever elusive topic of how to raise money for a growing restaurant brand. We talk about funding options, when to raise, what investors look for, and how valuations are determined.

Specifically, restaurant owners will learn:

- How many units a brand typically needs before institutional investors become interested

- The most important metric investors look for, along with a “best in class” benchmark

- When a growing restaurant brand should look for outside capital

- How restaurant valuations are determined

- How investors keep restaurant founders motivated after a raise

- The Kitchen Fund investments Akash is most excited about

and more.

If you own a restaurant brand with eyes toward growth, this is definitely an episode you’ll want to bookmark and come back to at regular intervals as you hit key growth milestones in your business.

Please enjoy my conversation with Akash Mirchandani of Kitchen Fund.

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Where to find Kitchen Fund:

• Website: https://kitchenfund.com/
• Twitter: @KitchenFund
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kitchen-fund/about/

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Where to find Akash:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akash-mirchandani/

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• CAVA
• Sweetgreen
• INDAY
• Restaurant Business Online

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:17) Intro to Akash and Kitchen Fund
• (04:05) The options available for funding a restaurant
• (08:17) When private equity and growth investors become interested in making a restaurant investment
• (09:57) Metrics investors look for when making an investment
• (10:37) Deep diver into cash on cash returns
• (15:55) When should a growing restaurant brand start looking for outside capital?
• (19:24) How does Kitchen Fund value a restaurant concept?
• (23:57) Thoughts on aggressive vs. tempered growth
• (25:08) Intangible factors investors look for in a businesses
• (28:17) How investors keep founders motivated post-investment
• (31:42) Which investments is Akash proud of at Kitchen Fund
• (36:19) Has Kitchen Fund’s approach changed since 2020?
• (38:39) On The Fly Segment

Host Bryan Tublin shares his top 10 lessons learned from Season 1 of My First Restaurant.

Top 10 Lessons Learned:

1. Know why you’re getting into the business
2. Test your concept first!
3. Timing and momentum matters
4. Raise enough capital – Things always cost more and take longer than you think
5. Choose the right contractor for your buildout
6. Centralized Commissary vs. Store-Level Production? There’s no right answer
7. Do, Delegate, or Deprioritize
8. Take care of yourself first
9. Look for self awareness and a growth mindset when hiring
10. Successful brands differentiate and solve a real need
11. BONUS: Restaurants are hard, but not for the reasons you think

“I work really hard, and my staff works really hard, so I have to be in love with that city and that community to do the work that I do.”

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Dominica Rice-Cisneros is the Chef & Owner of Bombera in Oakland, California.

During her long career as a line cook, Dominica worked her way up in fine dining establishments such as Chez Panisse and The Four Seasons, before opening her first restaurant Cosecha to showcase her take on California Mexican cuisine.

Forced to close Cosecha during the Covid-19 pandemic due to its downtown Oakland location, she reopened as Bombera in the Dimond neighborhood, where she is now thriving as a full service restaurant showcasing her Chicano cooking heritage using live fire techniques.

In this interview Dominica shares how she transitioned from career line cook to restaurant owner, including lessons learned along the way.

We discuss:

- Why working as a “stage” was a blessing early in her career

- What inspired her career in food and restaurants

- The importance of connecting with mentors

- Her biggest hurdles transitioning from line cook to restaurant owner

and much more.

Dominica provides a rare perspective from someone who truly workd her way up from the bottom, and provides practical insight for others looking to do the same.

Please enjoy my conversation with Dominica Rice-Cisneros of Bombera!

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Where to find Bombera:

• Website: https://www.bomberaoakland.com/
• IG: bomberaoakland
• FB: bomberaoakland

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Where to find Dominica:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominica-rice-1828ab2b/
• IG: dominicarice

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Where to find Bryan:

• Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
• Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

• Website: https://www.kitava.com/
• Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

• Vik’s Chaat
• Great China
• 504 Loans

In this episode, we cover:

• (01:50) Her journey in food, starting at 14 years old in LA
• (06:50) Why she views being a stage as “a blessing” for someone early in their career
• (09:10) What inspired her to get into food at a high level one day
• (10:05) “You get in through the back door”
• (11:40) Appreciating mentorship and being a student early in your career
• (15:40) Working with mentors
• (16:30) What went well for her when getting started
• (18:30) How she found her restaurant leases
• (19:20) Why she recommends staying away from buying a restaurant lease turn key
• (23:10) Her biggest hurdles on the business side as she transitioned from being a Line Cook
• (33:40) How Dominica funded Bombera
• (35:08) Bringing chips and guacamole to local permitting offices
• (38:00) Learning how to structure the business
• (38:58) Convincing the SBA she was worth giving a loan
• (43:00) Opening Bombera
• (45:48) The future for Bombera, and the importance of recognition from Michelin and James Beard